My/Architect | Terms & Conditions of Appointment

10 Nov 2026

1. These terms

1.1 What these terms cover. These are the terms and conditions on which you appoint us to provide architectural services. You will be asked to confirm your agreement to them when you accept our Quotation, via our website or otherwise.

1.2 Why you should read them. Please read these terms carefully before you appoint us. They tell you who we are, how we will provide our services, how you and we may change or end the appointment, what to do if there is a problem, and other important information. If you think there is a mistake in these terms, please contact us to discuss.

2. Information about us and how to contact us

2.1 Who we are. We are My-Architect Studio LLP, a limited liability partnership registered in England and Wales under number OC433385. Our registered office is at 70 White Lion Street, London N1 9PP. We are a RIBA Chartered Practice, and our architects are registered with the Architects Registration Board.

2.2 Our brands. We trade as My/Architect and as Molyneux Schmidt. These terms apply to services provided under either name.

2.3 FRAME. Projects delivered by FRAME are contracted with Buiild AI Ltd, a separate company, on its own terms. These terms do not apply to those projects.

2.4 How to contact us. You can contact us by telephone on +44 (0)20 3038 8753, by email at [email protected], or by post at 70 White Lion Street, London N1 9PP.

2.5 How we may contact you. If we have to contact you, we will do so by telephone or by writing to you at the email or postal address you gave us when appointing us.

3. Our services

3.1 We provide the services below. Your Quotation sets out which of them we will provide for your Project.

Service	Description
Planning Design	A full 3D property survey, with design and collaboration time tailored to the project’s size and complexity, to prepare planning designs and drawings, followed by submission of the planning application where needed.
Technical Design	A set of building regulations drawings, lighting and electrical layouts and plumbing plans, with introductions to third-party consultants such as structural engineers where needed. Bespoke details for unique designs are charged separately.
Interior Assistance	Where needed, design time can be allocated to an optional Interior Concept Pack, including mood boards, layouts, precedents, internal elevations and 3D renders.
Tender Assistance	After the drawings are complete, a detailed scope of works listing the products and services required. You finalise a schedule of finishes, followed by introductions to three contractors.
Project Assistance	Agreed time for tender management after contractor introductions, and agreed time per month for project oversight, including one site visit and follow-up drawings as needed.
Project Oversight	Project support with up to one site visit a week, followed by meeting minutes and a report on completed work, outstanding tasks and any dependencies needing attention.
Principal Designer	Where required by law, appointment as Principal Designer under the CDM Regulations and the Building Safety Legislation (see clause 7.4).

3.2 Fixed-fee services. Certain services, such as lighting layouts and electrical plans, are offered for a fixed fee and follow this process:

1. Design session. One session with an architect to establish your preferences, requirements and key considerations.
2. Draft issue. An initial draft of the design for your review.
3. Feedback and one revision. You may give feedback, and one round of revisions is included. Further revisions are charged at our hourly rates (clause 10).
4. Final issue. A final version incorporating your feedback, which is then fixed and complete.

3.3 Principal Designer services are charged at £125 per hour, typically 2–3 hours a month during the pre-construction phase, unless agreed otherwise in writing. Our duties in that role include coordinating health and safety matters during the pre-construction phase, preparing and maintaining the Health and Safety File, and managing design work so that compliance with the Building Regulations can be demonstrated.

4. Our contract with you

4.1 How we accept your appointment. Our acceptance takes place when we email you to confirm it, at which point a contract comes into existence between you and us. Until then, any promotion of our services on our website or elsewhere is an invitation to appoint us on these terms, not an offer.

4.2 When we may decline an appointment. We may be unable to accept your appointment because of unexpected limits on our resources that we could not reasonably plan for, an unsatisfactory credit reference, an error in the price or description of our services, or a delivery deadline we cannot meet.

4.3 If we cannot accept your appointment. We will tell you and will not charge you. If you have already paid, we will refund the full amount as soon as possible.

