Mike Hooper, owner of Mike Hooper Architects, of Tavistock, Devon, was found guilty of misusing the title, in breach of sections 20 and 21 of the Architects Act, at Plymouth Magistrates’ Court on 10 September.
He was fined £2,200 and ordered to pay approximately £9,000 in legal costs after ARB took enforcement action for his continued use of the title months after being erased from the register early last year.
The ARB said an investigation found Hooper was still using the title ‘architect’ across his website, LinkedIn profile and a number of third-party online directories.
It told the court that it first contacted Hooper in May 2025 and gave him the opportunity to correct the position. Although some changes were made, the misuse had not been fully addressed by August 2025, and ARB therefore issued a court summons.
In reaching its decision, the court found that Hooper was culpable and that the ongoing breach of the Architects Act caused harm to both the public and ARB in its role as the statutory regulator of architects in the UK.
ARB director of professional standards Helen Ransome said: ‘Most concerns about misuse of the title “architect” can be resolved without court action. Our approach is to explain the legal requirements, give people a reasonable opportunity to put matters right, and take further action where that does not happen.
‘In this case, the title continued to be used despite repeated engagement, so prosecution was appropriate. We will continue to use our powers proportionately and focus our regulatory action where it can make the greatest contribution to public protection.’
The ARB last successfully brought a prosecution case for misuse of title on 22 November 2021.
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