How to choose the right architect for your new build home

Working with an architect · New build

Whether you need an architect for a new build house, what the law says about the title, the checks to make before you appoint anyone, and how appointment works at AURA.

Last updated: 3 November 2026 · Reviewed by Graham Sproul RIBA, Design & Operations Director

Do I need an architect for a new build house?

No law says a new house has to be designed by an architect. The Architects Registration Board, the statutory regulator, puts it plainly: “There is no restriction on who can perform architectural services in the UK.” Other designers can draw a new house, and the planning system and the Building Regulations apply to the design whoever draws it.

What the law protects is the title. Section 20 of the Architects Act 1997 says a person “shall not practise or carry on business under any name, style or title containing the word ‘architect'” unless they are registered. ARB’s guidance for the public says “only those on the Register may use the title ‘architect’ in business or practice.” So if someone calls themselves an architect, you can check it.

Whether you need one is a different question from whether you must have one. A new house is a larger, riskier project than an extension: you are responsible for the whole building, from the foundations to the roof, and for getting it through planning on a plot that may never have had a house on it.

Simple tips for choosing the right architect for your project

These are the points we’d look at ourselves if we were appointing an architect for a new home.

• Look at new homes they have designed that are now built. Ask which projects the practice designed from the first sketch to completion, and visit one if you can.
• Check how they handle planning. A new house needs full planning permission, and the practice should be able to explain how they’d approach your council and your plot.
• Ask who will do the work. Find out who you’ll meet, who draws the scheme and who signs off the drawings.
• Read the scope before the fee. Check whether the fee stops at planning or runs through to the builder on site.
• Talk about your budget early. Ask how they keep the design within it, and how they’ll tell you if the brief and the budget don’t match.
• Expect plain answers in writing: what’s included at each stage, and what happens if the brief changes.

What should you check before appointing an architect?

Make these four checks before you sign anything. ARB’s advice to the public is direct: “Before hiring an architect, you should always check that they are on the Register.”

Check	Where to look	What to look for
Registration	The ARB Architects Register (arb.org.uk)	The named person who will use the title “architect” is on the register
Practice accreditation	RIBA Find an Architect (architecture.com)	Whether the practice is a RIBA Chartered Practice
Insurance	The terms of appointment	Professional indemnity insurance and the level of cover; ARB says registered architects “are expected to be adequately insured”
Fee and scope in writing	The fee proposal and terms of appointment	The fee for each stage, what’s included, and whether it’s quoted with or without VAT; ARB says “the level of fees must be agreed in writing in advance”

AURA is a RIBA Chartered Practice. Our Memorandum of Engagement sets out professional indemnity insurance of £2,000,000 for any one claim.

What does a new build add to the brief?

A new build has no existing house to work from, so it brings in work that an extension doesn’t.

Area	What it involves on a new build	Who usually leads it
The plot	Measured and topographical survey, access, existing drains and services, trees and boundaries	Architect, with surveyors
Planning	A full planning application for a new dwelling, with the design and its effect on neighbours set out	Architect
Structure and ground	Foundations designed for the ground conditions, and the frame	Structural engineer, with the architect
Building Regulations	The whole building: fire, structure, energy, access, ventilation and, if the house is attached to another, sound	Architect, with building control
Energy standard	The current Part L, and from 24 March 2027 the 2026 edition of Approved Document L	Architect, with an energy assessor

The 2026 edition of Approved Document L brings in the Future Homes Standard for new homes. In the government’s words, it “takes effect on 24 March 2027 for use in England for building work that is not in connection with higher-risk building work”, with transitional arrangements set out in a circular letter on gov.uk. It adds a requirement for renewable electricity generation on new dwellings. Our guide to solar panels and the Future Homes Standard covers what that means for a house. If your new house shares a wall with a neighbour, Part E sound insulation applies too, and our acoustic testing guide explains when a sound test is needed. How drawings get approved by building control is in our building control guide.

How appointing an architect works at AURA

Every AURA project starts with a consultation, at the property or by video. It’s a paid meeting, and the cost is deducted from our fee if you go ahead. We look at the site and the brief and talk through the planning position.

If you want to explore options before committing to a full appointment, the Concept Feasibility Package adds a study of the property, up to three sketch schemes and a preliminary cost plan prepared with a quantity surveyor. The fee proposal that follows deducts the cost of those concept designs.

You don’t have to buy every stage at once. Our process guide treats the services as a list to choose from, and we ask for your written approval before moving on to the next work stage. Later stages can include tendering to up to four vetted builders and contract administration while the house is built.

How should you compare proposals?

Compare fee proposals on scope first and price second: the stages covered matter as much as the total. Our fees page sets out how AURA charges, and our guide to how much an architect costs explains the ways architects price their work. Third-party costs, such as surveys and the structural engineer, are paid on top of the architect’s fee.

Worked example: putting two proposals on the same basis

Two practices quote for the design of the same new house, from concept to Building Regulations approval. Practice A quotes £18,000 excluding VAT. Practice B quotes £21,000 including VAT. The figures are illustrative, not AURA’s fees.

Proposal	Quoted	Sum	Excluding VAT	Including VAT
Practice A	£18,000 excluding VAT	£18,000 × 1.2	£18,000	£21,600
Practice B	£21,000 including VAT	£21,000 ÷ 1.2	£17,500	£21,000
Difference		£21,600 − £21,000	£500	£600

On the same basis, Practice B is £600 cheaper including VAT, though its headline figure looked £3,000 higher. The next question is scope: if Practice B’s fee stops at planning and Practice A’s runs to Building Regulations approval, the comparison turns round.

Is an architect the only route?

Some people building a new home go to a design and build contractor, who designs and builds under one contract. The trade-offs, including who checks the builder’s work, are set out in our guide to architect vs design and build.

What should you ask at the first meeting?

Question	Why it matters
Which new homes have you designed that are now built?	Shows experience of the whole process, through to completion
Who will I deal with, and are they on the ARB register?	Tells you who uses the title and who runs your project
What does your fee include, stage by stage, and is it with or without VAT?	Lets you compare proposals on the same basis
How will you approach planning on this plot?	Tests their reading of the site and the council
Which consultants will I need, and when?	Surveys and the structural engineer are costs on top of the fee
Can you work to my budget, and how will we know if we’re over it?	A cost plan at concept stage tests the design against the budget

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