4.4 Scope of our services. During the pre-construction phase our contract covers only the Planning Design and Technical Design services and, if requested, the Tender Assistance services. The construction of any design we create is carried out by the Builder and other Construction Professionals you appoint under separate contracts, not by us. During construction our services are limited to recording, organising and reporting on information about your Project. We do not instruct other parties, and we are not responsible for the Project being delivered on time or within budget; those obligations sit between you and the Builder.

4.5 Project Assistance reporting. Where we provide Project Assistance or Project Oversight, we will record the status of the Project through meeting minutes and video records and write these up as a report every two weeks, covering progress, deliverables achieved, work completed and payments due.

5. Definitions and interpretation

5.1 In these terms:

• Act means the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
• Additional Fee means the amount payable by you to us for Additional Services.
• Additional Services means the services we agree to provide in addition to the Basic Services under clause 13.
• Basic Fee means the amount payable by you to us for the Basic Services.
• Basic Services means the services described in clause 3 that are set out in the Quotation.
• Builder means the company or individual carrying out the construction phase of the Project.
• Building Safety Legislation means the Building Safety Act 2022 and its secondary legislation, including the amendments to the Building Regulations in force from October 2023.
• Business Day means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday in England when banks in London are open for business.
• CDM Regulations means the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, as amended.
• Construction Professional means anyone providing construction-related services, such as structural engineers, party wall surveyors and building contractors.
• Deliverables means, in physical or digital form: design and planning documentation (2D and 3D surveys, architectural drawings for planning and building control, interior concept layouts, mood boards, visualisations, and lighting, plumbing and electrical layouts); project reporting (meeting minutes and summaries, planning statements, photographic and video records of site visits, and scopes of works); regulatory submissions (planning applications and building control full plans applications); and coordinated drawings and designs that need input from third parties.
• Fee means the Basic Fee and any Additional Fee.
• Material means all designs, drawings, models, plans, specifications, details, photographs, reports, meeting notes, CAD and BIM files, calculations, data, schedules, programmes and budgets we produce in connection with the Project, including all updates and revisions.
• Principal Designer means the dutyholder appointed by the client under the CDM Regulations and/or the Building Safety Legislation to plan, manage and monitor design work so that, as far as reasonably practicable, the Project is carried out without risks to health or safety and in compliance with the Building Regulations.
• Project means the project at the Property described in the Quotation.
• Property means the property at the address set out in the Quotation.
• Quotation means the fee proposal we send you setting out the proposed services and Fee.
• Services means the Basic Services and any Additional Services.

5.2 Clause headings do not affect interpretation. A reference to a person includes a company or other body. Words in the singular include the plural and vice versa. “Writing” includes email. Any words following “including”, “for example” or similar are illustrative and do not limit what comes before them. A reference to legislation is to that legislation as amended or re-enacted from time to time. These terms bind and benefit the parties and their successors and permitted assigns.

6. Our obligations

6.1 We will provide the Services set out in the Quotation.

6.2 We will:

1. comply with these terms;
2. not make any material change to the designs or specifications once they have been settled or approved, without your written consent;
3. liaise regularly with the Construction Professionals engaged on the Project until its management or implementation is handed over to them; and
4. provide design iterations and professional advice on the legislation the building must comply with, up to the point the Project is handed over to other Construction Professionals.

6.3 In performing the Services we will exercise the reasonable skill, care and diligence to be expected of a qualified and experienced member of our profession undertaking work of similar scope and character. In particular we will:

1. not specify any materials, equipment or products that, at the time of specification, are generally known or suspected in the construction industry to threaten health and safety or the structural stability or integrity of the Project, to reduce its normal life expectancy, to fail to meet the relevant British Standards, codes of practice or good building practice, or to have been supplied in breach of the Construction Products Regulations;
2. comply with all statutory requirements, regulations, bye-laws and planning obligations that apply to the Services, including the CDM Regulations and the Building Safety Legislation; and
3. perform the Services and prepare the Material in line with the Project programme agreed with you or, if there is none, in time to allow the Project to progress efficiently.

6.4 Our duties and liabilities are not reduced by any approval, inspection or test carried out, or not carried out, by you or on your behalf.

