Can anyone do floor plans, or do you need a professional?

From changing the demise of a leasehold property to deciding where your store's new shelving units will sit, you'll need a floor plan. These drawings depict a space, building, or land from above and are often to scale, and are used for a myriad of uses. Some of these uses are legal and must comply with strict regulations, while others can be made at home by those willing to try.

In this article, we'll discuss floor plan types, who can create them, and the professionals you should rely on for the floor plan you need.

What types of floor plans are there?

Whether or not you need someone from a certain profession to create a floor plan for you will heavily depend on what type of floor plan you need. There are many different typess, spanning across a wide range of purposes, but the most common can be grouped into three categories:

Regulatory floor plans

These are official, to-scale drawings for use by local authorities, governments, and other organisations to demonstrate compliance with legal or safety requirements.

• Land Registry lease plans

• Land Registry title plans

• HMO (House in Multiple Occupation) floor plans

• Licensing Act floor plans

• Accessibility floor plans

• Fire, escape and safety compliance plans

Construction and technical floor plans

These are to-scale drawings used in design, engineering, and construction to ensure accuracy and clarity.

• As-built floor plans

• Site plans

• Electrical floor plans

• Plumbing floor plans

• Mechanical floor plans

• Reflected ceiling plans (RCP)

• Renovation/demolition plans

Presentation and marketing floor plans

These are drawings used for design purposes and do not necessarily have to be to scale. They're used as visual aids for clients, buyers, and the public, e.g. a floor plan on an Estate Agent's website, or a design for how a retail store plans to reorganise its merchandising space.

• Interior design plans

• Marketing floor plans

• 3D floor plans

What professionals can make floor plans?

Only some of the above plans should be or need to be created by professionals, as some can be created yourself. However, many plans, especially those needed for compliance purposes, should be produced by professionals to avoid mistakes and ensure legal requirements are met.

Professionals who can create Land Registry-compliant plans are chartered surveyors, architects (if trained in OS mapping standards), and specialist Land Registry plan providers, like ourselves. These professionals will produce plans that meet Land Registry requirements, including accurate scale, orientation, and OS (Ordnance Survey) mapping compliance.

For floor plans necessary for meeting regulations and safety or licensing compliance, but not for Land Registry applications, the following professionals can produce them: architectural technologists, building surveyors, fire safety consultants, accessibility consultants, measured survey companies, HMO consultants, CAD technicians, and licensing plan specialists. Our team at Lease Planners are fully qualified and experienced in producing HMO floor plans, licensing act plans, and other scaled floor plans for local compliance.

Other floor plans used for design or navigation purposes can be created by anyone, regardless of qualifications, as they do not need to be submitted to local authorities or regulatory bodies. Of course, that's not to say that there's no cause to involve a professional, as it is often quicker and easier to get an expert to crease your plan even in cases where it isn't a requirement!

When should you rely on a professional to create your floor plan?

When a floor plan must go alongside any kind of application to the Land Registry or to local authorities or governments for legal or compliance reasons, we highly recommend reaching out to a professional to produce the drawing. There is nothing to say you cannot create your own plan if you have experience in property measurements, floor planning, and CAD software, but we caution against it.

Many applications, and certainly those for the Land Registry, come with a fee, and if your plan doesn't comply with their requirements, you will have to pay again to resubmit your applications. By choosing professionals, like Land Registry-compliant plan providers, you can rest assured that your to-scale floor plan will be accepted.

If you're in need of a Land Registry-compliant lease plan, a Land Registry title plan, a HMO floor plan, a premises licence floor plan, other scaled floor plans using our cutting-edge CAD software, or even EPC and SAP reports, come to us. The team here at Lease Planners have years of experience and industry know-how, ensuring the floor plans we produce are professionally done and legally compliant. Give us a call today to chat with one of our friendly team members, or use our online enquiry form to get in touch.