How to quote a house build.
Price it stage by stage, so the client sees what they're paying for and you can see the margin.
Quick answer
Quote a house build in stages: site set-up and groundworks, substructure, superstructure, roof, first fix, plastering, second fix, finishes and externals. Price each stage from your own labour, materials and subcontractor rates. Then add preliminaries, overhead, contingency and margin as separate lines. List what the client pays for directly, such as land, design fees and utility connections. Check whether the job can be zero-rated for VAT. Agree payments at fixed stages. Sense-check the total against a published cost per m², but never quote from one.
Source note: Cost figures on this page come from Checkatrade's "Building a house: Cost breakdown 2026" (table last updated June 2026) and HMRC VAT Notice 708 (last updated 26 August 2026). Figures checked 22 October 2026. They are national guide figures, not prices for your job.
Start by agreeing who pays for what
A house build has two budgets: the client's and yours. If they get mixed up, your price looks high or you end up paying for things that were never yours.
Checkatrade lists these pre-build costs for the client to budget for separately from the build itself:
- the land
- a land survey, £600 to £1,600
- legal fees, around £1,000
- planning permission, £610 per house in England
- architectural design, 5% to 12% of the build cost
- a structural engineer, around £5,000 for a complex residential project, or £100 to £200 an hour
- self-build insurance, around 1% of the build cost
- service connections where the plot has none: a new electricity supply from £621 to £10,140, water and sewers from £2,000 to £4,000, and gas from £1,500
If any of these are in your price, say so line by line. If they're not, put them in the exclusions in plain words.
Break the quote into build stages
One lump sum for a house hides too much. Split the quote into the stages the job follows on site:
| Stage | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Preliminaries | Site set-up, welfare, fencing, skips, scaffold, plant hire, site management, insurance for the build period |
| Groundworks and substructure | Clearance, excavation, foundations, drainage runs, ground floor slab or beam and block floor |
| Superstructure | External and internal walls, lintels, steels, upper floors, windows and external doors |
| Roof | Structure, covering, insulation, rainwater goods, flashings |
| First fix | Electrics, plumbing, heating pipework, joinery carcassing |
| Plastering and screeds | Boarding, plaster, floor screeds and drying time |
| Second fix and finishes | Kitchen, bathrooms, joinery, decoration, flooring, testing and certificates |
| Externals | Drives, paths, landscaping and boundaries, if they're in your scope |
Checkatrade puts the superstructure (walls, external cladding and roof) at 25% or more of the total build cost, making it the biggest single stage in most UK self-builds. Price it carefully.
Each stage gets its own labour, materials and subcontractor lines. That shows you where the money goes, and it gives you the stage values you'll need for the payment schedule. For the general pricing method (labour, materials, overhead and margin), see how to price building work.
Keep preliminaries, contingency and margin visible
Preliminaries run for the whole build. Checkatrade gives 9 to 12 months for the build itself, before land, design and planning. A month of extra scaffold or welfare hire comes straight out of profit if it's buried in a rate.
Keep contingency and profit on separate lines. Checkatrade suggests clients set aside a contingency of 10% to 15% on top of the build. That's the client's buffer for changes. Yours covers the risk you can see in the ground and the design. Work out your markup from your own overheads and the margin you need. The construction margin calculator shows the difference between markup and margin.
Check the VAT position before you price
HMRC VAT Notice 708 says that if you construct a new building, you'll normally charge VAT at the standard rate. You may be able to zero rate your work when you're constructing a "qualifying building", which includes a building designed as a dwelling (section 3.1). The conditions are detailed: for example, any existing building must be demolished to ground level first, with some exceptions (section 3.2). Read the notice for your job, and get advice if you're unsure.
It matters for the client too. The notice says self-builders who were charged VAT by a VAT-registered builder can recover some, if not most, of it through the DIY house builders and converters refund scheme, but only where the VAT was correctly charged in the first place. Getting the rate right protects both of you. For wording on the quote itself, see VAT quote wording.
Tie payments to stages the client can see
Agree stage payments before you start, and tie each one to a point anyone can check on site, such as foundations complete, wall plate, roof watertight, first fix, plastered and completion. Checkatrade notes that self-build mortgage lenders release funds in stages after site inspections, so check your schedule lines up with the client's lender. The construction payment schedule template sets this out.
Sense-check the total, don't quote from it
Once your stage prices are in, divide the build total by the gross internal floor area and compare it with a published range. Checkatrade's June 2026 table gives:
| Item | Low | High | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to build a house, per m² | £1,400 | £3,000 | £1,800 |
| 3-bed house (90 to 120 m²) | £126,000 | £300,000 | not given |
| 4-bed house (140 to 200 m²) | £196,000 | £500,000 | not given |
| 5-bed house (200 to 240 m²) | £280,000 | £600,000 | not given |
Source: Checkatrade, "Building a house: Cost breakdown 2026", table last updated June 2026, checked 22 October 2026. The guide doesn't say whether the figures include VAT. Checkatrade notes that London and the South East are typically more expensive.
If you're well outside the range, find out why before you send the quote. It could be the specification, the ground conditions, access, or a stage you've counted twice or missed. A range is a check on your numbers. It isn't a price.
Write the scope so variations are easy
List what's included and what's excluded, the drawings and specification revision you priced from, and any provisional sums (for example, foundations where the ground hasn't been investigated). Then agree how changes are priced before work starts. See how to price variations on building jobs.
FAQ
Do I charge VAT on a new-build house?
It depends on the job. HMRC VAT Notice 708 says building work on a new building is normally standard-rated, but it can be zero-rated when you're constructing a qualifying building, such as one designed as a dwelling, and the conditions in section 3 are met. Check the notice for your job.
What should a house build quote leave out?
Anything the client is paying for directly. Checkatrade's list includes land, surveys, legal fees, planning, architect and engineer fees, self-build insurance and utility connections. Name each one in the exclusions unless it's in your price.
How much does it cost to build a house per m² in the UK?
Checkatrade's 2026 guide gives £1,400 to £3,000 per m², with an average of £1,800 (table last updated June 2026). Use it to sense-check your total, not to set your price.
How long does a house build take?
Checkatrade gives around 9 to 12 months for the build itself, not including buying land, design and planning. Price your preliminaries for the programme you actually expect.
Should a house build be one price or priced by stage?
Give one total, built up from stage prices. The stages show the client what they're paying for, set your payment schedule and make variations easier to price.
Price your house build from your own rates.
Put in your own labour, materials and subcontractor rates, add overhead, contingency, markup and VAT, and see a quote outline. It's free and you don't need to sign up to see the result.
Build a quote with your own rates