The schedule of works checklist

Lenders read your works schedule the way they read your credit file, and the monitoring surveyor will certify your drawdowns against it every month. Build it once, properly, and the money flows; build it loose and every tranche becomes a negotiation.

The schedule itself

• Line-item costs — labour and materials split where possible — never a single round number per room
• Real quotes behind the big lines — structural, roofing, M&E priced by the people doing them
• Programme with dates — start and finish per phase, matched to the drawdown plan
• Named contractor or trades — with references or past-project evidence
• Contingency of at least 10% — as its own line, treated as untouchable rather than as budget — the standard expectation across the market as of July 2026
• VAT treatment stated — per line — conversions and new-build reliefs differ, and your accountant should confirm

The compliance plan

• Building control involvement mapped — what needs sign-off and when
• Certificates scheduled — electrical, gas, glazing, warranties — chased as hard as the plastering, because the final tranche usually waits for them
• Planning conditions diarised — discharge dates for anything consented

For the monitoring surveyor

• Full pack shared before the first visit — schedule, drawings, specifications, quotes
• Access plan agreed — monthly visit cycle matched to the drawdown rhythm
• Variations log opened on day one — changes flagged before they are built, never after
• Progress photographed between visits — dated, filed against schedule lines