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Blog: building regulations

How much does a fire strategy plan cost in London?

By Property Architecture drawing team, chartered architectural technologists (MCIAT). Published . 3 minute read.

A fire strategy plan for a London loft, flat conversion or shared house costs £429 from us, with no VAT to add. It is a drawing and a short note that shows how people reach safety and how the building holds fire back, and it answers to a single sentence of law: appropriate early warning of fire and appropriate means of escape to a place of safety outside the buildingBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B1.

From £429 total

  • MCIAT chartered
  • £2m PI insured
  • LABC Partnered
  • Fixed fees, no VAT to add

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    Key takeaways

    What the plan costs, and what it is

    Our fee is £429. For that we draw the escape routes, the fire-resisting doors and walls and the alarm layout on a plan that matches your building regulations drawings, with a short note explaining the logic. See our fire strategy plan page for the details.

    It is not a lengthy report. For a house or a small conversion it is a few sheets, but they are the sheets a building control officer or a fire safety reviewer reads first, so they must be right.

    What the fee includesEscape routes marked on each floor; Fire-resisting doors, walls and alarms shown; A short note explaining the strategy; Matched to your building regulations drawings; Checked by a second personWhat the fee includesEscape routes marked on each floorFire-resisting doors, walls and alarmsshownA short note explaining the strategyMatched to your building regulationsdrawingsChecked by a second personFixed fee from £429, no VAT to add
    What our fire strategy plan includes.

    The law the plan answers to

    Fire safety in the Building Regulations is Part B, and the first requirement is the one that matters for most houses: appropriate early warning of fire and appropriate means of escape to a place of safety outside the buildingBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B1. Part B also covers the next questions: internal linings must adequately resist the spread of flame over their surfacesBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B2. And for the fire service: reasonable facilities to assist fire fighters in the protection of lifeBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B5.

    These are short on purpose, which is why a plan is needed. The regulations say what must be achieved, and the plan shows how this building achieves it. A loft with a new bedroom is the standard example: the stair becomes the only way out, and the plan shows how it is protected.

    Loft bedroom with a pitched ceiling, two roof windows and glazed doors opening onto a small balcony
    A new loft bedroom changes the way the house is evacuated, which is why building control asks for the escape route. Photo: Imad Clicks, Pexels License

    Where a plan is asked for

    Building control asks for one on loft conversions, conversions to flats and shared houses, because each changes who sleeps where and how they leave. A rear extension to a ground floor kitchen usually needs only notes on the drawings.

    For a shared house a second law applies: a licence is mandatory for an HMO occupied by five or more persons living in two or more separate householdsLicensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4. And the penalty for ignoring it is real: an offence is committed by the person having control of or managing the HMOHousing Act 2004, section 72. The plan helps with the licence application as well as the building regulations, and our HMO licence application pack, from £479, uses it.

    What the plan shows

    Each floor with the route from every bedroom to the front door, marked; the fire-resisting doors and walls that protect it; smoke and heat alarms; escape windows where a stair cannot be protected; and the notes that explain the choice. It is drawn on the same model as the other drawings, so the stair and door positions agree.

    If the council or building control asks for changes, we revise the plan with the drawings.

    How the job runs, step by stepFree constraints check and a review of your layout Then: Escape routes traced from every bedroom Then: Protected routes, doors, walls and alarms marked Then: Plan and short note written Then: Second person checks the plan Then: Issued with your building regulations drawingsFree constraints check and a review ofyour layoutEscape routes traced from everybedroomProtected routes, doors, walls andalarms markedPlan and short note writtenSecond person checks the planIssued with your building regulationsdrawings
    From your layout to a plan building control can approve.

    How it fits with the rest of the job

    The plan goes with the building regulations drawings: see our building regulations drawings, from £729. For a house conversion, HMO conversion drawings and the plan come from the same survey.

    A larger or more complex building may need a specialist fire engineer. We tell you at the start if yours does.

    The figures, with sources

    Requirement B1, means of warning and escape
    appropriate early warning of fire and appropriate means of escape to a place of safety outside the buildingBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B1Checked 25 October 2026
    Requirement B2, internal linings
    internal linings must adequately resist the spread of flame over their surfacesBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B2Checked 25 October 2026
    Requirement B5, fire service access
    reasonable facilities to assist fire fighters in the protection of lifeBuilding Regulations 2010, Schedule 1, requirement B5Checked 25 October 2026
    HMOs that need a mandatory licence
    occupied by five or more persons living in two or more separate householdsLicensing of HMOs (Prescribed Description) (England) Order 2018, article 4Checked 25 October 2026
    Letting a licensable HMO without a licence
    an offence is committed by the person having control of or managing the HMOHousing Act 2004, section 72Checked 25 October 2026

    Questions

    Do I need a fire strategy plan for a loft conversion?

    Building control usually wants the escape route shown for a loft with a new bedroom. A plan is the clearest way to show it. We tell you what your council asks for.

    Is it the same as a fire risk assessment?

    No. A fire risk assessment is a different document for the management of an occupied building. The plan is a design drawing that shows how the building is arranged for escape.

    Does the plan satisfy the HMO licence?

    It supports it. The licence has its own form and conditions. Our licence pack uses the plan as part of its evidence.

    Do you provide a fire engineer's report?

    Not for a typical house. If your building needs a specialist, we tell you at the start and say what that involves.

    Header photo: A narrow period house on Heath Street in Hampstead with a bay window, pale green render and a small front garden by Images George Rex, CC BY-SA 2.0.

    The fixed fee for fire strategy plans

    Fixed fee
    from £429
    Total you pay
    from £429
    Council fee
    paid to the council separately

    No VAT to add. The fee is fixed in writing after a free constraints check of your address.

    What you get

    • Escape routes marked on each floor
    • Fire-resisting doors, walls and alarms shown
    • A short note explaining the strategy
    • Matched to your building regulations drawings
    • Checked by a second person
    • More about our fire strategy plans
    Request your fixed quoteCall 020 7131 9703
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    Tell us about your property.

    We check the constraints, then send a fixed fee. Messages before 3pm get a reply the same working day.

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