For clients and contractors,
having an approval for your building plan is one of the most important steps
that must be taken in order for the construction to be considered as legal. This
is because it takes the regulating body in every country to sign and approve a
structural plan or blueprint before the commencement of a construction.
On this post today,
buildingcontractorsecrets.blogspot.com is delighted to take you through the processes
involved in having your building plan or building blueprints or structural
plans approved in any country. Because this blog is run by Nwachukwu Richard, A Nigerian
Civil Engineer, this post is going to be created taking Lagos as a case study.
Unlike others, I love to think of
a building plan as an idea that starts with the gift of imagination. It has
also been proven that even the shortest stroke of the pencil is better than the
longest memory. Because imagination is like a visitor, it takes a sharp pencil
to capture it in order to prevent it from being lost forever and this is where
out building plans sets in.
Building plans are the most
tangible imaginative creations that depicts the aesthetics of the actual
building even before the execution of the real project. It tells how beautiful,
the schematics and the dimensions of the actual project. Building plans are
such tools that without them, understanding the and capturing the reality of
the beautiful duplex with a swimming pool and a lovely garden, the 100000m2 of
parking space with tons of convenience stores meeting the needs of various
individuals.
These are the graphical
representation of what the building will be like after the construction has
been carried out. Apart from this, it also helps In the process of evaluating the
cost of erecting such structures. The building plan also provides a column for
the specification of the materials needed for the actual construction. It helps
the quantity surveyor to do a rundown of the total cost of the project.
As a standard, it is required
that a building permit be approved by the regulating authorities and this
stands in every country including Nigeria. With this approval, you’ll have the
opportunity to construct that dream building without fear of environmental
sanctions since these are checked before approval.
Obtaining a building permit also
ensures the project complies with the necessary building laws and codes and
ethics. This prevents the illegal construction of structures on unwanted
places. You will understand what I mean if you have ever come across a building
constructed under a national grid like the “Woodridge Hotel” in the Niger Delta
region of Nigeria now “Golden Tulip Hotel constructed opposite the former Woodridge structure.
Having known the meaning of a
building plan, building permit and its importance, you have definitely come to
understand that it is the very first thing to do if you must commence the
construction of your home.
Approving your building plan in Lagos
for example requires a visit to the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development
Authority (LASPPDA). This is the body charged with the issuance of building
permits in all around Lagos State. Other states like Delta, Rivers, FCT and
Cross River has their own Physical Development authority and constructing in
these states requires a visit to the regulating authority. The LASPPDA is a Government Parastatal under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Ministry of
Urban Development.
Now let’s talk about approving
your building plan
So How can you successfully
obtain a building permit from LASPPDA? Its simple!
You need to ensure the land you
wanna build on has a Certificate of Occupancy. It is only on the presentation
of this certificate that the Officers from the ministry of Urban Development
would access the site. The type of ownership you have for the land also
determines the level you can reach.
I therefore recommend you attach
the following documents at the initial point of application for a building permit in order to have your
request granted. You must register all application for building plans according
to the directives of the state policy on Operation 30-30. Operation 30 – 30 stands
for speedy processing/approval of building permits.
Now attach the document listed
below to begin the registration.
1.
Survey Plan
2.
Title Document
3.
Five (5) sets for: Architectural Drawings,
Structural Drawings, Detail drawings/Bill Of Quantity (B.O.Q) and letter of
stability from an Engineer Certified by Council for the Regulation of Engineering
in Nigeria (COREN).
4.
Tax Clearance and Government Fee: the government
fee would set in after your plan must have been accessed by the officials from the
ministry of urban Development.
Having paid your government fee,
site inspection can now be carried out. It is after site inspection, all
documents such as tax clearance certificate, title document, receipt of
Tenement rate paid to the Government in respect of rateable properties owned by
the applicant in Lagos State or Sworn Affidavit in lieu of that, or better
still Land use charge rate. This ensures that you pay a development levy of 100
naira.
Furthermore, a team is sent to
the site yet again to ensure that the land is still vacant, after which the
Site Inspector writes a report. The Charting officer charts while the Site
Engineer also performs his duties.
In the case of 1-2 storey
buildings, the design is sent to the architect after charting, for clearance.
Architectural design is submitted
for inspection to confirm if design is in conformity with the approval
standards and order for the area which the land is located.
But, if it the structure is more
than a 2-storey building in the design, then a Mechanical and Electrical
drawing will be required.
Invariably, the site will also be
checked with the immediate environment to see if proposal is in conformity with
the existing land use, and if the size of the plot is as presented in the
survey plan and design proposal. If the inspection report is satisfactory, the
application will then be registered, provided all documents have been
submitted.
The processes your building
approval application undergoes:
The file is sent to the district
officer who transfers it to the vetting officer. The application can then be
recommended as long as there are no outstanding.
The District Officer later sends
it for concurrent approval.
The file is authorized for
registration by the District Officer (D.O) and registered by the clerical
officer who assigns the file number and receives all sheets of the drawing
submitted.
Provided all relevant documents
are submitted, the file is sent to the table of the DO, who sends it to the
field officer to include his site sketch and report while another file is
opened with all relevant payment receipts and sent to the Lagos State Internal
Revenue Service for payment of tax confirmation. If all is well and good, you
then declare your tax.
Your file is sent back to the
District Officer from the General Manager’s desk for final approval.
A stamp and a seal is put on it.
However in the case of commercial
buildings, Institutional applications and some other uses prepared by an Urban
and Regional Planner registered by NITP/TOPREC, an Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) is required.
When the EIA gets to the Head
Quarters, the department of the EIA will clear it.
After the EIA has been certified,
it is attached to the file and sent to the General Manager for concurrent
approval.
If the application for building
plan approval entails a project that goes beyond 2-storey building, then the
file will come to the permanent secretary to the government.
When it is beyond 4-storey
building, the file is sent to the commissioner.
Also, beyond 6-storey building
goes to the governor but in all, it’s the same process except you are doing
high rise buildings.
In this case, we will be having
10-20 floors. This requires that you tender a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA)
that is handled by the Ministry of Transport.
The recommendation officer’s job
is crucial as he/she will go through the entire file to ensure that all
requirements in terms of documents and fees have been included in the file.
Finally, the site will be
re-visited to confirm that construction has not commenced before recommending
to the District Officer for final approval.
All of these can be done for you
by your Architect, Surveyor or any other knowledgeable member of your building
team. Albeit, we can also process your building plan approval for you in any
south western state of Nigeria.
Thank you very much for writing such an interesting article on this topic. This has really made me think and I hope to read more. http://sshomes.info/
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