Building plan approval, and what you can build without it
Almost every structure needs the council’s written approval before the first brick, and the law is blunt about it. But the regulations also carve out a real list of minor building work you may put up without plans, and knowing which side of that line you are on saves months. Here is the line, who may draw the plans since the rules changed in 2021, how long the council has, and what happens to people who build first and ask later.
What you can build without plans
The regulations define minor building work, which a building control officer may exempt from the plan requirement or authorise on conditions. The list is specific:
| Structure | Limit |
|---|---|
| Tool shed | 10 m² |
| Playhouse or cycle shed | 5 m² |
| Greenhouse | 15 m² |
| Aviary | 20 m² |
| Poultry house | 10 m² |
| Carport or open shelter | 40 m² |
| Swimming pool change room | 10 m² |
| Walls and fences | Up to 1,8 m and not retaining soil |
| Solar water heater on a roof | Up to 6 m² |
| Also included | Pergolas, private swimming pools, replacing a roof in similar material, converting a door to a window, non-structural openings and partitions |
Work of five square metres or less, pergolas, wire fences and fabric car shelters need no plans at all. Everything else does, and an authorisation for minor building work lapses after six months if you do not build.
One caution: minor building work under the national regulations is not the same as your municipality’s zoning scheme. A carport may not need plans and still fall foul of a building line or coverage rule, so check both.
Who may draw and sign the plans
The person who signs must be registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession in one of four categories: professional architect, senior architectural technologist, architectural technologist, or architectural draughtsperson.
The old rule of thumb, that a draughtsperson could do up to 500 square metres, is gone. The 2021 identification of work deliberately disregards square metreage and instead rates each building type across complexity factors: use, structure, technologies, services, urban context, occupational health and safety, and whether it involves an existing building. A scope of practice matrix then says which category may take that work. A barn or a shed rates low for everybody; an office block or a supermarket rates high on structure and technology and belongs with a professional architect.
Rational designs, such as the structural, fire and drainage engineering, need separately appointed competent persons who sign their own forms and certify completion at the end.
What goes into a submission
- A site plan showing the erf, the existing and proposed structures and the building lines.
- Layout drawings, elevations and sections.
- The drainage drawing and, where required, the fire installation drawing and fire protection plan.
- Demolition details where anything is coming down.
- Structural arrangement and ventilation particulars, with engineer’s certificates where a rational design is used.
- Energy usage compliance under the energy part of the building standards.
- A signed declaration by the registered person setting out how the functional regulations will be satisfied.
The owner must keep that person appointed for the duration, and a certified copy of the approved plans must stay on site until the building is occupied.
The timeline, and the occupancy certificate
- Submit and pay the plan fee. Johannesburg’s published scale runs at R21 per square metre for the first 1 000 square metres, R20 for the next, and R18 above 2 000, with a minimum fee and set amounts for small houses and minor work. Cape Town publishes its own annual tariff.
- The council decides within 30 days for buildings under 500 square metres, or 60 days for 500 and above. Approval must be granted if the application complies; refusal grounds are limited to matters like safety, appearance and the effect on neighbouring properties.
- Build within 12 months or the approval lapses. Refused plans can be resubmitted within a year at no extra cost.
- Get the certificates. The electrical certificate and the structural and fire completion certificates from the competent persons.
- Apply for the occupancy certificate. The council must issue it within 14 days of a written request if the building matches the approved plans and the certificates are lodged. Occupying without it is an offence, and it is the document a bank or buyer will ask for years later.
What actually goes wrong
- Building first. As-built plans are harder and more expensive to get approved than plans drawn beforehand, and the council can require work to be opened up for inspection or demolished.
- No occupancy certificate. Extremely common on additions built years ago, and it surfaces at exactly the wrong moment, during a sale.
- An insurer declining a claim. Unapproved work is a standard exclusion, so the fire in the unapproved flatlet is your own loss.
- Using a draughtsperson for a building above their scope. The council rejects the submission and you pay twice.
- Forgetting the neighbours. Where a building affects adjoining properties, the council may require their comment, and an aggrieved neighbour can take an approval on review.
- Assuming zoning approval is the same thing. Rezoning, departure and consent use are separate applications with their own timelines.
Building homes for other people?
Then registration with the National Home Builders Registration Council comes before the plans, and every new home has to be enrolled. We handle the registration for R1 490, with the council’s own fees paid on top.
Register as a home builderFrequently asked questions
What can I build without approved plans?
The regulations list minor building work that the building control officer may exempt from plans: a tool shed up to 10 square metres, a playhouse or cycle shed up to 5, a greenhouse up to 15, an aviary up to 20, a carport or open shelter up to 40, a swimming pool change room up to 10, walls and fences up to 1,8 metres that do not retain soil, pergolas, private swimming pools, replacing a roof in similar material, converting a door to a window, and solar water heaters up to 6 square metres on a roof. Work of 5 square metres or less, pergolas, wire fences and fabric car shelters need no plans at all.
How long does the council have to decide?
Thirty days for buildings under 500 square metres and sixty days for 500 square metres or larger, under section 7 of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act. An approval lapses after twelve months if the work has not started, and plans that are refused may be resubmitted within a year at no additional charge.
Who is allowed to draw my plans?
Someone registered with the South African Council for the Architectural Profession in one of four categories: professional architect, senior architectural technologist, architectural technologist or architectural draughtsperson. Since the 2021 identification of work the old 500 square metre rule is gone. What a category may do is now decided by the complexity of the building type rather than its size, using a scope of practice matrix.
What happens if I build without plans?
Section 4(4) makes it an offence with a fine for each day the unlawful building continues, and the general penalty in section 24 goes up to R4 000 or twelve months. Practically it is worse than the fine: the council can order demolition, your insurer can decline a claim on unapproved work, and a buyer’s conveyancer will find it and hold up the sale until as-built plans are approved.
Do I need plans for a Wendy house?
A tool shed up to 10 square metres is minor building work, so a small one can be authorised without plans. A larger prefabricated structure, or one people sleep in, is a building like any other and needs approval, and it also has to satisfy the zoning scheme.
Keep exploring
Sources: the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977, sections 4, 7, 13, 14 and 24, and the National Building Regulations, including the definition of minor building work and the submission requirements; the South African Council for the Architectural Profession identification of work published in Board Notice 27 of 2021; the City of Johannesburg published building plan fee schedule. Municipal fees and processes differ and change annually; Cape Town’s current tariff could not be verified and should be checked with the city. Information, not legal advice.