What lenders want in a Schedule of Works (and how to write one)

A schedule of works (SoW) is the document a bridging or refurbishment lender relies on to release funds against your project. Get it right and the money flows in tranches as the work progresses. Get it wrong and your drawdowns stall — which, on a bridge with a ticking interest clock, costs real money.

After looking at hundreds of refurb deals, the reasons a schedule gets sent back are remarkably consistent. Here's what lenders want, and how to give it to them.

1. An itemised breakdown by trade — and ideally by room

Lenders don't fund a headline number. They want to see where the money goes, line by line, grouped by trade (groundworks, structural, roofing, electrics, plumbing, plastering, joinery, kitchen, bathrooms, decoration, externals, fees). A room-by-room view on top of that is a bonus — it helps a monitoring surveyor tie spend to physical progress.

If your "schedule" is five lines on a single page, expect questions.

2. A materials and labour split

Every line should separate materials from labour. A monitoring surveyor checks the split is realistic for the spec — a kitchen that's 90% labour or a rewire that's 90% materials is a red flag. Showing the split signals you (or your builder) actually priced the job rather than guessing.

This is exactly why our room cost calculator and materials calculator show the quantities behind every figure.

3. Phasing with subtotals

Group the works into stages — typically strip-out & structural → first fix → second fix → decoration & completion — each with its own subtotal. The phases are what your drawdowns hang off.

4. A sensible contingency

Refurbishment lenders expect a contingency, usually 10–15%. Heavier and HMO projects sit at the top of that range because of the higher chance of unforeseen structural or compliance work. Quoting a 5% contingency on a back-to-brick job tells a lender you haven't done many.

5. A drawdown schedule

This is the piece amateurs miss. The lender funds the works in arrears, releasing a tranche each time a phase is signed off by their monitoring surveyor. Your schedule should include a drawdown table tying each release to a phase subtotal — e.g. 30% / 30% / 25% / 15%.

See our guide to bridging-loan schedules of works for how the day-1 advance and the works facility fit together.

6. A programme and a credible exit

Finally: a programme (how long each phase takes) so the lender can set a facility term with headroom, and an appraisal showing the exit — a sale or a refinance — that repays the loan. Day-1 LTV and LTGDV should be inside the lender's limits.

Put it together

None of this is hard; it's just specific. A schedule that's itemised by trade, split into materials and labour, phased with subtotals, carries a proper contingency, and comes with a drawdown schedule and a credible exit will sail through underwriting in a way a one-page cost summary never will.

That's exactly the document ScopeWise builds for you — and it shows its working, so when a surveyor asks "where did that number come from?", you have an answer.