Free template
Architect agreement format
An agreement for architectural services in India: scope by stage, what the fee is a percentage of, stage payments with GST and TDS, site visits and copyright.
Free, no signup. Put your practice's name and registration number at the top, and change anything that doesn't fit how you work.
Clause by clause
1. Parties and project
This agreement is made on [date] between [client name], of [address] ("the Client"), and [practice name], represented by Ar. [name], registered with the Council of Architecture under no. [registration no.] ("the Architect"), for the [residence / building] at [site address], with a proposed built-up area of about [area] sq ft ("the Project").
Only a registered architect may use the title, so the registration number belongs on the first page. A client who can check it is a client who takes the rest of the agreement seriously.
2. Scope of services, stage by stage
The Architect will provide the stages ticked in Annexure A. Each stage ends with the Client's written approval before the next begins. (a) Concept design: site study, massing and design options. (b) Schematic design: plans, elevations and sections to scale. (c) Design development: detailing, materials and coordination with consultants. (d) Construction drawings (GFC): the drawings the site builds from. (e) Tender: BOQ, tender documents and comparison of contractors' bids. (f) Construction stage: periodic site visits, clarifications and instructions until completion.
The written approval at the end of each stage is what lets you invoice it. Without one, "we are still at concept" is an opinion the client can hold for months.
3. Professional fee
The fee is [ ]% of the final cost of construction of the Project [or ₹[ ] per sq ft of built-up area], plus GST. Until the final cost is known, stage fees are billed on the latest approved estimate, which is ₹[ ] on the date of this agreement, and are adjusted on each later estimate and on the final account. Cost of construction includes civil work, finishes, services and built-in joinery, and excludes land, statutory fees and loose furniture.
A fee fixed against the first estimate is a fee you quietly discount every time the building grows. Say what the percentage is of, and that it follows the cost.
4. What the fee does not include
The following are not part of the fee and are paid by the Client at actuals, or reimbursed to the Architect against bills: statutory and sanction fees; fees of structural, MEP, landscape and other consultants [unless included in Annexure B]; site surveys and soil tests; printing of drawing sets beyond [three]; and travel outside [city].
A practice that folds consultants and printing into its percentage ends up paying its own structural engineer out of its fee.
5. Stage payments, GST and TDS
Each stage is invoiced when the Client approves it, at the share set out in Annexure B, and is payable within [7] days of the invoice. GST at the applicable rate, currently 18%, is added to each invoice. Where the Client deducts tax at source (TDS) on the fee, the Client will deposit it on time and send the Architect the TDS certificate for each quarter.
TDS is your money, held by the government. You can only claim it with the certificate, so make sending it the client's obligation in writing.
6. Revisions and changes to the brief
Each stage includes up to [two] rounds of revisions. Further revisions, or changes to a stage already approved, are additional services billed at the rates in Annexure C. A change to the brief after construction drawings are issued is billed on the time spent, and may change the programme.
"Unlimited revisions" is scope creep nobody agrees to out loud. A number in the agreement turns "one more change" into a decision with a price.
7. Approvals and statutory submissions
The Architect will prepare the drawings and documents needed for the approvals listed in Annexure A, including building plan sanction, and submit them on the Client's behalf. Fees payable to the authorities are paid by the Client. The Architect is not responsible for delays caused by an authority.
Sanction timelines belong to the authority. Saying so stops a slipping programme from becoming your fault.
8. Site visits
During construction the Architect will make up to [ ] site visits [or visit every week / fortnight] to check that the work follows the drawings and to give instructions. Additional visits are billed at ₹[ ] each. These are periodic visits, not full-time supervision: the contractor remains responsible for methods of construction, safety on site and the quality of their work.
A client who reads "supervision" as a full-time presence will hold you responsible for every bad joint. Counted visits are what the fee pays for.
9. Consultants
The structural, MEP and other consultants will be appointed by [the Architect / the Client], as listed in Annexure A. Where the Client appoints them directly, the Architect coordinates their drawings but is not responsible for their design.
Who appoints the consultant decides who answers for their design. Leave it blank and the answer will be you.
10. Drawings and copyright
Copyright in the designs and drawings stays with the Architect. The Client may use them to build the Project, once, on this site. They may not be reused for another building, or altered by others, without the Architect's written consent.
Without this clause, a client who stops paying after the GFC set can hand your drawings to a contractor and build anyway.
11. Suspension and termination
Either party may end this agreement by [30] days' written notice. The Client will then pay for every stage completed, for the work done on the current stage in proportion, and for expenses already incurred. If an invoice is unpaid for more than [30] days, the Architect may suspend work, and the programme moves by the time lost.
Once the client holds the drawings, the right to stop work over an unpaid invoice is the only leverage a practice has left.
12. Disputes
The parties will first try to settle any dispute by discussion. If it is not settled within [30] days, it will be referred to a sole arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996, seated at [city]. The courts at [city] have jurisdiction.
Naming the city decides where you travel to argue. Name yours.
13. Signatures
For the Client: ____________________ Name: ____________ Date: __________ For the Architect: ____________________ Ar. ____________ CoA reg. no. __________ Date: __________
Both parties sign every page, and the annexures. An unsigned annexure is a list, not part of the agreement.
A format to start from, not legal advice. Have a lawyer read it before you rely on it, and check whether your state needs the agreement on stamp paper.
"Fee: 8% of project cost"
It reads complete and leaves three arguments for later: 8% of which estimate, when each part of it is due, and who pays the structural engineer. The usual result is a practice billing against the first estimate while the building grows, and paying its consultants out of its own fee. Define the cost, tie each payment to a stage the client signs off, and list what is billed at actuals.
In Houscade each stage is a phase with its own share of the fee. The client signs off a stage on their phone, you invoice that phase with GST, and any TDS the client deducts is recorded against the invoice. See a stage sign-off.