6.5 Our Services do not include, and we give no warranty about, the construction of any design by any Construction Professional, whether or not we created the design and whether or not that Construction Professional was selected through our Tender Assistance.

7. Your obligations

You will:

7.1 pay our Fees when invoiced;

7.2 respond in a timely manner to our requests for information;

7.3 make decisions about the Project in a timely manner, and tell us early about any changes to your brief;

7.4 appoint a Principal Designer where the Project involves more than one contractor, as required by the CDM Regulations and, where applicable, the Building Safety Legislation. Unless you appoint another suitably competent consultant in writing, you must appoint us in that role (clause 3.3). If you do not appoint us, you remain legally responsible for the Principal Designer’s duties, and we accept no liability for them unless formally appointed in writing; and

7.5 allow us or our photographer to photograph the Project during and after the works. We will give you reasonable notice of any visit.

8. Our authority

8.1 Other than in an emergency or with your prior written consent, we have no authority to:

1. make or instruct any material alteration to the Project or the Services;
2. vary, terminate or waive compliance with any building contract or professional appointment relating to the Project;
3. enter into any contract, commitment or undertaking on your behalf; or
4. issue any instruction or notice under a building contract or professional appointment that delays the Project or increases its cost.

9. Fees

9.1 You will pay us the Basic Fee for the Basic Services and the Additional Fee for any Additional Services.

9.2 The Fee, together with any expenses and disbursements under clause 9.4, is our entire remuneration from you under this appointment.

9.3 If you appoint a Construction Professional following our Tender Assistance, we will charge that Construction Professional an introductory fee of up to 5% of the overall construction cost. This is paid from their margin as a marketing expense and is not charged to you.

9.4 You will reimburse us for any expenses or disbursements set out in the Quotation. All other expenses and disbursements are included in the Fee. Reimbursable expenses will be included in our next invoice after they are incurred and paid in accordance with clause 11.

9.5 You will pay VAT where chargeable. All amounts in these terms and in the Quotation are exclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise.

10. Work outside the agreed scope

10.1 Our services are based on a defined scope, and we allocate the time needed to complete each stage. We track the time spent on each project against that scope.

10.2 Extra design iterations, extended meetings or coordination beyond the agreed service level take additional time. When that happens:

1. we will tell you in advance if more time is needed beyond the agreed scope;
2. we will give you an estimate of the extra time and seek your approval before proceeding;
3. additional work is charged at £150 + VAT per hour for architects and designers, and £250 + VAT per hour for partners, unless agreed otherwise in writing; and
4. additional work is invoiced when the agreed milestone is reached or at the end of the relevant stage.

10.3 If the scope changes significantly, we may propose a revised fee structure.

11. Payment

11.1 The Fee is payable in the instalments set out in the Quotation. If the Quotation does not set them out, the Fee is payable at intervals of not less than 30 days, beginning one month after we start performing the Services.

11.2 We will send you an invoice for each instalment, with any supporting documents reasonably needed to check it. Each invoice will state the sum we consider due and how it is calculated.

11.3 Payment is due on the date you receive the invoice, and the final date for payment is 30 days later.

11.4 If you dispute an invoice, you must tell us in writing why within 10 days of receiving it. If you do not, you will be taken to have accepted that the invoice is due.

11.5 If you do not pay by the final date for payment, you will pay interest on the overdue amount at 4% a year above the Bank of England base rate, accruing daily from the final date for payment until payment is made, whether before or after judgment.

12. Adjusting the Fee

12.1 The Fee will be adjusted if the Services are materially delayed or disrupted because of a change in the scope, size, complexity or duration of the Project. We are not entitled to an adjustment where the delay or disruption is caused by our own default or negligence, or that of our sub-contractors or suppliers.

12.2 We will tell you that we intend to claim an adjustment as soon as reasonably practicable after we become aware of the delay or disruption.

12.3 Unless agreed otherwise, any adjustment under clause 12.1 will be a reasonable amount calculated by reference to the time charges in the Quotation or, if there are none, the rates in clause 10.2.

