MUDHOLE

Professional fees

Every professional who works on a house in Karnataka, in the order you hire them. Building cost is in the cost estimator.

Where you are

City

Plot 40 × 60 ft

Road10 ft30×4050×8040 ft60 ft

Floors G+1

G+1

Finish

Design

Scope

The architect

₹2.9–3.2 lakh

+ GST · ₹77–₹85 a sq ft, fixed on the work · 8 of the Council's 8 stages · Full service

Without an architectup to ₹9.2 lakhin rework, delay and defect repair on your house[1, 2, 3, 4]

Advice from someone paid by what you buy follows what they sell. The architect is paid only for the work, at a fee fixed when you agree it, and answers for the drawings[5, 6].

Without the right team, a house like yours stands to lose up to ₹9.2 lakh

Built with your team

₹4.3–5.6 lakh

essential team, + GST at 18%: ₹76,320–₹99,540

Your team covers every mark on the other house.

?NO SANCTIONthe plan still applies1234567891011

Built with a contractor alone

up to ₹9.2 lakh

in rework, delay and defect repair

Your choice, not set against the loss: ₹4.6⁠–⁠8.1 lakh + GST · Vastu consultation · Interior designer · Landscape architect · Quantity surveyor

How these figures are worked out

Each rate is applied to the construction cost of your house from the cost estimator. Rework during the build, 5%[1] to 6.4%[2]. The delay that follows it, 5.9%[2]. Defects repaired after handover, 0.5%. In the insurer's records of every new house built in Victoria from 1982 to 1997, one house in eight reported defects, and repairing them cost 4% of that house's contract value[3, 4]. Spread over every house, that is 0.5%. Together 11.4% to 12.8%. On your house that is ₹7.5–9.2 lakh; each figure on this page leads with the top of its range. Built, broken, built again: ₹3.3–4.6 lakh. Months added to the build: ₹3.9–4.3 lakh. Seepage at the terrace and baths: ₹33,000–₹36,000. The rates were measured on projects in the United States and Australia. The setback, the certificate, the footing and the title carry no rupee figure here; each is named on the house.

The team, in the order you hire them

Before you buy the plot

  • Title check by an advocate₹5,000–₹10,000 no GST

    Strongly advisedThe sanction asks for the sale deed, khata and EC; the advocate's opinion is your own check[7]

    Reads the title the way a bank does before it lends, before you pay for the plot.

    Without them. A break in the title surfaces when the bank, or a buyer's advocate, reads the papers. It can hold the loan or the sale until a court resolves it. The plot is the one thing that cannot be rebuilt.
    What you should receive
    • Title opinion from an advocate
    • Encumbrance certificate (EC)
    • Khata certificate and extract
    • Copies of the parent deeds
    Advocate's fee · Residential verification band · Market rate[8, 9]
  • Land surveyor₹3,000–₹8,000 + GST

    Strongly advisedThe sanction asks for the revenue sketch; a measured survey checks it on the ground[7, 10]

    Fixes where your boundary runs before a foundation is set against it.

    Without them. The house is set out from the deed, not the ground. Where the two differ, a wall stands in the setback, and Bengaluru compounds it on guidance value or, past 15%, does not condone it.
    What you should receive
    • Measured plot drawing with boundaries
    • Levels across the plot
    • Comparison with the revenue sketch
    Boundary verification by a licensed surveyor · Bengaluru band · Market rate[11]
  • Soil investigation₹10,000–₹15,000 + GST

    Strongly advisedThe structural safety certificate is given against the soil investigation report[10]

    The structural engineer designs the foundation against this report.

    Without them. The footing is sized to a guessed bearing capacity. If the ground is weaker, or filled, the house settles unevenly and cracks run through its walls. The footing is the one part of a house nobody reaches again without digging beneath it. An IISc report traced the 2024 collapse at Babusapalya in Bengaluru, which killed eight workers, to a foundation laid on dumped soil.
    What you should receive
    • Borehole logs
    • Safe bearing capacity (SBC)
    • Foundation type and depth recommended
    • Water table observed
    2 boreholes with lab tests and report · One bore per 200 sq m, at least two; Bengaluru, ₹10,000–₹15,000 for two bores · Market rate[12]

Before the first drawing

  • Vastu consultation₹5,000–₹15,000 + GST

    Optional

    Vastu as taught by Guruji Shri Dr Suneel Mudhole and Guruji Shri Vitthalrao Mudhole, read on the plot before the plan is drawn.

