SA Building Regulations (NBR) Introduction

1,269 Comments

1. Isaac I think I have already answered your query on Facebook. Every country has building regulations and codes. The main differences between SA and British codes are likely to be weather related. But we use quite a few of the British codes in this country. The SABS is the place to find out which codes apply.

2. No the carport doesn’t have to be on the plan – see this link, minor building work. But as you correctly say, to convert it into a garage you will need a plan. You need to get a “competent person” (again click on the link) to draw the plan for you and submit it to council.

3. Not necessarily. He would do if he is building outside the building line for that property. But if you privacy is going to be compromised, you could put in an objection with the local council.

4. I built my house on my property, some 9 years ago, down in the Cape. I have just received a letter from the municipality, stating that my house does not fall inside my building lines. i.e., 1.5m from the sides and 3m from the front.
   The Municipality further state that I must get a surveyor to come and check the site, by a certain date, failing which they will get one, and I will be billed with the account.
   My questions are as follows: Surely the municipality is acting on information from a neighbor. (A new one has just finished building their house behind me.) Are they not obliged to tell me where this infringement is?
   If the house is 200- 300mm outside the building lines, what is the legal process to follow?
   I had an architect draw and build the house, and land surveyor originally did the survey. Before occupation, the municipality had to come and check, inspect, and give an occupancy certificate.

5. Good morning, does my neighbour need written approval from us if he is constructing a structure with a deck that will compromise my existing privacy? Mant thanks M

6. Hi there

   We are about to purchase a property with a single garage and carport on the side. Does the car port need to be on plan? We intend converting the carport into another garage which i believe will have to be on plan. How do we go about this process?

7. why the integration of south African national standard building codes with our British varies in difference regulations

8. They have clearly contravened the law so contact your local authority as a matter of urgency. In fact it would be a good idea to ask the other neighbour to do the same – and deliver the two letters together. Further to that – I would also contact the health inspector and report the rat problem. I would hate to imagine the standard of building work! With so many people living there, there are clearly health issues as well! Sounds like its been hacked together – and the chances are that they didn’t use registered plumbers – so there may not be a proper drain system etc. – that would encourage rats. Don’t delay!

9. Yes it did require a signature but it was for a one bedroom granny flat. We also now have such problems with rats that come over from their side. I am not sure if she has the other neighbours signature for building right up to his wall, or rather over his wall but I know he has complained to us before saying they dont feel comfortable using their pool anymore because of the lack of privacy.

   Thank you for your advice!

10. No they may not use a cement mixer that late. During the week they MUST stop work by 6 pm and there are further restrictions for weekends.
    The times are specified in Site Operations (Part F of the Building Regulations) that you can access from the link I have given you. Scroll down to Control of Unreasonable Levels of Dust and Noise.

11. Rose-Anne, It sounds to me as if this is totally illegal building work. Complain in writing to your local authority and insist that a building inspector visits the property. What you describe needs plans that must be approved by the local authority, and if your neighbour doesn’t have approved plans, the local authority can insist she demolishes the structures. Furthermore, if the building is against a boundary, she will have had to have the plans signed by neighbors. You say you were shown plans, but did she require a signature?

12. Morning

    I just need to find out about some building our neighbour has done. She came around to all the neighbours with plans for a granny flat but she has not stopped building since and its anything but a granny flat. She has basically built a complex in her back yard and turned it into a student commune. There is a double storey building consisting of a two flats, then she converted her garage into a flat and added rooms on top of the garage. The building is right up against the back wall to our other neighbour. These buildings were not on the plans she brought over at all and the builders who did the work definitely not accredited builders. She has probably ten to twelve students living there now with a family of 4 as well. Its getting crowded and our privacy is not being respected. What can we do about it?

13. Hi!

    Is there a daily time limit on when builders can build in a residential area?
    i.e Are they allowed to use a cement mixer till after 10pm??

    Thanking you in advance.

14. Thank you for advise. Re your question about what plans…We wanted updated plans to show all alterations including the structures that are supposedly illegal. The existing plans on record are so old as to be almost illegible and did not show all alterations that had been done in years preceding us buying the property.. We just wanted to comply with requirements to have up to date plans. I wish we had never bothered. Sometimes honesty doesn’t pay.
    The lady refered to was the architect who drew up new plans for us…sorry it was a bit vague.

