After spending months at home, South African homeowners are rethinking their living spaces, as work-from-home and COvid-19 continue to impact our lifestyles.
South Africa’s National Building Regulations (NBR) require that any building or structural changes need to receive planning approval from the relevant city council before the renovations can begin. All any new buildings, alterations, or additions to buildings, boundary walls, swimming pools, garages, patios, converting garages into bedrooms, Wendy houses and toolsheds, to name a few, will need planning approval.
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Sometimes owners simply do not know when they need to get approved plans. Others think that by doing the work themselves and ‘sneaking the job through’ they are saving considerable sums of cash - forgetting that later this will make it difficult to sell or pass the home on to heirs. Similarly they may employ a substandard builder who either ignores or does not know the regulations.
"Getting the necessary approval plans ensure that all buildings are conducive to everyone's health and safety. All financial institutions require up-to-date and approved building plans to issue home finance. These plans are also required by the local municipality to issue a rates clearance certificate when selling a home. In short, if a homeowner fails to acquire planning approval, they will run into problems when they later decide to sell, and may even need to tear down their renovations if they fail to meet the relevant criteria to gain planning approval. It is always advisable to acquire the necessary approval before going ahead with any renovations or additions,” advises Adrian Goslett, Regional Director and CEO of RE/MAX of Southern Africa.
To be fully compliant, the seller or the buyer has to be able to show that the building was awarded an Occupation Certificate, confirming that the construction was done in accordance with the approved plans and the regulations pertaining at that time, says Rowan Alexander, Director of Alexander Swart Property.
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“I also cannot stress enough the importance of submitting plans for any changes to internal walls. If you are changing the use of a property from residential to commercial, for example, you will also be required to submit a plan," adds Dietlyn Bekker of RE/MAX Panache
Before you go ahead with submitting your plans, Bekker explains that you first need to check that what you plan to do meets Town Planning guidelines and requirements.
When submitting the plans they need to meet with town planning guidelines and requirements - and only registered architectural professionals are able to draw and submit plans.
These are the steps to take in order to obtain approval:
- Obtain a copy of your title deed
- Get a certified architect to draw up your plans
- Submit for town planning approval. You'll need four copies of the proposed plans for your submission, a signed application form, available from your municipality; and proof of payment for the submission fee.
- Once you have your approved plans and you begin building, get a building inspector to check on the progress, either from the start or on completion - and issue a certificate the buildings meet the approved plans.
“After the plans have been submitted, they are passed through various departments, including the fire department and health department. The homeowner is then notified as to whether the plans have been approved or rejected. Should they be rejected, the homeowner is notified as to why and are given a chance to rectify them. Should the rectifications be submitted within a year of the first rejection, usually no additional fee is charged," advises Bekker.
“Though the local authorities endeavor to approve or reject plans within 30 days from submission, this process sometimes does take longer. When an application is approved, the homeowner is notified and provided with a stamped copy of the plan."
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Some homeowners take the attitude that as they do not intend to sell the home in the foreseeable future, they can leave gaining approvals for a later date, or to others, such as their heirs. However, Alexander says experience has shown that people regularly have to sell earlier than they expect, for example for health or financial reasons.
To obtain fully-approved plans can take months, so it is better to do it now - delaying will simply compound existing difficulties, and could place big burdens on others, says Alexander.
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