'Architect in the House' with Shelter and the RIBA

Shelter and the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) will be partnering up for the seventeenth consecutive year to run Architect in the House, the innovative scheme which allows homeowners to receive free expert advice from a RIBA architect whilst helps support Shelter tackle the root causes of bad housing.

From March 12th - August 21st homeowners can register at Architect in the House and are then matched up with a local architect. The homeowner is then free as to when to arrange their hour long consultation.

The consultation will help give homeowners guidance at whatever stage they are at with making changes to their home – be it just some initial advice or a second opinion on plans already made. Architects can provide advice around increasing space and light in a home, ensuring homeowners only make changes that will increase the value of their home and that are also legal, recommend organisations to carry out work or simply just talk a homeowner through their options.

It doesn’t matter how much knowledge a homeowner has around architecture, the architect will explain everything. If you would like to do some preparation and have discussions with family and friends beforehand about what you might like to do, this can be of great benefit.

Shelter asks those homeowners taking part to make a suggested donation of £45 in order to support their work. For the price of a meal for two, you could get expert advice for your home and could help Shelter’s helpline advisors find a home for two families this year.

If you’re not looking to make changes to your home currently, it would be great if you could let friends and family know about the scheme. To date, Architect in the House has raised over £1.7 million for Shelter thanks to the generosity of those homeowners taking part. Last year over 3200 homeowners registered and were matched with RIBA architects.