Request compliance advice
Tell us the building, the duty or deadline you're managing and any existing reports, and we'll advise the proportionate next step.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 020 7101 4590.
Building Regulations Principal Designer London under the BSA regime
Building Regulations Principal Designer London support is design-stage compliance work under the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023, not a rebrand of the CDM role.
Where more than one designer or contractor is working on a project, the client must appoint a principal designer to be in control of design work and a principal contractor to be in control of building work. We make that written dutyholder appointment explicit and keep the building control evidence trail aligned with the developing design.
For higher-risk building work, HRB status changes the level of competence evidence, gateway discipline, competence declaration and golden-thread coordination needed. We confirm the boundary before accepting an appointment and identify where Building Safety Regulator procedures or additional specialists are required.
This is not the same as CDM Principal Designer. CDM manages pre-construction health and safety; the Building Regulations Principal Designer manages design-stage compliance with relevant building regulations requirements. Related support sits under CDM Principal Designer, Building Safety Act Compliance and Architectural Design & CDM.
Building Regulations Principal Designer is separate from CDM Principal Designer
Since October 2023, clients on most building projects must appoint a Principal Designer under the Building Regulations - a separate legal role from the long-standing CDM Principal Designer, with different duties and different consequences for getting it wrong.
The Building Regulations Principal Designer, created by the Building Safety Act 2022 amendments to the Building Regulations 2010, must plan, manage and monitor the design work so that, if built as designed, the work would comply with the Building Regulations. The role demands compliance coordination across the design team, recorded decisions, and cooperation with the client and Principal Contractor - on higher-risk buildings it sits inside the Building Safety Regulator's gateway regime with stricter competence requirements.
We accept Building Regulations Principal Designer appointments where the project and our competence match - typically refurbishment, remediation, block and education projects - and we decline or co-appoint where they do not. This page covers the Building Regulations role; the health-and-safety planning role under CDM 2015 is described on our CDM Principal Designer page. The two roles can be held by the same organisation, but they are never the same appointment.
Provider
Hampstead Chartered Surveyors & Building Consultancy, Hampstead NW3
Reviewed by
Savas Bulduk BSc (Hons) MRICS, Director & Chartered Building Surveyor
Coverage
North, North West, Central, West, South West, South East and East London
Service
Building Regulations Principal Designer
Regulation
RICS Regulated Firm No. 923064
Insurance
Professional indemnity insurance held
Contact
What to send, and what you receive
Tell us about the building and the duty or deadline you are managing and we will confirm a proportionate scope and a fee before you instruct.
What to send before we quote
- The property type and use
- Any current reports
- The known risk or issue
- Your required deadline
- The responsible person or contact
What you receive
- A written review, audit or assessment suited to the duty
- Findings and a proportionate, prioritised action plan
- Clear advice on what is and is not covered
Some areas need accredited specialists (for example UKAS-accredited asbestos or testing laboratories, or a structural engineer); we coordinate this and keep our advice independent. Ask what the report would include.
When this appointment applies
- Any project with more than one designer that is notifiable building work under the Building Regulations
- Refurbishment, remediation and alteration projects where design develops through the works
- Higher-risk building projects passing through Building Safety Regulator gateways
- Where the client needs the dutyholder appointment documented before work starts
- Where an existing design team needs compliance planning and recorded coordination added
- Where the CDM and Building Regulations PD roles need to be aligned but kept distinct
What this service covers
Appointment and competence
Written appointment, declared scope, and a documented competence statement appropriate to the project - including where the role must sit elsewhere for higher-risk work.
Compliance planning
A design-stage building regulations compliance plan: which approved documents and standards bite, who owns each design decision, and how compliance will be evidenced.
Coordination and monitoring
Structured design reviews, recorded decisions and change control so the design's compliance position is traceable rather than assumed.
Records and handover
The compliance records the client, building control and - for higher-risk buildings - the golden thread require at completion.
Outputs
- Documented dutyholder appointment and competence statement
- Building regulations compliance plan maintained through design
- Recorded design review and change-control trail
- Coordination records between designers, client and Principal Contractor
- Completion-stage compliance records for building control and handover
Process
Scope the project
We establish the work, the procurement route, the design team and whether the building is higher-risk before accepting the role.
Formalise the appointment
Written terms, declared competence and a clear boundary with the CDM Principal Designer role.
Plan compliance
We map the applicable requirements and assign design ownership with the team.
