After Morninghill residents have raised concerns over a building contravention in the area, the City Of Ekurhuleni (CoE) clarified the procedures to be followed when building on private property.
Themba Gadebe, spokesperson for CoE, said the owner of the property will have to submit building plans drawn by the architecture or draughtsman for consideration by CoE.
“Depending on the size of the property, an application fee will be paid. A receipt will be issued to confirm that a building plan has been submitted.”
He said a copy of the title deed will have to be submitted to prove ownership of the property, where the owner may authorise a third party to submit building plans on their behalf.
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Gadebe added in which case a Power of Attorney must be submitted as well.
He said approvals of building on private properties go through many departments.
“The plans are circulated to the technical departments within the CoE, namely road and stormwater, energy, water and sanitation to ensure that the proposed building will not encroach on municipal services or even proposed services to be installed in the future,” said Gadebe.
He said that CoE town planners need to ensure that the building complies.
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“The Building Control Section must also ensure the proposed structure does not derogate from the aesthetic set up in the neighbourhood. If the plans meet all of the above requirements the Building Control Officer will make recommendation for the approval of the plans, if not, the owner will be advised about the area of concern and possible amendments that need to be effected prior to the plans being approved,” said Gadebe.
Gadebe said a building may not encroach into the building restriction line unless the owner of the building has obtained consent from the owner of the property affected by the encroachment.
“If the consent is withheld unreasonably, the dispute will be referred to the development planning tribunal for a decision,” said Gadebe.
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Gadebe said CoE, as the custodian over all buildings in its area of jurisdiction, has a legislative obligation to consider building plans as required in terms of the National Building Standards and Building Regulations Act and the Town Planning Scheme.
“This would be to either approve or reject the building plans. Surely, plans that are not consistent will be rejected if the owner of the property fails to amend the plans as per the CoE’s advice or recommendation,” said Gadebe.
