GEORGE NEWS - A municipality is responsible for the approval of building plans. The building control division is responsible for the approval process of building plan applications and the enforcement of statutory requirements regulating buildings, in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act 103 of 1977).
It ensures that all applicable legislation and other relevant standards are conformed with.
Legal requirements
A building plan can only be submitted to the municipality if all legal requirements are met. Except for minor works (as determined by the municipality), all building plans must be drafted by an architect registered with the South African Council of Architectural Professionals and it is the responsibility of the property owner to ensure that the architect is registered.
Electronic plan submission
In George a building plan is submitted via an electronic portal. This means that all plans must be uploaded onto a system which assists in managing and tracking all building plans.
This portal was designed to give online information to owners, architects, draughtspersons, agents and other related career practitioners regarding building plan applications and reflects the progress that has been made with the approval of the plan.
Besides the building plan, other information is required, such as a title deed and a Power of Attorney.
The property owner can grant another person the authority to act on their behalf by signing a Power of Attorney which forms part of the supporting documentation necessary for the submission of the building plan, and includes the permission to complete and sign the SANS and application forms required.
The SANS forms were developed by the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS), and SANS 10400 is a series of regulations that set the standards for building construction across the country.
Adhering to them is mandatory and the SANS forms must be signed and submitted as part of your building plan application via the portal.
Less complex building projects
If the building is a single residential property, an extension, a refurbishment of a house, or a similar less complex project, the architect (also called the competent person) will sign all of these forms based upon the authority of the property owner.
For a double-storey construction, the expertise of a structural engineer may also be required to make sure the structure is solid and can bear the load of the construction.
More complex building projects
If the building work is more complex, such as a block of flats, a shopping centre, or an industrial building, an engineer or another professional will be appointed as the competent person.
In all cases and irrespective of the type of structure, the competent person signs the SANS forms to say that they are competent and have the skills, abilities and knowledge to sign the documents and the proficiency to oversee the work to be done.
The competent person will be supported by the architect, the quantity surveyor, the developer and other professions as required.
Property owner’s accountability
The property owner must always remember that they, as the registered property owner, are accountable to ensure adherence to the obligations, particularly where their duly authorised nominee (eg competent person) has not adhered to the terms of the National Building Standards and Regulations Act.
Administrative compliance
Once the building plan and all the required documents have been uploaded onto the portal, the building control section will check to ensure administrative compliance. There may be particular site-specific documents which will be requested if needed, these include where there are telephone or electrical poles, where there are municipal services, if the building is older than 60 years old, and if there are any trees (especially indigenous trees) to be affected).
Building plan examiner
As soon as it is determined that all the administrative issues have been dealt with, the plan will be scrutinised by a building plan examiner. The examiner will check that all the technical requirements are in place from a building control perspective. The plan is also circulated to all other internal and external authorities who need to check the plan.
This includes municipal engineers to check on municipal services, the fire department to check for fire safety, town planning who checks on compliance with the town planning policies and approvals, and any other entity that the building control section requires to scrutinise the plan.
The examination of a building plan is not the task of a single person.
After the process of plan consideration, the building control section will scrutinise the plan and review all comments received, based upon which an outcome is formulated and submitted to the building control officer (BCO) for a recommendation to the decision-maker for an outcome.
Plan amendments
If the building plan needs to be amended, the applicant/agent will be informed of the required amendments and the revised building plan needs to be resubmitted. On receipt of the amended building plan, the plan will be re-circulated to the departments that required additional information.
If these amendments were done and confirmed as such by the departments, an outcome will be formulated by the building control and sent to the building control officer for the memorandum of recommendation to the decision-maker for an outcome.
Most plans have to be re-submitted a number of times before they are fully compliant. Once the BCO is satisfied, s/he will sign off the plan.
The BCO is an official who is appointed in terms of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act by Council.
The applicant will be informed of the outcome of the application.
Competent person/s
Once the plan is approved, the competent person/s take responsibility for the process. In the case of more complex constructions, as soon as the building plans (the architect’s drawings) are approved, the engineer will draft their drawings that set out the technical requirements.
The engineer is not required to submit the technical or structural drawings to the municipality for approval, as the engineer certifies the drawings themselves.
Inspections
The competent person (usually the structural engineer) takes full responsibility for the control and management of the site. This means that they are not required to request the municipality to undertake any inspections. In terms of law, the competent person will do the required checks and inspections and ensure adherence to the building plan.
If there are any amendments to the approved plan, the competent person must approve the amendments, which will then be submitted to the municipality at the end of the build along with all the required certificates of compliance when the occupation certificate is applied for.
Certificate of occupancy
Once all building work has been completed, the owner, contractor or builder may apply for a certificate of occupancy, which must be issued by the municipality within 14 days of requesting the application, on condition that the work done complied with the approved plans and that all the relevant certificates have been submitted.
These certificates include the engineer’s completion certificate, the drainage certificate, and the electrical compliance certificate. The certificates of compliance are issued by the responsible professional. For example, the electrician will issue a certificate stating that all the electrical work has been correctly carried out and is safe for use.
The sign-off of the compliance certificates cannot be undertaken by the building control officials as they are not competent professionals in the various fields.
If your request for the occupation certificate was denied, the municipality should supply you with reasons for the denial.
The building can only be used and occupied when a certificate of occupancy has been issued.
Inspections for less complex constructions
If a construction is less complex, such as the examples given above, a different process is followed. Once the building plan has been approved three different inspections will be carried out:
- Commencement inspection and trenches/excavations inspection: It is required that the owner/contractor should give notice to the municipality prior to the commencement of any building work on site. In most instances, the commencement and trenches/excavations inspection are combined.
- drainage / sewer inspection, and
- completion inspection/occupation inspection.
It is the responsibility of the owner to request the different inspections at the different stages of construction work. Requests for building inspections must be submitted timeously.
Once the completion inspection has been done and the construction is fully compliant, an occupation certificate is issued on the written request of the owner within fourteen (14) days.
The building can only be used and occupied after a certificate of occupancy has been issued.
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