To Build without the NHBRC (National Home Builders Registration Council) in South Africa is not recommended, as it is a legal requirement to register with the NHBRC when constructing a new home. The NHBRC was established in South Africa to regulate the home building industry and ensure quality standards and consumer protection. While it might…
The NHBRC CAN Send You to Jail. If you are in the home building industry then this is a must read. Here are some important things you and housing consumers should take into consideration regarding the NHBRC and how it will affect your home building process. The National Home Builders Registration Council is a government…
What Are You Required to Do with the NHBRC as an Owner Builder? All new homes, by law, have to be registered with the NHBRC, some RDP houses are exempt from this. As an owner builder you may apply for an exemption from the Housing Consumer Protection Measures Act with the NHBRC. There are certain…
What Is the SABS? What Does the SABS Do? The South African Bureau of Standards (SABS) was established in terms of the Standards Act, 1945 (Act No. 24 of 1945) and now operates under the latest edition of the Standards Act, 2008 (Act No. 29 of 2008). This national body promotes and maintains the standards…
NHBRC Review of the Technical Requirements A major revision of the Technical Requirements and Home Building Manual will affect the home builders and may affect the rights of housing consumers and those engaged in the housing supply chain. Housing consumers and key players in the housing industry will therefore also be afforded the opportunity to…
NHBRC Review of the Warranty Scheme The NHBRC recently embarked upon a review process of the NHBRC Warranty Scheme which will result in three new documents being published, namely a set of Technical Requirements for issue as regulations by the Minister in terms of the Act; a Home Building Manual containing the technical requirements prescribed…
The NHBRC has Deregistered from VAT and Adjusted their Fees We have recently had a number of enquiries about how the NHBRC fees are calculated, those are the fees that have to be paid when a proposed new house is registered with them. In 2011 the NHBRC was deregistered for VAT and they adjusted their…
NHBRC Suspends the Payment of House Enrolment Fees-PA003 The National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) announced at the beginning of November 2013 that the home registration fees, that must be paid on all new houses, will no longer be allowed to be included in the first progress payment that is made to the home builder…
Alterations and Additions to Your Home There are so many changes that have been made to the National Building Regulations in recent years that homeowners may be forgiven for wondering what is and what is not allowed in terms of altering and making home additions. Some of the greatest concerns relate to the new energy…
A Concrete Placing Guide Cast Your foundations This guide will help owner-builders to cast the foundations. These foundations are for external brick walls around a new house, or for extensions of an existing house. THE NHBRC (National Homebuilders Association Council) requirements for house foundations: For single-story buildings with tiled or sheeted roofs in stable soil conditions, the…
We Rely on National Building Regulations Why National Building regulations is a question asked many times. Both international and national standards and Building Regulations are fundamental to successful building and construction projects, both big and small.It doesn’t matter whether you are building a garden shed out of timber, a modest family home from bricks and…
About the NHBRC The National Home Builders Registration Council (The NHBRC) was established in 1998 as a regulatory body for the home building industry. Their mandate is to protect house-building consumers and to make sure that building industry standards and regulations are followed. Their stated aim is to protect housing consumers who use contractors who…
The Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act 95 of 1998 Updated 2008 – EXPLAINED 1. Purpose of the HCPA 1. The main purpose of the Housing Consumers Protection Act is to give protection to housing consumers. At the same time it created the NATIONAL HOME BUILDERS REGISTRATION COUNCIL (NHBRC), whose objective is to stand for the…
The Assessment of Alternate Building Technologies This article from the latest issue of AKHANI, the quarterly magazine of the NHBRC, addresses the use of alternate building materials and the legal process as well as the pending changes to their manuals. It is well worth a read. Assessment of ABT (Alternate Building Technologies) Any house…
Consolidated Johannesburg Town Planning Scheme, 2011 Download the Johannesburg Town Planning Scheme document below We have included this Johannesburg Town Planning Scheme document to assist you with accessing the the correct information so that you can make the right decisions when it comes to planning any construction, building and renovation or the purchase of property…
What the National Building Regulations say about Alterations and Additions to Existing Buildings In general, the National Building Regulations are not retroactive in their application. This means that if you are making alterations and additions. a building, you won’t have to ensure that the entire building complies with new regulations that have been imposed since…
Clearing The Site – Getting Ready To Build Preparation is a vital part of any job in the construction industry because if site preparation is not correctly done it can jeopardise the building project. Site clearing operations must also be safe so that there is no chance of anybody being injured. Before you can start…
The NHBRC – Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (Q&A’S) The NHBRC used to have a page with a number of Q&A’s (questions and answers) that we now give you on this website. The most common questions and answers we have listed here below. We must point out to all homeowners and potential homeowners, as well…
Take Charge of Your Home Building Venture as Project Manager Anybody who is serious about owner building will want to have a degree of control to ensure that the project stays on track. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to be hands-on. Taking on the role of project manager simply means that you are…
A Review Based on Personal Experience Having just finished totally updating the ever-popular title, The Complete Book of Owner Building in South Africa I am left wondering whether owner building is a good idea or not. We’ve completed the exercise three times, and not once made any money, or in fact, even got our money…
1. The NHBRC gives protection against shoddy workmanship The NHBRC was established in terms of the Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act, 1998 to regulate the building industry and protect home buyers against shoddy workmanship. Motivation at the time was largely charged by fly-by-night-builders who were conning people all over the country. There was undoubtedly a…
All buildings must have a strong, serviceable, stable and durable design-Part B Why do you suppose we need structural design professionals to be involved in every aspect of building processes? I’ve thought about this often, since we’ve done a load of DIY projects that involve building, and we have seldom had professionals help us. But…
Every Room Must be Fit for Purpose-Part C The National Building Regulations (NBR) are not prescriptive when it comes to the dimensions or size of rooms and buildings. However it is vital that the size of any room or space is fit for the purpose for which it was intended. In the case of a…
Design, Planning and Supervision of All Construction Work Must Follow a Legal Process Requirements for each section of SANS 10400, the Code of Practice for The application of the National Building Regulations (NBR) is presented with the relevant extract from the building regulations (which is law), and is then followed by a general commentary explaining…
Site Safety during Demolitions-Part E If you have to do some demolition work before you build, Part E is the section of the National Building Regulations that you need to familiarise yourself with. But really all it states is common sense and caution. There are only three elements that are covered: 1 – demolition itself,…