13. Additional Services

13.1 We will perform an Additional Service when you instruct us to in writing.

13.2 Unless agreed otherwise, the Additional Fee will be a reasonable amount calculated by reference to the time charges in the Quotation or, if there are none, the rates in clause 10.2. No Additional Fee is payable where the need for an Additional Service arises from our default or negligence, or that of our sub-contractors or suppliers.

13.3 Any Additional Fee will be included in our next invoice after the Additional Service is performed.

14. Termination

14.1 End of the appointment. Our appointment ends when we have provided the Services and the management or implementation of the Project has been handed over to one or more other Construction Professionals.

14.2 Termination by you. You may end the appointment at any time by giving us ten Business Days’ written notice. In the first 14 days after you appoint us, you may also end it without notice by telling us by email or letter, and it ends as soon as we receive your message. If we have carried out work at your request during those 14 days, we may charge for it at the rates in these terms.

14.3 Inactive projects. If we hear nothing from you for one month, we will send you a written warning by email. If there is no progress within a further month, the Project will be treated as inactive and archived. To reactivate an archived Project:

1. you must pay a reactivation fee of £500 before work resumes, and the Project will be rescheduled into our workload, which may cause delay;
2. we may adjust previously agreed fees for services that need rework, updating or revision, and will agree any adjustment with you before resuming; and
3. if the Project has been inactive for more than six months, a full reassessment of scope, timeline and fees may be needed before we re-engage.

14.4 Termination for breach or insolvency. Either party may end the appointment immediately by written notice to the other if the other party:

1. is in material breach of its obligations and has not remedied the breach within ten Business Days of receiving written notice requiring it to do so; or
2. becomes insolvent as defined in the Act.

14.5 Termination for operational reasons. We may end the appointment, in whole or in part, where continuing to provide the Services is not commercially or operationally viable because of resource limitations, restructuring or other business circumstances beyond our reasonable control. In that case:

1. we will give you at least ten Business Days’ written notice;
2. you remain liable for Services properly performed up to the termination date, including any agreed expenses and disbursements; and
3. we will provide all Material completed to date and, where reasonably possible, help with the transition to another professional.

15. Consequences of termination

15.1 On termination under clause 14, you will pay us:

1. any amount properly due under this appointment at the termination date; and
2. a fair and reasonable proportion of the next instalment of the Fee, with any expenses and disbursements, in line with the Services properly performed by the termination date.

15.2 If the appointment is ended by you under clause 14.2, or by us under clause 14.4 because of your breach or insolvency, you will also pay any expenses and disbursements we necessarily incur as a direct result of the termination.

15.3 Payments under clauses 15.1 and 15.2 are our sole entitlement to compensation for termination and are claimed as if they were payments under clause 11.

15.4 Except as set out in clauses 15.1 and 15.2, we are not liable to you for any costs, expenses or losses, any loss of profit, fees or chance, or any indirect or consequential losses, arising from termination.

15.5 Termination does not affect any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities that have accrued up to the termination date, including the right to claim damages for any breach that existed at or before that date.

16. Assignment and sub-contracting

16.1 Neither party may assign or transfer its rights or obligations under this appointment to anyone else.

16.2 We will not sub-contract any of the Services without your prior written consent. We are responsible for any services we sub-contract as if we had performed them ourselves.

17. Copyright

17.1 We own all intellectual property rights, including copyright, in the Material we produce.

17.2 We grant you, with immediate effect, an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to copy and use the Material for any purpose relating to the Project and the Property, including its design, construction, completion, alteration, refurbishment, maintenance, letting, sale, extension and repair.

17.3 The licence allows you to use the Material in connection with any extension of the Project, but not to reproduce the designs in it in any such extension.

17.4 The licence carries the right to grant sub-licences and may be transferred to third parties with our prior consent.

17.5 We are not liable for any use of the Material for a purpose other than the one for which it was prepared.

17.6 We may at any time ask you for copies of any of the Material. On our paying your reasonable charges for providing them, you will provide those copies to us.

