TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Fee Proposals
STOP Studio Ltd shall provide a written Fee Proposal based on the accuracy of the information available to us at the time, such as size and nature of the project. If the project nature changes significantly in terms of scale and complexity, we may review and revise the Fee Proposal to reflect those changes – this shall be agreed with the client/employer, in writing, before progressing.
Fee Proposals are valid for up to 30 days from the date produced. STOP Studio may extend the validity of a proposal beyond 30 days at our discretion.
Our Fees shall be offered as either a lump sum (fixed), percentage rate (of the construction cost) or as a Time Charge – this shall be made clear in the Fee Proposal.
Fee Agreement
All Fee Proposals must be accepted in writing – by email, or letter – directly to STOP Studio Ltd. Acceptance of a Fee Proposal accepts the terms set out in the proposal, including our T&Cs and Payment Schedule.
Payment Schedule
STOP Studio Ltd requires that a deposit is paid upon acceptance of a Fee Proposal to secure our appointment. Our usual deposit is valued at 15% of the Fee Agreement, however we reserve the right to alter this depending on the project. Payment of deposit shall be acknowledged as acceptance of Fee Proposal and the T&Cs.
Our overall Fee, as per the Fee Agreement, shall be payable at variable stages throughout the project, and shall usually be payable in arrears unless otherwise stated in the Fee Agreement – payments for stages related to statutory applications (Planning, Building Warrant…) are usually payable on submission of, or just before submission of, each application. STOP Studio Ltd reserves the right to issue an invoice at any stage, for any work carried out up to that point.
Expenses & Disbursements
All project expenses and disbursements shall be payable in addition to the Fee Proposal. STOP Studio’s rate for mileage is currently 45p per mile for driving – STOP Studio Ltd may charge for this at their discretion. Travel via public transport will be fully recoverable within reason. Costs for paper drawings, physical models, and any statutory costs which were initially paid by STOP Studio shall be recoverable as an expense/disbursement.
Statutory Fees
All submissions to Statutory Authorities (i.e., Planning and Building Standards) shall be made online via the eDevelopment.scot portal. The statutory fee for such applications must be paid directly by Client to the local authority upon submission of the application. Statutory Fees are not included in Fee Proposals and any upfront cost to STOP Studio shall be recoverable as an expense/disbursement charged to the Client.
Third-Party Fees / Engineers
If your project involves structural alterations, an engineer’s input will be required to gain necessary local authority consents, such as a Building Warrant. Third-party costs, such as engineer’s fees, are not included as part of our fee proposal and must be arranged for and paid directly by the client, over and above our fee. We may be able to recommend an engineer, who can provide you with a fee proposal for your project separately once they have seen our proposed architectural package or you can source your own engineer to assist with your project.
Invoicing
STOP Studio shall issue invoices, at our discretion, at the end of each project stage. Invoices shall be issued in arrears, after the work related to that stage has concluded, unless otherwise agreed.
Invoices shall be payable within 14 days of the issue date, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
Non-Payment
Failure to pay invoices within the agreed timescale may result in our services – for said contract - and any other contract related to the same client - being suspended until the amount due has been settled. Matters relating to statutory applications – such as Planning Applications, and Application for Building Warrant – shall not be attended to until any outstanding amounts are cleared. STOP Studio Ltd shall not be liable for any lapse or expiry of statutory permissions and/or applications, due to non-payment.
Late payment shall attract penalties in the form of interest added to the outstanding amount, equivalent to a daily interest rate of 1% of the outstanding amount. STOP Studio Ltd reserves the right to pass on any outstanding amount to a debt collection agency.
Terms of Service
STOP Studio Ltd shall provide Architectural Services in line with the RIAS (Royal Institute of Architects Scotland) Scottish Conditions of Appointment.
The level of engagement and stage of termination – i.e., up to Planning Permission, up to Building Warrant, up to Final Certificate etc. – shall be stated within the Fee Agreement and Appointment form.
Our basic design service includes architectural engagement as reasonably expected by industry norms, and includes provisions of 2D plans, elevations, sections etc. The number of design proposals produced shall be within reason - usually up to 3 variations. In some instances, this includes basic digital 3D modelling in the form of untextured mass models, provided as 2D imagery.
Arc-Vis: We offer a separate/add-on service called ‘Arc-Vis’ (Architectural Visualisation) which provides detailed 3d modelling and architectural visualisation, including Texturing, Lighting, Stylisation, Photorealism, and can be produced digitally as either 2D Renders or digital 3D presentations. If you have enquired about ‘Arc-Vis’, it will be indicated in the Fee Proposal.
Contract Service: Our Contract Service is an add-on that may be included in your Fee Proposal if you requested it at the consultation. Our Contract Service is a slimline version of standard ‘Contract Administration’ and is limited to creation of a Description of Works only, and does not extend to include using Standard Forms of Contracts nor does it allow for responsibilities during the build phase, such as handling payments, meetings etc.
Contract Administration: Our Contract Administration services are available for projects of a certain size and will be included in your fee proposal if requested at the consultation. This service includes the creation of a Standard Form of Contract, procurement services, H&S advice, Site Meetings, inspections, handling payments etc.
Intellectual Property
STOP Studio Ltd owns all intellectual property rights, including the copyright for all original work produced in the performance of our services and generally asserts the moral rights to be identified as the author of such work. The Client/Employer shall have license to use such drawings and works provided by STOP Studio Ltd to complete the project for which the drawings were prepared and not for any other purpose. This license is granted subject to full payment of all fees due. Payment of fees does not entitle the Client/Employer to computer-program-specific information produced by STOP Studio Ltd – such as AutoCAD or SketchUp files. STOP Studio Ltd may, at their discretion, issue such information, however there will be no guarantee of accuracy and STOP Studio Ltd shall not be liable for any errors contained within such information. An additional payment may be required for any AutoCAD or Sketchup files.
Professional Services & Third Parties
Where STOP Studio Ltd offers services on a business-to-business level - for example, if sub-contracted to produce Architectural Visualisations or Digital Artwork / drawings to accompany a third-party Architectural proposal - STOP Studio Ltd retains all intellectual property rights over said original work. All original artwork / drawings by STOP Studio Ltd are the subject of copyright protection under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Any copying and/or distribution of such articles without the written consent of STOP Studio Ltd will constitute an infringement of copyright. Receipt of such articles from a party other than STOP Studio Ltd does not indemnify the receiving party from copyright infringement arising because of such distribution. STOP Studio Ltd retains all rights to such drawings / artwork and reserves the right to use such information as it sees fit – i.e., for any future marketing purposes.
Insurance
STOP Studio Ltd holds the required Professional Indemnity Insurance and the value of coverage is limited to 10x of our fee for any given project.
Black Friday Promotion T&Cs
Our Black Friday Promotion applies to all new customers, who make their first enquiry with us between November 24th 2023 and December 31st 2023. The ‘20% off’ deal will be applied on all of our fee proposals for our involvement up to and including Building Warrant stage. For larger jobs involving procurement and contract administration, this discount does not apply.
In order to claim your deal, you must contact us via our website’s ‘Drop Us A Message’ section and state ‘STOP20’ at the beginning of your message. We will then apply the 20% deal to your fee proposal. The Black Friday Promotion is subject to our standard T&Cs, as stated above.