Site supervision: how it is priced, how to calculate it and what it covers
There is no official fee for site supervision in Romania: the price is negotiated in the contract, usually as a percentage of the investment value or as a daily rate. The only public reference we found is the 2016 proposal of the Technical College of Site Supervisors (Colegiul Tehnic al Diriginților de Șantier, a professional association): from 3% for an investment of 500,000 lei down to 1% for 500 million lei, and never less than 500 lei per day.
Before the price, what matters is which kind of supervision you need. Three different things hide under the same word: the control required by law, the control the contractor does on its own work, and the coordination that makes sure the space comes out as designed. Below we separate them, show how the price is calculated and what to check in a quote.
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In short
- The site supervisor (diriginte de șantier) represents the investor, is state-authorised, and is mandatory for works that need a building permit or a demolition permit.
- Price references are a 2016 proposal from a professional association, with no binding force: 3% for an investment of 500,000 lei, 1% for 500 million lei, or at least 500 lei per day.
- The price rises with the duration of the works, the frequency of visits, the number of trades and the quality of the design documents the work starts from.
- In an interior fit-out, design coordination checks something different from the site supervisor: details, finishes, dimensions, made-to-order furniture. One does not replace the other.
- A good quote states clearly how many visits it includes, which documents you receive, who is liable and what happens if the works run longer.
Three roles hide under “supervision”
When you ask for “a quote for supervision”, you often get prices that cannot be compared, because each bidder understood something different. The site supervisor checks on your behalf that the work follows the design and the standards, the contractor checks its own crews, and the design coordinator makes sure the work follows the interior design project.
The site supervisor (diriginte de șantier) is the specialist, authorised by the State Inspectorate for Construction (ISC), who checks on the investor’s behalf that the works are executed correctly. According to the ISC provisions on the site supervisor’s activity, the role includes checking the design and permits, controlling products and technologies, attending the determining phases and the works that will be hidden, stopping the works when non-conformities are found, and handling acceptance and the construction’s technical record book. ISC authorises site supervisors and keeps the Register of Authorised Site Supervisors.
The technical execution manager (RTE, responsabil tehnic cu execuția) is also a role required by law, but it sits on the other side of the table. ISC describes the RTE as an employee of the contractor, who ensures the quality of execution from the contractor’s side. Because the RTE is the contractor’s employee, you do not hire one separately.
Design coordination makes sure the execution follows the interior design project: dimensions, joint details, finish samples, the order in which trades come in, and made-to-order furniture. It is the client’s choice and shows directly in the result, but it does not replace the site supervisor where the law requires one.
RoleWhom it representsWhen it appliesHow it is usually paidSite supervisorThe investorMandatory for works with a building or demolition permitPercentage of the investment, daily rate or monthly sumRTEThe contractorMandatory, employed by the contractorPaid by the contractor, not by the investorDesign coordinationThe investor and the designAt the client’s choice, mainly in interior fit-outsIncluded in the design contract, per visit or fixed sumWhen is site supervision mandatory?
The rule starts from the permit. Under art. 13 para. (3) of Law 10/1995, quality checks on works that need a building or demolition permit are mandatory, and the investor carries them out through an authorised site supervisor. The rule applies regardless of ownership, use, category or importance class of the building, and regardless of the source of funding. A house built from personal savings falls under the same rule as a city hall investment.
For interior fit-outs, the useful question is whether your work needs a permit. Law 50/1991 lists, in art. 11, the works that can be done without a permit when they do not affect the load-bearing structure or the architectural appearance, among them interior painting, repairs and replacement of flooring, and repairs to interior installations. The exception covers historic monuments, protection zones and protected areas, where this rule does not apply.
If you touch the structure or the facade, or change the use of the space, for example turning an apartment into a medical office or a former shop into a restaurant, ask the architect or the city hall’s urban planning office before you budget. Their answer decides whether a site supervisor enters your costs. If the work needs no permit, you have no legal duty to pay a site supervisor, but you still need someone to check the execution for you.
How is the price of site supervision calculated?
Four pricing models are common. Each puts the risk in a different place, so it is worth knowing what you choose.
Percentage of the investment value
This is the classic model for site supervision. The College’s June 2016 proposal starts at 3% for an estimated investment of 500,000 lei and falls gradually to 1% for 500,000,000 lei; at 5,000,000 lei, for example, the proposed percentage is 2.5%. The advantage is predictability. The risk appears when the investment value changes along the way: agree from the start whether the percentage applies to the value in the bill of quantities or to the final value.
Daily or per-visit rate
The same proposal sets a minimum of 500 lei per day, tied to the days of the supervision period, with daily visits on site and transport included. For individuals building single-family homes, the proposed minimum is 600 lei per working day, excluding VAT, travel included. So the reference assumes daily presence. If you are offered a daily rate for visits only at the determining phases and for hidden works, ask what “a day” means: a one-hour visit or a full day on site.
Fixed monthly sum
On sites that last several months, you can negotiate a fixed monthly sum with a minimum number of visits. The budget is easy to follow, but a contractor’s delay costs you directly: every extra month means another instalment.
Included in the design contract
In interior fit-outs, execution coordination often comes with the design, either included in the per-square-metre fee or as a separate stage with a set number of visits. We covered how this cost is built in our guide to the cost of site coordination for interiors. The figures in that guide (35–80 €/m²) refer to the interior design fee, not to site supervision; we do not repeat them here.