    Without them. Placement settled after the plan means redrawing it, at up to half the architect's fee, or breaking what is already built.
    What you should receive
    • Plot reading marked on the site plan
    • Placement of main door, stair, kitchen and pooja room
    Per property · Bengaluru consultation range · Market rate[13]

Design

  • Leads the teamArchitect₹2.9–3.2 lakh + GST

    Required for sanctionPlans are signed by an architect or engineer on record[10, 7]

    Signs the drawings the authority sanctions and answers for them as architect on record. Every other consultant works to this plan, and every rupee on site is spent against it.

    Without an architect. The house is built from a sketch, and what the sketch leaves open is decided on site by whoever is there that day: a stair that meets a beam at head height, a room with no window to the open air. What is built wrong is broken and built again while every crew after it waits; studies put more than 70% of rework down to design. The choices in between are advised by those paid on what is bought, and advice from someone paid by what you buy follows what they sell.
    What you should receive
    • Concept design and plan options
    • Sanction drawings
    • Working drawings and details
    • Specifications and tender set
    • Site visits at key stages
    ₹77–₹85 per sq ft built-up, fixed on the work · Set from the Council's 4.41% for a house between simple and complex costing under ₹5 Cr, applied once to a standard-finish house in your city; 8 of 8 stages, 100% of the fee · Published norm[14, 5]
  • Structural engineer₹53,000–₹1,05,000 + GST

    Strongly advisedA B1 house files no structural drawings, but it still needs a structural design[10]

    The one engineer answerable for whether the frame stands. Signs the stability certificate the authority relies on.

    Without them. The frame and its steel are sized on site by rule of thumb, as common site practice has long done, and no engineer answers for the frame. The weakness is carried for the life of the house by the people living in it. It shows first as cracks where beams meet columns; a column found short is jacketed in new concrete and steel, at about ₹24,000 a column in one 2026 study, with the finished floor around it broken to reach it.
    What you should receive
    • Foundation, column, beam and slab drawings
    • Reinforcement details
    • Structural stability certificate
    • Visits before key concrete pours
    ₹14–₹28 per sq ft built-up · Set from 0.75⁠–⁠1.5% of a standard-finish house, Bengaluru band · Market rate[15]
  • MEP engineer₹38,000–₹75,000 + GST

    Strongly advisedRainwater harvesting and sewerage drawings are filed for every building[10]

    Settles every point and pipe while it is still a line on a drawing.

    Without them. With no services drawing, nobody leaves sleeves in the beams and slabs at casting. The plumber and electrician then core through the concrete to pass pipes and conduits, which on site is treated as normal work, and the members that hold the floors up lose strength for the life of the house. In Delhi's Rohini in July 2026, three people died when two houses collapsed during plumbing work in which, the corporation's first report said, columns and beams may have been drilled or cut. Leaks inside the wall are then traced by breaking tile.
    What you should receive
    • Electrical layout with points and loads
    • Plumbing and drainage layout
    • Rainwater harvesting drawing
    ₹10–₹20 per sq ft built-up · Individual house band · Market rate[16]
  • Interior designer₹3.8–6.6 lakh + GST

    Optional

    Designs the rooms with the services, so joinery and lighting fit the walls as drawn.

    Without them. Joinery is fitted around switches and beams already built, not designed with them. What does not fit is cut down on site or made again.
    What you should receive
    • Furniture layouts
    • Joinery and kitchen drawings
    • Lighting coordinated with the electrical layout
    • Material and finish schedule
    ₹100–₹175 per sq ft, design only · standard band · Market rate[17]
  • Landscape architect₹7,800–₹42,000 + GST

    Optional

    Sets the levels and drains that carry rain off the plot, away from the plinth.

    Without them. Levels and drains are left to chance. The first monsoon shows where the water goes, often against the plinth, where it rises as damp into the lower walls.
    What you should receive
    • Planting plan
    • Hardscape and levels
    • Drainage and irrigation layout
    ₹15–₹80 per sq ft of open ground (520 sq ft) · Design fee; the source gives one band · Market rate[18]

Sanction

  • Approvals and liaison₹30,000 + GST

    Required for sanctionPlan sanction before construction[7, 10]

    Carries the file to sanction at BBMP, HDMC or the local body, and keeps it moving.

