Building works charge
If you are having significant work done, heavy vehicles will use roads that were never built for them. Damage to the surface, the verges and the drains is normal rather than exceptional, and it often does not show until months later.
The building works charge exists so that the cost falls on the project causing it, rather than on every household’s annual charge. It has been the Association’s practice for many years and is written into the constitution, but until 2020 there was no consistent scale. There is now.
The schedule
The charge is based on new useable floorspace created, which is why an extension, a loft conversion and an annexe are all treated the same way, on a scale running from a demolition charge down to a small extension. It is reviewed each year in line with BCIS building cost inflation.
Current figures are provided to members, and to buyers through their solicitor, rather than published here, since a schedule that changes every year is the kind of thing that goes quietly out of date on a public page. Ask your Road Representative, or see the managing agents.
What is and is not charged
Charged: extensions, loft conversions, annexes, new builds on existing or subdivided plots, major refurbishment, replacement roofs, major landscaping, swimming pools, and removing a garage, lean-to or conservatory to replace it with a traditional build.
Not normally charged: converting an integral garage to living space like-for-like, minor internal alterations, replacement kitchens and bathrooms, guttering, summerhouses and sheds.
Permitted development is still charged. Not needing planning permission does not mean not needing an agreement with us. The floorspace figure then comes from our discussion with you, or from any Lawful Development Certificate submitted to Arun District Council.
Projects that overrun. Where work extends beyond 18 months from the date of the Charging Agreement, the Association reserves the right to make a further proportional charge. Long projects affect the estate for longer.
How it works
- Talk to your Road Representative first. The constitution requires a discussion between the owner and the Association before development work is proposed. Your Road Rep brings in the Planning and Infrastructure leads.
- A Building Works Charging Agreement is completed before work starts, setting out the development, the charge, and the developer’s responsibilities.
- A Construction Management Plan accompanies it, prepared with whoever is doing the work, covering the programme and the practices that protect neighbours and the environment.
- When the work is finished, tell us. We inspect the roads and verges and agree any repairs needed.
Since 1 May 2025 this procedure is administered by the Association’s managing agents. See who handles what.
While the work is going on
These are the conditions that cause most friction between neighbours, so they are worth reading before the skip arrives.
- Skips and materials stay on your site or inside your boundary, not on the private roads or the verges.
- No cutting of materials on the roads or verges.
- If we do authorise a skip on the road, it needs reflective bollards and lighting at night to normal highway standards.
- Keep the access routes clear of dust, mud and debris throughout.
- Never block or restrict a neighbour’s driveway.
- On-road parking for vehicles must be agreed with us in advance.
If you are also altering a verge crossing
Widening a driveway, adding an access or moving one crosses land the Association owns, so it needs a separate Deed of Grant lodged with the Land Registry, at the owner’s expense, and a returnable bond, reviewed annually. Current figures are provided to members, and to buyers through their solicitor.
The bond is repaid in full or in part depending on any damage to MOSA infrastructure. See altering your driveway.
Subdividing a plot: the 20% uplift
This is the largest charge in the schedule and the one most likely to take somebody by surprise, so it is set out here in full rather than left in the document.
What it is not. It does not apply to an extension, a loft conversion, a new roof, or any normal improvement to a house that already has its own access. If you are extending your home, the charge table above is what applies to you.
What it is. If a plot is divided and the new house needs to cross MOSA land to reach the road, that new house requires a permanent right of way over land the Association owns on behalf of every member. The Association is not levying a fee on building work. It is granting an easement over members’ land, in perpetuity, and asking to be paid for it.
Why it is set that way. A subdivision creates a property that did not exist before, permanently increases traffic over a verge everyone else paid to maintain, and is normally done for profit. Charging a share of that value keeps the gain with the members who own the land it depends on, rather than with the developer alone.
Where a proposal does not fit any category here, or where there is a dispute, the matter goes to the Chairman with the Planning and Infrastructure leads.