Monitor design
Reviews, recorded decisions and change control through the design stages.
Coordinate
Ongoing cooperation with client, designers and Principal Contractor as the regulations require.
Close out
Compliance records assembled for building control sign-off and the client's records.
The Building Regulations Principal Designer role in practice
Since the Building Safety Act reforms, most projects with more than one designer need a Building Regulations Principal Designer appointed in writing — a statutory dutyholder, not a courtesy title.
London projects feel the change most: higher-risk buildings face gateway scrutiny, and even routine refurbishments now need someone planning, managing and monitoring design-stage compliance with the Building Regulations. Clients who leave the appointment vague carry the duty themselves by default — usually without realising it.
We take the appointment formally, set the compliance-planning framework early, and keep design decisions and their building regulations basis traceable, so the project reaches building control with its compliance story already written. Approval itself always rests with the building control body; our job is to make the route there orderly and evidenced.
Where the appointment typically arises
- Residential refurbishments and extensions with an architect and engineer.
- Loft conversions and structural alterations in flats.
- Block refurbishments and major works with multiple designers.
- Commercial fit-outs with design responsibility split across consultants.
- Heritage alterations balancing compliance and conservation.
- Formal written appointments at project start.
- Compliance planning with the design team.
- Design change control with building regulations traceability.
- Coordination with the CDM principal designer role.
- Handover records supporting completion certification.
How fees are set
Fees reflect project size, programme length, the number of designers to coordinate and whether the building is higher-risk. The role runs through the design programme, so most appointments are fixed-fee staged rather than time-charged.
We confirm a fixed fee in writing after scoping the building and the brief, before any work starts. There are no percentage mark-ups on third parties we coordinate.
What affects the fee
- Project value, complexity and number of designers
- Programme length and number of design stages
- Higher-risk building status and gateway involvement
- Whether we also hold the CDM Principal Designer appointment
- Level of change expected during the works
A representative Building Regulations Principal Designer appointment
The following London inspection and reporting workflow breakdown shows how our RICS surveyors scope, inspect and report on real properties across London; see our published London surveying case studies for completed project records.
- Typical client: A leaseholder couple altering a maisonette
- Typical property: A two-level Victorian conversion flat with structural openings proposed
- Typical issue: An architect and a structural engineer both designing, with no one formally holding the principal designer duty
- Typical instruction: Take the Building Regulations Principal Designer appointment and run design-stage compliance planning
- What the client typically receives: A written appointment, a compliance plan, recorded design decisions and an orderly building control submission trail
- How it is typically used: Building control sign-off proceeded without redesign, and the owners could evidence their dutyholder arrangements
- Related services: CDM Principal Designer, Architectural Design & CDM, Licence to Alter Surveyors
Related articles and guidance
Building regulations approval explained
What approval covers and how the process runs.
View Building regulations approval explainedThe CDM principal designer role explained
How the CDM 2015 role differs and when it applies.
View The CDM principal designer role explainedUnderstanding the Building Safety Act 2022
The dutyholder regime and what it changes.
View Understanding the Building Safety Act 2022Managing a compliance duty or deadline? Send the property details and we'll advise the proportionate next step.
Send property detailsBuilding Regulations Principal Designer FAQs
Is this the same as the CDM Principal Designer?
No. The CDM 2015 Principal Designer plans and manages pre-construction health and safety. The Building Regulations Principal Designer, introduced by the Building Safety Act 2022, plans, manages and monitors design-stage compliance with the Building Regulations. They are separate legal duties; one organisation can hold both, but each needs its own appointment, competence and records.
Does every project need a Building Regulations Principal Designer?
Where building work requires Building Regulations approval and involves more than one designer, the client must appoint one in writing. On small single-designer projects the duty can rest with that designer; on anything larger, an explicit appointment avoids the default position landing on an unprepared party - or on the client.
What happens if no appointment is made?
The duties default to the client. That is rarely where a client wants dutyholder responsibility for design compliance to sit, particularly on refurbishment projects where design decisions continue through the works.
Can you act on higher-risk buildings?
Higher-risk building work passes through the Building Safety Regulator's gateways with enhanced competence requirements. We confirm scope, competence and insurance before accepting any HRB appointment, and where the role needs a different or additional appointee we say so and help structure it - the same boundary discipline we apply to FRAEW and EWS1 work.
Do you replace building control?
