If you’ve hired an architect and their mistakes have left you with a building that doesn’t meet your expectations, breaches regulations, or has cost you significantly more than it should have, you’re not alone, and you may be entitled to claim compensation.
Architects are highly qualified professionals. When you instruct one, you’re placing a great deal of trust in their expertise. If that trust is broken through poor design, bad advice, or a failure to manage your project properly, the financial and practical consequences can be severe.
Here’s what you need to know about architect negligence and how to make a claim.
What is Architect Negligence?
Architect negligence occurs when an architect fails to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonably competent professional in their field, and that failure causes you a financial loss or physical damage to your property.
Not every problem with a building project amounts to negligence. Construction is complex, and some issues arise despite everyone’s best efforts. But where an architect’s work falls below an acceptable professional standard, and you suffer as a result, you may have grounds for a claim.
What Are Common Examples of Architect Negligence?
Architect negligence can arise at any stage of a project, from initial design through to completion. Some of the most common examples include:
Design Errors
If your architect produced drawings or specifications that were structurally unsound, impractical, or simply didn’t reflect what you asked for, and the result caused financial loss or required costly remedial work, that could be negligence.
Building Regulation Breaches
Architects are responsible for ensuring their designs comply with building regulations. If your project failed an inspection, required expensive alterations, or caused legal complications because the design didn’t meet regulatory standards, you may have a claim.
Planning Permission Errors
If your architect gave incorrect advice about what planning permission was required, or submitted an application that was refused due to avoidable errors, and you suffered a financial loss as a result, that may constitute negligence.
Project Management Failures
Where an architect has taken on a project management or contract administration role and failed to carry it out competently, for example, by approving substandard work, failing to spot defects, or mismanaging the building contract, you may be entitled to claim for the losses that followed.
Negligent Cost Advice
If your architect significantly underestimated the cost of your project without reasonable justification, and you proceeded on the basis of that advice only to face a much larger bill, that could form the basis of a claim.
Failure to Advise on Risks
An architect has a duty to keep you properly informed throughout your project. If they failed to flag a known risk, a regulatory requirement, or a significant change in scope that would have affected your decisions, that failure may amount to negligence.
How Do I Prove Architect Negligence?
To make a successful architect negligence claim, you generally need to demonstrate three things:
- Duty of care. Your architect owed you a duty of care. This is usually established by the contract or agreement between you.
- Breach of duty. They failed to meet the standard expected of a reasonably competent architect in their position.
- Loss. That failure caused you a financial loss or damage to your property.
You don’t need to prove this yourself. A specialist solicitor will assess your case, obtain expert evidence where needed, and advise you on the strength of your claim.
Can I Claim if My Architect is No Longer Practising?
Possibly, yes. Architects are required to hold professional indemnity insurance, and in many cases, this cover remains in place for a period after they stop practising. This is known as run-off cover. A specialist solicitor can help you establish whether a valid policy exists and pursue a claim through it.
Is There a Time Limit for Making an Architect Negligence Claim?
In England and Wales, you generally have six years from the date the negligent act occurred to bring a claim. However, where the loss wasn’t immediately apparent (which is common in building and construction disputes) the time limit may run from the date you became aware of the problem, or reasonably should have been aware of it. In some cases, this extends the period to three years from the date of knowledge.
If you’re unsure whether you’re still within time, speak to a solicitor as soon as possible. Acting early gives your case the strongest chance of success and helps preserve important evidence.
What Compensation Can I Claim?
Compensation in architect negligence claims is designed to put you back in the financial position you would have been in had the negligence not occurred. Depending on the circumstances, this can include:
- The cost of remedial or rectification works
- Additional construction costs arising from the negligent design or advice
- Lost property value
- Planning or regulatory fees were wasted as a result of the negligence
- Loss of use or enjoyment of your property during remediation
- In some cases, interest on the losses over the period they were suffered
How Do I Make an Architect Negligence Claim?
The process is more straightforward than many people expect, even where the technical issues involved are complex.
At CEL Solicitors, we handle architect negligence claims on a no-win, no-fee basis. That means there’s nothing to pay upfront, and you only pay if your claim is successful.
To get started, just get in touch and tell us what happened. We’ll listen, ask a few questions, and let you know whether we think you have a claim, with no obligation to proceed.
If your architect’s mistakes have cost you money or left you with a property that isn’t what it should be, you don’t have to accept it. You are not alone.
Ready to make your architect negligence claim? Call our team today on 0151 909 8212 or enquire online for a free, no-obligation consultation.