Before most building work starts in South Africa, the municipality must approve the plans. The rules are in the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977 and the regulations made under it. This guide explains when plans are needed, what counts as minor building work, and the notices and inspections that follow approval. Your municipality may add its own requirements and forms, so always check with its building control office.
Approval before building
Section 4(1) of the Act says no one may erect a building for which plans must be drawn and submitted without the prior written approval of the local authority. The application is made on the municipality’s own form (4(2)). Once granted, approval lapses after 12 months unless building has started within that time or the municipality has extended it on a written request (4(4)).
What goes with an application
Regulation A2(1) lists the plans and particulars to submit with an application:
- a site plan and layout drawings;
- a fire installation drawing and a drainage installation drawing;
- details of any building to be demolished and how;
- whatever else the municipality asks for, such as structural arrangements, ventilation, a fire protection plan, Agrément certificates or particulars under SANS 10400; and
- a declaration, on Form 1 of SANS 10400-A, by a person registered in a professional category under the Council for the Built Environment Act, on how the functional regulations will be satisfied.
Minor building work
The regulations define minor building work. It includes the erection of:
- a tool shed or poultry house up to 10 m², an aviary up to 20 m², a greenhouse up to 15 m², and a child’s playhouse or cycle shed up to 5 m²;
- an open-sided carport or shelter for a car, caravan or boat up to 40 m²;
- a free-standing wall or wire fence no higher than 1.8 m that doesn’t retain soil;
- a pergola, a private swimming pool, and a change room at it up to 10 m²; and
- a solar water heater up to 6 m² on a roof or 12 m² elsewhere.
It also covers replacing a roof with the same or similar material, turning a door into a window or the reverse without widening the opening, and making openings or moving internal walls where structural safety isn’t affected, plus anything the building control officer decides doesn’t need full plans.
Minor building work still needs authorisation from the building control office before it starts, and must meet any conditions set. The exception: no plans are required for minor building work of no more than 5 m², or for a pergola, a wire fence or an open-sided fabric-covered shelter, and for those no authorisation application is needed. Repairs needed because of ordinary wear and tear, or done as normal maintenance, need no plans or approval, although the municipality may ask for drawings where a repair affects the structure.
A boundary wall up to 1.8 m that doesn’t hold back soil is minor building work; see building a boundary wall for the height and pier rules it must still meet.
Notices and inspections
Regulation A22 adds steps during building:
- The owner must give the municipality notice at least four days before building starts (ten days before a demolition), not counting weekends and public holidays.
- The owner must give at least two working days’ notice before trenches are ready for inspection before concrete is placed, before drainage is ready for inspection and testing, before a fire installation is connected, and when the building is complete.
- Foundations may not be cast until the trenches have been inspected and approved, and drains may not be backfilled until inspected, tested and approved, unless the inspection hasn’t happened by the end of the working day given in the notice.
Failing to give these notices is an offence. Build the notice days into your programme so the job doesn’t wait for an inspector.
For the builder
Ask to see the approved plans, with the municipality’s stamp, before you start. Price the time for inspections into the programme, keep copies of the notices, and for new homes check that the home is enrolled with the NHBRC: see NHBRC registration and home enrolment.
This guide is general information for estimating. It is not engineering, legal or tax advice. Check SANS 10400 (the National Building Regulations) and your local municipality’s building control officer for your project.