    Without them. Your plot is spared the occupancy certificate, not the sanctioned plan. The exemption does not regularise a house built without one, or built away from it.
    What you should receive
    • Sanctioned plan
    • Building licence
    • Commencement intimation
    • Occupancy certificate filing, or the exemption that applies
    Authority's own fees are separate · A Bengaluru consultant's published charge, 40x60 residential · Market rate[19]
  • Fire consultant and NOCNot needed below 21 m

    OptionalFire NOC from 21 m; NBC fire and life safety from 15 m in the 2024 draft[20, 21]

    From 21 m the fire NOC comes before occupancy. Below that, escape is drawn into the plan.

    What you should receive
    • Fire and life-safety drawings
    • Fire NOC from KSFES where the height calls for it

Construction

  • Site supervision (PMC)In the architect's fee

    Strongly advisedFramed buildings are built under the supervision of an engineer on record[10]

    Checks each stage on site before it is covered, and each running bill before you pay it.

    Without them. Steel is covered by concrete within a day of being tied, before anyone has counted the bars, and waterproofing by tile within a week. A bathroom that leaks is chipped open to the slab and laid again, and the ceiling below stays damp through the monsoon until it is.
    What you should receive
    • Stage inspection reports with photographs
    • Certified running bills
    • Schedule tracked against the contract
    • Snag list at handover
    Full service includes periodic site supervision, inspection and certification of bills (CoA construction stage)[14]
  • Quantity surveyor₹68,000–₹94,000 + GST

    Optional

    Puts every contractor's price on the same quantities, and measures the work before it is paid.

    Without them. Each contractor prices a different set of quantities, so no two quotes can be compared. Running bills are paid on work nobody has measured, and an overpayment is found, if at all, after the money has gone.
    What you should receive
    • Bill of quantities (BOQ)
    • Measured running bills
    • Final account
    ₹18–₹25 per sq ft, BOQ · metro band · Market rate[22]

Handover

  • Occupancy certificateFiled through approvals

    Required for sanctionThe authority certifies the finished building against the sanctioned plan[10, 23]

    The authority's word that the house stands as sanctioned.

    Without them. Exempt on your plot: Greater Bengaluru spares houses up to G+3 on plots up to 2,400 sq ft, with 20% tolerance. The house must still match its sanctioned plan.
    What you should receive
    • Completion report and as-built drawings
    • Occupancy certificate, or the exemption that applies

How the architect is paid

  1. 20%Concept designSite visit, brief and plan options₹58,000–₹64,000
  2. 10%Schematic designThe chosen plan with elevations₹29,000–₹32,000
  3. 5%Statutory approvalsSanction drawings filed with the authority₹14,500–₹16,000
  4. 10%Design developmentPlans and sections coordinated with structure and services₹29,000–₹32,000
  5. 20%Construction documentsWorking drawings, details and specifications₹58,000–₹64,000
  6. 10%TenderTender set, bids compared, contractor advised₹29,000–₹32,000
  7. 20%Construction stageSite visits at key stages, drawings issued as work proceeds₹58,000–₹64,000
  8. 5%As-built and handoverAs-built drawings and completion papers₹14,500–₹16,000

Stage shares from the Council of Architecture's typical allocation of fees[14]

Where a mistake becomes permanent

A correction made on the drawing costs a revision. The same correction made after the slab is cast, or after you have moved in, means breaking finished work and building it again.

  1. Plot boughtYou are here
    • Plan drawn
      • Vastu consultation
    • Plan sanctioned
      • Foundation poured
        • Land surveyor · built in
        • Soil investigation · built in
      • Frame and slabs
        • Architect
        • Structural engineer · built in
      • Services and finishes
        • MEP engineer
        • Interior designer
        • Quantity surveyor
      • Handover
        • Approvals and liaison · built in
        • Occupancy certificate · built in
      • First monsoon
        • Landscape architect
        • Site supervision (PMC)
        • Seepage at the terrace and baths
        • Water standing at the plinth
      • Years 1 to 5
        • Cracks where beams meet columns
        • A footing that settles
      • Loan or resale
        • Title check by an advocate
        • A break in the title

      The arithmetic on your house

      The architect's fee₹2.9–3.2 lakh
      Rework, delay and defect repair without an architectup to ₹9.2 lakh
      The essential team₹4.3–5.6 lakh
      Rework, delay and defect repair without itup to ₹9.2 lakh

      The essential team is every line marked Required for sanction or Strongly advised, + GST. Lines marked Optional are your choice and are left out of this comparison.