    We have decided to ignore the verbal instruction and wait for a formal directive. Only problem is the house is now unsellable. Once we are informed in writing to destroy the structures we will take your advice and see a laywer. Many thanks again.
    Marsha

15. Hi Marsha,
    First of all apologies for taking time to get back to you. We had an issue with Comments that got stuck in Never-Land! Essentially it sounds as though this has escalated to a legal matter, and we do not give legal advise on this site. I am not a lawyer but it would seem to me that you have every right to keep your structures. You have done everything correctly and if the council has mislaid your paperwork and plans then I would say that they are liable. Unfortunately if the council are stubborn and not understanding then you might have to get legal help. If you do then claim your Attorney costs so that you are not out of pocket. On the bright side, you at least have proof of submissions and so on.
    Regarding plans when you bought the property – this hasn’t changed. And people still build without plans! Since the NHBRC got involved, everything has become more structured largely to try and protect homeowners.
    One aspect that puzzles me is what plans did you have drawn? You mention the “lady who did our plans”? Were these plans to include the “illegal” structures?
    I am going to stick my neck out and say that if this went to court you’d win. My personal advice is to refuse to destroy the buildings and force them to take you to court!

16. Hi Penny,

    I do have it on the plan layout that all the parties signed. In the contract there is also a clause that states that the cant make any changes to the plan without myself and girlfriend signing the it. e have now noticed that after we complained that they had started building the house on the wrong spot, the new revised plan says that the house is now 3 square metes bigger (note that we did not sign off on this new plan changes). we told them that we cant work with dishonest people like them and want out. They now want us to pay for starting the foundation on the wrong side of the plot… I will just wait for them to come to us with cost before I go to an attorney.

17. Marcello, I presume you have a copy of the agreement you signed with the developer, in which you made this stipulation? If it was verbal, you won’t have a leg to stand on.
    Presuming you have the agreement in writing, I would give them notice in writing that you insist the property is laid out as agreed, viz. with the 8,5 m dimension; and state that you are not going to be held responsible for any costs unless the matter is immediately resolved.
    You will be in a much stronger position (because they are more likely to take you seriously) if you get an attorney to write the letter for you. I am not sure what they charge, but you should be able to get a letter written for between R250 and R500. You need to go to someone who is experienced in conveyancing. Make it clear that you simply want a letter – not for the attorney to negotiate for you (at this stage anyway).

18. Hi there,

    Myself and my girlfriend had bought a plot and plan, but now we are having issues with the developer.
    They started with the foundation but when I inspected the property I found that my Main stipulation that I have the yard have a space of 8.5m from the back wall of the house to the fence found that the space is 5m.

    After telling them that I am not happy with this they said that now they can make it 7.4m and because i am not happy with this as they are still 1.4m short.

    So now I want to get out of the contract as they cant give me what I originally stipulated as a requirement they want to charge me for the work already done even if it is wrong (hence i don’t Think I should pay for something that they noe have to break down)

    Do you know of any solution (someone I could speak to that would not cost us an arm and a leg)

    Much thanks in advance.

19. Why don’t you approach a company leader in the construction industry – or perhaps just a company operating in your area – and ask them for some guidance/thoughts on how much they rely on IT? Just about every aspect of planning and running a construction business today relies on computerization – from drawing plans and quantifying materials, to budgeting and invoicing.

20. Are you trying to compare them? In general they do the same thing … set basic building standards. Whilst the British standards and SANS are “different”, both rely on good international standards. In fact the SANS often refer to BS and to ISO.

21. How can I discuss the intergration sans building codes with the British sans codes

22. Hi Patricia,
    All the regulations apply to all properties, there are no exceptions. The only factor here is that the owner builder would not have been permitted to sell within five years if he had successfully applied for an exemption as an owner builder from the NHBRC. If the property was built seven years ago, this would be irrelevant in terms of the law.

23. hi
    im a 3rd yr computer science student. Im doing an IT system and my target market is the construction industry and i would like to know what are the needs of the construction industry in terms of Information Technology.

24. Hi Louis,
    We do not make registrations for the NHBRC. You will find all their contact details countrywide here: NHBRC-Contacts

25. May you please forward your land line telephone numbers, as I would like some advise on registration procedures.

    Thank you,

    Louis Mouyis
    082xxxxxxx