No. Building control (or the BSR for higher-risk buildings) approves and inspects. The Principal Designer's job is to make the design's compliance position planned, coordinated and evidenced so approval is not left to chance.
Can you take over mid-project?
Yes, subject to a gap review of the design and records to date. Taking the role on without auditing what came before would be guesswork, so we scope that review into the appointment.
Building Regulations Principal Designer coverage across London
Refurbishments and alterations in these areas routinely involve multiple designers, which is what triggers the statutory appointment. The area pages cover local building stock and planning context.
Hampstead
NW3 — Camden.
View chartered surveyors in HampsteadBelsize Park
NW3 — Camden.
View chartered surveyors in Belsize ParkHighgate
N6 — Camden.
View chartered surveyors in HighgateSt John’s Wood
NW8 — Westminster.
View chartered surveyors in St John’s WoodMarylebone
W1U — Westminster.
View chartered surveyors in MaryleboneMayfair
W1K — Westminster.
View chartered surveyors in MayfairKnightsbridge
SW1X — Westminster.
View chartered surveyors in KnightsbridgeChelsea
SW3 — Kensington and Chelsea.
View chartered surveyors in ChelseaSouth Kensington
SW7 — Kensington and Chelsea.
View chartered surveyors in South KensingtonNotting Hill
W11 — Kensington and Chelsea.
View chartered surveyors in Notting HillFulham
SW6 — Hammersmith and Fulham.
View chartered surveyors in FulhamRichmond
TW9 — Richmond upon Thames.
View chartered surveyors in RichmondRelated services
CDM Principal Designer
The health and safety planning role under CDM 2015 - related, never identical.
View ServiceBuilding Safety Act Compliance
Accountable person duties, higher-risk buildings and safety cases.
View ServiceProject Advisory & Contract Administration
Client-side delivery for refurbishment and remedial works.
View ServiceSafety Case Report Support
Golden thread and safety case evidence for higher-risk buildings.
View ServiceContract Administration
Independent administration of the building contract.
View ServiceArchitectural Design & CDM
Design services with integrated CDM coordination.
View ServiceAppointing dutyholders on a London project? Call 020 7101 4590.
Enquire about Building Regulations Principal Designer
Tell us briefly about the building and what you need. Your enquiry goes directly to our chartered surveying team.
We respond to enquiries within one working day.
Prefer to talk it through first? Call 020 7101 4590 or email enquiries@hampsteadcharteredsurveyors.co.uk.
Building Regulations Principal Designer in Central London
Regional guidance for Central London building stock, client decisions and delivery constraints.
Building Regulations Principal Designer in Central London
The Building Regulations Principal Designer is the designer appointed to plan, manage and monitor design work so that, if built, it complies with relevant building regulations requirements. Central London refurbishment needs this coordination to address existing fabric, changes of use, structure, fire, access, energy, services and heritage interfaces without confusing the role with building control or the CDM Principal Designer.
View Building Regulations Principal Designer Central London guidanceDedicated Central London service guides
Compare 59 dedicated service guides and 16 core neighbourhoods.
View the Central London hubBuilding Regulations Principal Designer London: Deliverables & Transparent Fee Matrix
Every building regulations principal designer london instruction is confirmed by a fixed written fee proposal once the property address, tenure and scope are reviewed. Starting fees begin from £1,450 plus VAT; all fee guides below are exclusive of VAT (plus VAT).
| Scope / Property Band | Deliverables & Technical Scope | Typical Turnaround | Transparent Fee Guide (Excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Band A — Standard / Single-Property Building Regulations Principal Designer London | Pre-instruction document review, targeted site inspection or desktop appraisal, and structured RICS-aligned report. | 3–5 working days from inspection | From £1,450 plus VAT (domestic extension, loft or flat alteration BRPD dutyholder appointment) |
| Band B — Comprehensive Building Regulations Principal Designer London Instruction | Full site inspection, photographic defect/evidence schedule, regulatory analysis and prioritised cost/action plan. | 5–8 working days from site access | From £2,650 plus VAT (multi-unit residential or commercial refurbishment BRPD compliance role) |
| Band C — Complex, Heritage or Multi-Unit Building Regulations Principal Designer London | Listed-building, higher-risk, multi-unit or portfolio instruction with senior director review and adviser coordination. | 7–12 working days (or agreed milestone) | From £4,500 plus VAT (Higher-Risk Building Gateway 2/3 BRPD & golden-thread coordination) |