ARB’s court success

ARB’s court success (07/11/2007)

On 26 October 2007, City of Westminster magistrates found Alfred Jaramillo of 3 Robsart Mansions, Kenton Street, London WC1, guilty of misusing the title “architect”.

The case was referred to ARB following a complaint by a former client of Mr Jaramillo. Mr Jaramillo had been advertising his services as an “architect”, as well as using the RIBA affix after his name, despite never having been registered with ARB.

Mr Jaramillo pleaded guilty to the charge. Although his solicitors put forward a full mitigation in his defence, the magistrates considered his offence to be “very serious” and imposed a fine of £1,000. He was further ordered to pay costs of £1,200.

Speaking after the case, an ARB spokesperson said:

“Mr Jaramillo had falsely advertised himself both as an architect and as a member of RIBA. This was a clear breach of Section 20 of the Architects Act, and Mr Jaramillo misled members of the public into thinking that they were dealing with a fully trained and fully qualified architect. ARB has a duty to ensure that public confidence in architects is not damaged, and we will continue to deal firmly with anyone who puts that duty in jeopardy.”

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Notes for Editors

ARB is the statutory body established by Parliament under the Architects Act 1997 to regulate the UK architects’ profession in the public interest. The Act requires ARB to:

• Maintain the Register of Architects (Section 3)

• Prescribe qualifications for entry to the Register of Architects (Section 4)

• Deal with competence to practise (Section 9)

• Issue a Code which lays down standards of professional conduct and practice (Section 13)

• Regulate use of the title “architect” and prosecute those who use it fraudulently (Section 20)

ARB has a Board of 15 members, seven of whom are architects elected by the profession. The remaining eight are members of the public appointed by the Privy Council to represent the interests of consumers and users of architectural services.

ARB is not responsible for setting the levels of fines or costs; this is a matter entirely for the magistrates.

Moneys raised from fines are paid to HM Treasury, not to ARB

For further information, please contact Simon Howard, Professional Services Manager, on 020 7580 5861, or by email on

simonh@arb.org.uk