It can be rewarding to use your skills as an architect to help family and friends with their personal projects. However, many of the complaints we receive at ARB relate to architects who have done work for extended family or friends when the relationship has eventually broken down.

It’s important to remember that even when working with people you know, you must still act as you would with any client and in accordance with the Architects Code, particularly with Standards 4.4 and 8:

Standard 4.4: Even though you’re working with someone you know, regardless of the scale of your instruction you still must issue terms of engagement (ToE); this is to protect the architect as much as the client. Many complaints we see about architects are rooted in the absence of robust terms of engagement at the start of the project. This is because lay clients are then unsure what they can expect of their architect and misunderstandings occur.  Details of what must be included in ToE are in Standard 4.4 of the Code.

Standard 8: A lot of architects who do work for their family or friends take on this work outside of their usual employment.  If you’re going to do work outside of your usual employment, you must make sure that you obtain professional indemnity insurance (PII) that will cover this work.  A lot of architects that take on work for family or friends do not anticipate that a conflict will arise, and so don’t think about PII.  The importance of Standard 8 cannot be overstated as it protects both architects and clients alike. Failing to adhere to the requirements of Standard 8 risks serious financial consequences for architects and risks leaving clients without redress. Guidance on PII requirements can be found on our website.

We recognise that working with family or friends can be complex to navigate. Explaining that terms of engagement are a legal requirement should help all parties understand that this is a necessary part of the process and exists for everyone’s protection.

If you’d like further advice on this subject, or if there are other topics you’d like us to cover, contact us at professionalstandards@arb.org.uk or on +44 (0) 207 580 5861 and we will be happy to help.