      The Construction Industry Institute puts direct rework at 5% of construction cost[1]. Love and Edwards' national survey put it at 6.4% of contract value, and the delay that follows at a further 5.9%[2]. Studies put more than 70% of rework down to design[24].

      If you cannot move in

      Your plot is spared the occupancy certificate, but a house that strays from its sanctioned plan is not regularised by the exemption[25]. Until it is set right, you pay rent where you live and the instalment on the house you cannot use.

      Work it out with your own figures

      The values below are examples. Change them to yours. This figure is yours alone and is not added to the loss above.

      Each month: rent ₹25,000 and instalment ₹34,713, ₹59,713 in all. Over 6 months: ₹3,58,278.

      Time as well as money: in seven building projects followed through construction, correcting defects took 7.1% of all working hours[26].

      On a build of 14 months, that is about 30 days of the crews' time.

      Architect's drawings and a contractor's drawings

      PointArchitect's drawing setDrawings in a contractor's package
      Paid byA fee fixed on the work when you agree itA share of the construction price, which grows with what is built
      Whose interest the advice servesYours: nothing the architect earns moves with what you spendAdvice and supply come within one price, and cannot be told apart
      Answers toYou, under a fee agreement with an architect on recordThe contractor, inside the construction price
      What is drawnEach stage in the scope you sign, listed in the agreementWhat the contractor's quotation lists
      Priced byAny contractor you invite to tenderThe contractor who drew them
      Changes on siteChecked against the drawings by the architectSettled between you and the contractor
      Signed for sanction byThe architect on recordA licensed architect or engineer the contractor engages

      Questions

      Is GST extra?

      Yes. 18% on professional fees, over the fee[6]. An advocate's fee to an individual carries no GST[9].

      Why is the fee fixed on the work, not on what I spend?

      A fee that grows with the cost of the house gives the person advising you a reason to make it cost more. Every fee on this page is set when you agree it, on the area, the floors, how demanding the design is and the scope you choose, and stays there whatever finishes you pick or the house finally costs. The Council's manual allows fees on area and as a lump sum[5]. The architect's rate a square foot is set once from the Council's percentage on a standard-finish house in your city[14].

      How is the architect paid?

      In stages, each against drawings delivered. Your scope covers 8 of the Council's 8 stages, shown above with the payment for each[14, 6].

      Is the fee negotiable?

      No. It follows the area, floors, design and scope you choose, at the Council's minimum for an independent house.

      What does the Council of Architecture's scale say?

      Its Scale of Charges puts comprehensive services for an individual house at 7.5% of the cost of works[27]. For a house under ₹5 Cr, its 2022 manual sets 6.65% to 8.55% when structural, services and liaison come through the architect, and 3.86% to 4.96% for architectural services alone, a little less above that[14]. This page uses the second, with each engineer on their own line, and turns it into a fixed rate a square foot on a standard-finish house, so the fee does not move with your finishes.

      Is site supervision extra?

      Not under Full service. The architect's construction stage includes periodic site visits, inspection against the approved plans and certification of bills[14]. Under the other scopes, an independent engineer visiting at each stage costs ₹4,499 to ₹4,999 a visit in Bengaluru[28], and a resident engineer ₹15,000 to ₹40,000 a month[29].

      Do you work outside Karnataka?

      Yes. Offices in Bengaluru and Hubballi–Dharwad. Projects anywhere.

      Send this to the studio

      Your plot, floors, scope and team go with the message. The studio brings in and coordinates the rest of the team.

