Rwanda Institute of Architects
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How architects' fees are worked out

Fees are usually a percentage of construction cost, a fixed sum, or time at a rate. What the fee includes matters more than which basis is used.

Fees

The three common bases

  1. 01

    Percentage of construction cost

    The most common arrangement for a whole project. It moves with the building, but the final figure stays provisional until the cost is known. Agree what the percentage is calculated on and when it is recalculated.
  2. 02

    Fixed fee

    Suits work with a defined end — a design for approval, a feasibility study, a single house on a straightforward plot. Easier to budget, harder to change.
  3. 03

    Time charge

    Suits advice, small alterations, and work whose extent nobody can predict at the start. Agree the rate and a ceiling you will be warned before crossing.

What drives the number

Complexity more than size. A small building on a steep plot with three uses inside it can take more design time than a large simple warehouse. Renovation costs more per square metre of design than new build, because the existing structure must be surveyed and understood before anything can be drawn. And a client who changes their mind after a stage has been agreed pays for the same work twice — which is the one cost entirely within your control.

Settle these before you start

  • Which stages the fee covers, and which are charged separately.
  • Whether site visits during construction are included, and how many.
  • What happens if you change your mind after a stage is agreed.
  • Whether authority fees, surveys, printing and travel are included or additional.
  • When each payment falls due, and against what.
  • What happens to the fee if the project stops.
An architect working at a laptop

Comparing quotes

Compare scope, not totals

A fee that stops at approval and one that includes construction inspections are not the same service. Ask what is included before you compare what is charged.

Frequently asked questions

Is the first meeting free?
Ask when you arrange it. If it is chargeable that is not unreasonable — you are receiving advice.
Do I pay before or after approval?
Fees are normally paid in stages as work is completed, not in one sum at the end. The stages should be named in the written agreement.
One quote is much lower than the other.
Compare what is included rather than the totals. A fee that stops at approval and one that includes construction inspections are not the same service.
Can I negotiate?
You can discuss scope. A fee reduced without reducing the work usually means the work reduces anyway — later, and without being discussed.
The construction cost went up. Does the fee go up too?
On a percentage basis, yes. That is why the basis and the recalculation points belong in writing at the start.

Questions to ask before you appoint

Get the fee basis and the exclusions in writing before any work begins.

Questions to ask before you appointFind a licensed architect