18. Confidentiality

18.1 During this appointment and for two years after it ends, neither party will disclose any confidential information about the other party’s business, affairs, customers, clients or suppliers, except as allowed by clause 18.2.

18.2 Each party may disclose the other’s confidential information:

1. to its employees, officers, representatives, contractors, sub-contractors or advisers who need it to perform this appointment, provided they comply with this clause; and
2. as required by law, a court or any governmental or regulatory authority.

18.3 Neither party will use the other’s confidential information for any purpose other than performing this appointment.

19. Professional indemnity insurance

19.1 We will maintain professional indemnity insurance of at least £750,000 in the annual aggregate from the date of this appointment until six years after practical completion of the Project, provided it is available at commercially reasonable rates and terms.

19.2 If that insurance stops being available at commercially reasonable rates and terms, we will tell you immediately so we can discuss how best to protect both our positions.

19.3 We will send you evidence that our insurance is in force whenever you reasonably ask.

20. Limitation of liability

20.1 We are not liable for the construction of any design by any Construction Professional, whether or not we created the design and whether or not the Construction Professional was selected through our Tender Assistance.

20.2 Without affecting any other limitation in these terms, our total liability under or in connection with this appointment is limited to the amount of our professional indemnity cover under clause 19.

21. Notices

21.1 Any notice under this appointment must be in writing and either delivered by hand or sent by pre-paid first-class post or next working day delivery to the other party’s registered office or principal place of business, or sent by email to the address in clause 2.4 (for us) or clause 2.5 (for you).

21.2 A notice is treated as received:

1. if delivered by hand, when it is left at the proper address;
2. if posted, at 9.00am on the second Business Day after posting; and
3. if emailed, at the time of transmission or, if that is outside 9.00am to 5.00pm on a Business Day, when business hours next resume.

21.3 This clause does not apply to the service of proceedings or other documents in any legal action or other method of dispute resolution.

22. Disputes

22.1 If a dispute arises out of or in connection with this appointment, we will first try to resolve it by discussion. If that does not resolve it and both parties agree, the dispute will be referred to mediation by a mediator appointed by the RIBA, with the mediator’s costs shared equally.

22.2 Alternatively, either party may refer the dispute to adjudication under the Act. The adjudicator may award the parties their costs of the adjudication.

23. Complaints

23.1 If you are unhappy with our services, please tell us in writing, by email to [email protected] or by post to our registered office, setting out your concerns.

23.2 Your complaint will be handled by a partner of the practice who was not, where possible, directly involved in the matter.

23.3 We will acknowledge your complaint in writing within 10 Business Days of receiving it.

23.4 We will review the project records, investigate your concerns and send you a full written response within 30 Business Days of receiving the complaint. If we need longer, we will tell you why and when you can expect our response.

23.5 If you are not satisfied with our response, we will offer to meet or speak with you to try to resolve the matter, and either party may then propose mediation under clause 22.

23.6 As a RIBA Chartered Practice and a practice of architects registered with the Architects Registration Board (ARB), we are subject to their codes of conduct. If your complaint remains unresolved, you may refer it to the RIBA (architecture.com) or to the ARB (arb.org.uk).

24. Third-party rights

24.1 This appointment does not give anyone else any rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any of its terms.

25. Entire agreement

25.1 This appointment takes effect from the date we start performing the Services, whatever the date of the appointment.

25.2 This appointment, together with the Quotation, is the entire agreement between you and us. It replaces all earlier agreements, promises, assurances, representations and understandings, written or oral, about its subject matter.

25.3 Each party confirms that it has not relied on any statement, representation or assurance that is not set out in this appointment, and will have no claim for innocent or negligent misrepresentation or negligent misstatement based on any statement in it.

25.4 Nothing in this clause limits or excludes liability for fraud.

26. No oral variation

26.1 No variation of this appointment is effective unless it is in writing and signed by the parties or their authorised representatives.

27. Governing law

27.1 This appointment and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it, including non-contractual disputes or claims, are governed by the law of England and Wales.

28. Jurisdiction

28.1 The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with this appointment, including non-contractual disputes or claims.