How to Choose an Architect in London

Understand what "architect" actually means

In the UK, "architect" is a protected title. Under the Architects Act 1997, only someone registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) may call themselves an architect in business or practice. That protection matters because a great deal of home design work is carried out by people who are skilled but are not architects on the ARB register — architectural designers, architectural technologists, and technicians. None of those is a lesser choice by definition, but the title tells you exactly what a person has qualified for and who regulates them.

An architect on the ARB register has completed a long accredited education and examination route and is subject to a statutory code of conduct and a complaints process run by the ARB. If you specifically want that regulated status, the protected title — and the register behind it — is how you confirm it, rather than relying on the word appearing on a website.

Check the public ARB register

Anyone can verify an architect on the ARB register free of charge on the public register at architects-register.org.uk. Search by name or registration number and you can confirm that the individual is currently registered and see their registration details. It takes a couple of minutes and it is the single most reliable credential check you can do.

One point often missed: it is the individual who is registered, not the firm. A practice may describe itself in various ways, so if the protected title is important to you, check the specific person who will be responsible for your project appears on the register — not just that the business sounds architectural.

• Go to architects-register.org.uk and search by name or number
• Confirm the person is currently registered, not lapsed or removed
• Check the individual leading your project — registration is personal, not corporate
• Be wary of "architect" used loosely when no registered individual is named

RIBA chartered-practice accreditation is a separate mark

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) is a professional membership body, not the statutory regulator. "RIBA chartered-practice status" and the use of letters such as RIBA are a membership standard layered on top of ARB registration — they signal that a practice meets RIBA's criteria and subscribes to its own code. It is a useful additional indicator, but it is not the same thing as the legal protection attached to the ARB register.

In short: ARB registration is the regulated baseline for the title, and RIBA membership is an optional professional standard on top. Knowing the difference stops you from over- or under-reading either badge on a website.

Weigh relevant experience, not just a nice portfolio

Most architects present attractive work, so the useful question is not whether the portfolio looks good but whether it is relevant to your project. A practice fluent in new-build country houses is not automatically the right fit for a constrained terraced extension in a conservation area, and vice versa. Look for projects that share your building type, your constraints and your planning context.

In much of prime London that context is demanding — conservation areas, Article 4 directions, listed buildings, party wall relationships and tight sites are the norm rather than the exception. Ask to see completed projects that navigated similar constraints, and, where you can, ask past clients how the practice performed once the work moved from drawings to a live planning application and then onto site.

• Comparable building type and scale to your own
• Experience of your planning context — conservation area, listed, flat tenure
• Projects taken through to completion, not only visualised
• References from past clients on how the practice performed under pressure

Compare fee proposals like-for-like

Fee proposals are only comparable when they cover the same scope, so the cheapest headline number frequently hides the narrowest service. Before comparing figures, line up the proposals against the same checklist: which RIBA work stages are included, what surveys and consultants are assumed, whether planning and building regulations packages are both covered, and what is explicitly excluded.

Watch particularly for scope that stops at planning. A design that secures permission still needs a separate technical package for building control and for a builder to price and construct — if one proposal includes that and another does not, they are not the same service at any price. Confirm too how disbursements and statutory fees are handled, since those are payable to third parties on top of professional fees.

• Which RIBA stages the fee covers (concept, planning, technical design, construction support)
• Whether both planning and building regulations drawings are included
• Assumed surveys and consultants — measured survey, structural engineer, others
• Clearly stated exclusions and how variations are charged
• How statutory and third-party fees are handled separately from the fee

Budget for statutory fees separately

Whatever an architect charges, the local authority's statutory planning fees are payable on top and are fixed nationally. For a typical London home project it helps to know the order of magnitude in advance: a householder planning application fee is £548 from 1 April 2026, a Lawful Development Certificate is £274, and there is no fee for listed building consent. These are paid to the council, not the architect, and a clear proposal will identify them as disbursements rather than folding them into the professional fee.

Our own approach is to make cost visible early: we offer a fixed-fee route review from £395 and quote any onward work before you commit, with package prices set out on our /packages/ page. However you appoint, insist on a written fee for a clearly defined scope so there are no assumptions to unpick later.

Questions worth asking before you appoint

A short, direct conversation reveals a great deal. Ask who will actually run your project day to day, how the practice has handled comparable planning constraints, what the realistic programme looks like, and how they price additional work if the scope changes. Clear, specific answers — and a willingness to put scope and fee in writing — are consistently good signs.

• Who leads my project day to day, and are they on the ARB register?
• Can you show comparable projects taken through to completion?
• What does the fee include, and what is excluded?
• What is the realistic programme to planning submission and beyond?
• How are variations and additional work priced?
• How do you handle building regulations and construction-stage support?

Red flags to walk away from

Most problems trace back to vagueness at the start. Be cautious of a proposal with no written fee, or scope described so loosely that you cannot tell where the service ends. Reluctance to name the registered individual responsible, pressure to sign quickly or pay large sums up front, and unwillingness to work to a clear stage-by-stage appointment all deserve a second look. A good architect will welcome the credential check and the like-for-like comparison, not resist it.

• No written fee, or scope too vague to pin down
• Won't identify the registered individual responsible for the work
• Pressure to commit quickly or pay large sums up front
• Fee that quietly stops at planning with no technical package
• Claims of credentials that don't appear on the ARB register