      Send on WhatsApp

      Sources

      1. Hwang, Thomas, Haas and Caldas (2009), Measuring the impact of rework on construction cost performance, J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 135(3): citing the Construction Industry Institute, direct rework costs often come to 5% of construction cost
      2. Love and Edwards (2005), Calculating total rework costs in Australian construction projects, Civil Eng. and Environmental Systems 22(1): 161 professionals; mean direct rework 6.4% and indirect 5.9% of contract value
      3. Mills, Love and Williams (2009), Defect costs in residential construction, J. Constr. Eng. Manage. 135(1): every new house in Victoria 1982–1997; one house in eight reported defects, and rectification cost 4% of the contract value
      4. Mills, Williams and Yu (2010), Benchmarking construction rework in Australian housing, Int. J. Housing Science 34(3): 207–220, on the same insurer's records: the 4% is of the contract price of houses where defects were reported, $4,245 a claim
      5. Council of Architecture, Manual of Architectural Practice 2022, Vol. 4, §4.3.2: fees may be fixed as a lump sum or on area (sq m / sq ft of gross construction area), as well as by percentage or time
      6. Council of Architecture, Conditions of Engagement: fees in stages; taxes payable by the client over the fee
      7. BBMP Town Planning, Sanction of Building Plan: documents to be enclosed (khata, sale deed, EC, revenue sketch, architect licence)
      8. NoBroker Forum, Lawyer fees for property verification in Bangalore (May 2026)
      9. Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), entry 45: an advocate's legal services to an individual are exempt
      10. Government of Karnataka, Model Building Bye-laws, UDD 14 TTP 2017 (28 Oct 2017), clauses 3.11, 3.12, 7.1.5–7.1.7 and Appendix IA
      11. OneCity Property, Legal checklist before buying plots in Bangalore (updated Sep 2026): a missing deed can block a loan or a resale until a court resolves it; a licensed surveyor's boundary verification, ₹3,000–₹8,000
      12. Studio Matrx, Soil Testing Before Construction (March 2026): one bore per 200 sq m, at least two; Bengaluru ₹10,000–₹15,000 for two bores 6 m deep
      13. mytribe, Vastu Consultation in Bengaluru (2025)
      14. Council of Architecture, Manual of Architectural Practice Vol. 4, Guidelines for Architectural Services & Fees (2022): Exhibit 4.8.1 Tables 1 and 2 (Category 1b, independent single dwelling), Chart 3 (typical allocation of fees), 4.6.6 (redesign up to 50% of the original fee)
      15. AECORD, Structural Engineer Fees India 2026: by height, 0.5–0.75% to G+2, 0.75–1.25% to G+5; Bangalore 0.75–1.5%
      16. Entri, MEP Consultant Charges (2026), individual house band
      17. ArchiEase, Interior Design Fees in India (Aug 2026)
      18. Studio Matrx, Landscape Cost Guide India (June 2026)
      19. Buildingplanner, Bengaluru: published service charges for a BBMP plan sanction, government charges extra
      20. Karnataka Fire Force (Amendment) Act 2023, s.13(3): fire NOC for buildings of 21 m and above
      21. Karnataka UDD 13 TTP 2024 (E), draft zonal regulation, not yet final: NBC 2016 fire and life safety from 15 m
      22. Construction Estimator India, BOQ Preparation Charges per Sq Ft (2026): residential ₹10–₹18; metros such as Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore ₹18–₹25
      23. Supreme Court of India, Rajendra Kumar Barjatya v. U.P. Avas Evam Vikas Parishad, 2024 INSC 990, 17 Dec 2024, para 21 (iv) and (xi): service connections and bank loans only on the completion/occupancy certificate
      24. Love et al. (2008), Forensic project management: the causal behaviour of design-induced rework, IEEE Trans. Eng. Manage.: design-induced rework reported at more than 70% of all rework
      25. Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, OC exemption for small residential buildings in Karnataka (UDD orders of 9 Sep 2025 and 5 Jun 2026)
      26. Josephson (1998), Defects and defect costs in construction: a study of seven building projects in Sweden, Chalmers University of Technology: correcting defects took 7.1% of all working hours
      27. Council of Architecture, Scale of Charges: comprehensive architectural services for an individual house, 7.5% of the cost of works
      28. TeamHome Bengaluru, TH-Shield project monitoring for individual homes (Oct 2026): ₹4,999 a visit; 5 visits ₹23,745; 10 visits ₹44,991
      29. Balaji Builds, Civil engineer fees in Bangalore (2026): site supervision ₹15,000–₹40,000 a month

      Read October 2026. Heights read at about 3 m a floor: 15 m as G+4, 21 m as G+6.