Mind the year and the VAT. The College’s references date from June 2016, so they are ten years old, and they are proposals from a professional association, not market prices or binding rates. Use them only as an order of magnitude. Ask for quotes explicitly with and without VAT, so you compare like with like.
Calculation examples
The figures below are illustrative calculations based on the 2016 references, to show orders of magnitude. They are not quotes.
A house with an estimated investment of 500,000 lei. At 3%, supervision would come to 15,000 lei. A daily rate cannot be compared directly with a percentage: the first is calculated on the length of the supervision, the second on the investment value. Ask the bidder for both calculations and for the number of visits, not just the final sum.
A commercial fit-out without a permit. Say you renovate a 200 m² space with no work on the structure and no change of use. As a rule you are not obliged to pay a site supervisor, but you need someone to check the execution against the design. Here the cost is tied not to the value of the works, but to the number of visits, the acceptance stages and how complete the technical design is. For the full budget picture, see also what it costs to remodel a commercial space.
What makes the price of site supervision go up or down?
Two quotes for the same site can differ a lot, usually for concrete reasons:
- Duration of the works. A site that runs eight months instead of four costs more under any model, except the percentage of the investment.
- Frequency of presence. Daily presence, weekly visits and attendance only at the determining phases are three different services with different prices.
- Technical complexity. Ventilation in a professional kitchen, medical gases in a clinic or data networks in an office call for specialised checks and, sometimes, several specialists.
- Quality of the design. A design with complete details reduces questions on site. When details are missing, the supervisor ends up taking decisions on the spot, which means extra hours and extra risk. We explained why in the article on the role of technical details in design.
- Working hours. A restaurant or shop fitted out at night, so it does not have to close, means visits outside normal hours.
- Distance. Travel is charged separately or included in the price. Ask from the start.
- Required documents. Written reports after each visit, photos and signed minutes take time. They are worth paying for, but they must appear in the quote.
Supervision in an interior fit-out: a different logic
In interiors, frequent mistakes are not about the strength of the building, but about a socket moved ten centimetres so it no longer lands behind the furniture, cladding fitted before the installation was tested, a finish swapped at the last minute because it is “the same, only cheaper”. Design coordination exists to catch these things while they can still be fixed.
In practice, good coordination covers:
- Handing the design over to the crews, explaining the sensitive points before the works start.
- Approving samples of finishes, hardware and lighting before ordering.
- Stage checks: wall setting-out, installation routes before they are closed, screed level, fitting of joinery.
- Resolving mismatches between the design and what is on site, with documented decisions.
- The snag list at the end and room-by-room acceptance.
Just as important is that everyone works from the latest version of the drawings. A simple version discipline, with a single set of drawings in force, reduces rework. For the timeline of such a project, see also how long an office fit-out realistically takes.
What to check in a quote before you sign
A supervision quote reads like a liability contract, not like a price list. Before you sign, look for an answer to each point below:
- The exact role. Does it say “site supervisor” or only “supervision”? If you need a site supervisor, ask for the ISC authorisation and check that its field covers your works.
- The pricing model and its basis. A percentage of which value, a daily rate for how many hours, a subscription for how many visits.
- The minimum number of visits and the mandatory moments: determining phases, hidden works, acceptances.
- Deliverables. Reports after each visit, photos, signed minutes, attendance at acceptance, input to the technical record book.
- Response time. How soon the supervisor arrives if a problem stops the work.
- Extension. What happens to the price if the works run longer because of the contractor.
- Travel and expenses included or invoiced separately.
- VAT, stated explicitly.
- Independence. The site supervisor represents you. Ask whether they have ties to the proposed contractor.
- Liability. Under art. 30 of Law 10/1995, as quoted by ISC, the site supervisor is liable for hidden defects for 10 years after acceptance and for defects of the load-bearing structure for the whole life of the building, when they result from non-compliance with the standards at the time of execution. Ask whether they carry professional liability insurance: ask for the proof before you sign.
When the works end, keep all the supervision documents: they support your rights if defects appear. For the period after acceptance, see our guide to the warranty on interior fit-out works.
What the design changes in the price of supervision
The cost of supervision is often treated as something to cut to the minimum. The reflex is understandable, but expensive supervision often comes from an incomplete design. When the drawings do not say how the cladding meets the joinery or exactly where a pipe runs, someone has to decide on site, under time pressure. Those decisions are paid twice: once in supervision hours, again in rework.
That is why we work continuously: concept, technical design and coordination of implementation, with the same team. For us, coordination is not a supervision stage added at the end, but the way the concept thought out for a space reaches execution unchanged. A restaurant that must work from the first evening, or a clinic where patients must feel confidence from the entrance, has no room for improvisation.
Our advice: before you compare fees, compare what each bidder checks and which design they work from.
How we can help
If you are preparing a space and want the execution to follow the design, SelfDezign handles concept, technical design and coordination of implementation for commercial spaces, HORECA, offices, homes and clinics. The fees published on the services page are 25–55 €/m² for commercial interior design and 20–40 €/m² for residential, with execution coordination included. If you already have a design and want a second opinion before the works start, a consultation with written conclusions costs 500 lei for 2 hours. The details are on the SelfDezign services page. Tell us what space you have.
