A Van Riebeeck Park resident who has been living on her property for the past two years is now unable to sell her property as she doesn’t have the house plans.
The resident, who wants to remain anonymous, said she had been struggling to get the plans from the municipality and would now have to spend R20 000 to have an architect draw them up.
“I am not sure if this is an isolated incident where the municipality does not have plans for a house, or whether this is a problem in Kempton Park,” she said.
The elderly woman approached the EXPRESS so she could make residents aware of the importance of having a house plan.
“I went to the municipality and they told me they didn’t have the plans,” she complained.
Ekurhuleni Metro spokesman Themba Gadebe said in terms of the National Building Regulations an owner of a property must submit building plans to the local council for approval before the erection or alteration of any building on a property.
“If the submitted building plan is approved, the local council will indicate on the plan that it is approved and give a copy back to the owner,” he explained.
Gadebe pointed out that the owner of a property was responsible to provide and keep approved building plans of all buildings on their property.
“If a resident buys property they should enquire from the previous owner to provide proof by means of an approved building plan and certificate of occupancy that all buildings on the property have building plans and have been approved by the local council,” he added.
“If the owner cannot provide such proof, a building plan drawn by a registered person will have to be submitted to the local council for approval and all required documents must be submitted for the issuing of a certificate of occupancy.”
