Expert Building Compliance & Council Approvals in Gauteng

While municipal backlogs often stall unassisted submissions for 6 to 12 months, Building Compliance Agency pre-audits all council plans against SANS 10400 and local Town Planning Schemes and uses dedicated council runners to follow up weekly across every department. Residential building plan approvals typically take 6 to 12 weeks, while commercial submissions and Site Development Plans (SDPs) average 8 to 16 weeks.

Simply provide us with your Erf number, suburb/township name, street address, and property owner's details. Our municipal archive runners search the council records in the City of Johannesburg, City of Tshwane (Pretoria), or City of Ekurhuleni to retrieve copies of your previously approved building plans, zoning certificates, and Surveyor-General (SG) diagrams.

Under Section 14 of the National Building Regulations Act, a building requires council-approved building plans on site plus all statutory Certificates of Compliance (Structural Engineer Form 4, Electrical CoC, Plumbing CoC, Glazing Certificate, Roof Truss Certificate, SANS 10400-XA Energy Efficiency, and Fire Clearance where applicable), followed by a final inspection by the municipal Building Control Officer. We coordinate all inspections and certificates to secure your Occupancy Certificate without delay.

If extensions, carports, entertainment areas, or cottages were built without municipal approval, our SACAP-registered architectural team measures the property on-site, drafts compliant As-Built Council Drawings, applies for any required building line relaxations, and submits the plans to the municipality for legal regularisation.

A Site Development Plan (SDP) is required by Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni prior to building plan submission for commercial, industrial, sectional title, cluster residential, and rezoned properties. It regulates coverage, Floor Area Ratio (FAR), building lines, parking ratios, traffic access, and landscaping.

Rezoning permanently amends the municipal Town Planning Scheme to change the primary land-use rights of a property (such as Residential 1 to Business or High-Density Residential). A Consent Use application retains the current primary zoning while obtaining municipal permission for a secondary use (such as a guest house, crèche/place of instruction, commune, or home enterprise).