Building Plans & Council Approval in Johannesburg
Every successful building project starts with a well-designed plan. Form Add Function draws up your plans, submits them to the municipality and follows them through to approval, so you can build with everything in place.
Why plans and approval matter
In South Africa you need planning permission before you build, renovate or extend a building. Building without approved plans can lead to fines, delays when you sell the property and, in serious cases, an order to alter or demolish the work.
Whether you are doing a renovation, an addition or a new building, our designers work with you to bring your vision to life, and we take care of the approvals so you can rest assured that everything is in place.
What we handle
- Measuring up your existing building
- Design and floor plans for renovations, additions and new structures
- Submission to the City of Johannesburg
- Heritage applications for buildings older than 60 years
- Follow-ups with the municipality until your plans are approved
- Finishes schedules, procurement and the building work once plans are approved
The approval process, step by step
- Brief and site visit: we agree what you want to build and measure the existing building.
- Design: we design the changes with you and draw up the plans.
- Submission: we submit the plans, and any heritage application, to the relevant authority.
- Follow-up: we stay in contact with the municipality and answer its queries until the plans are approved.
- Build: once approved, our project managers can deliver the work through to completion.
Approved projects
Interim Solutions
New, smaller offices with floor plans approved by the City of Johannesburg.
G&G Digital, Highlands North
Plans, heritage and council approval for a Cape Dutch house.
Further reading: Do You Need Building Plans to Renovate in Johannesburg?
Plan approval questions
Do I need approved plans for my renovation?
Usually, if the work changes the structure, adds space or changes how the building is used: in South Africa that work needs plans approved by the municipality before it starts. Purely cosmetic work, such as new finishes and paint, generally does not. Form Add Function checks this during design and handles the plans and submission when they are needed.
How long does plan approval take in Johannesburg?
It varies with the municipality’s workload, the type of building and whether heritage approval is needed. Form Add Function gives you a realistic time frame when we take on your project and follows up with the municipality throughout.
Do you handle heritage approvals?
Yes. Alterations to buildings older than 60 years usually need a heritage permit as well as municipal approval. We took a heritage Cape Dutch house in Highlands North through heritage and council approval, including a physical inspection by the heritage committee.
Can you also do the building work?
Yes. Once your plans are approved, our project managers and installation teams can deliver the work through to handover.
Need plans drawn and approved?
Tell us what you want to build. We will visit, measure up and explain exactly what your project needs.