Short answer: if the work touches the structure, changes the outside of the building or adds floor area, you almost certainly need building plans approved by the City of Johannesburg before you start. If you’re repainting, retiling or replacing a kitchen in the same spot, you probably don’t.
The grey area in between is where homeowners and businesses get caught out. We draw up plans and handle building plan approval in Johannesburg for our clients, so here’s how it works in practice.
What the law says
Section 4(1) of the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act 103 of 1977) says you need the local authority’s written approval before you start building work. Plans have to comply with SANS 10400, the national standard for building regulations.
“Building work” is broader than most people expect. It includes alterations and additions to an existing building, not only new houses.
Renovations that usually need approved plans
- Extensions: an extra room, a second storey, a garage or carport
- Removing or moving load-bearing walls
- New window or door openings in external walls
- Enclosing a patio or stoep so it becomes part of the house
- Converting a garage into a room
- Changing how a building is used, for example a house into offices (this can need town planning approval too)
- Demolishing any part of a building, which needs the building inspectorate’s written permission first
What counts as minor building work?
The regulations allow for “minor building work”, which can go ahead without full plans, although you still need the council’s permission. It’s narrower than people hope.
Purely cosmetic work (painting, tiling, new flooring, replacing fittings in the same position) generally doesn’t need plans at all. Internal changes that don’t affect structural or external walls may count as minor building work. If you’re not sure, ask the council before you start. That conversation costs far less than a stop order.
Who can draw and submit building plans?
Plans must be prepared and signed by an architectural professional registered with SACAP, the South African Council for the Architectural Profession. With the drawings, the City of Johannesburg asks for an application form, the appointment of a registered person and, where there’s structural work, a structural certificate signed by a registered person (usually an engineer). Bigger alterations can also need an energy statement under SANS 10400-XA.
Once the plans are approved, you notify the council before work starts and again when it’s finished, before anyone moves in. If you want to change the design along the way, the building inspector has to be told before that work is done.
What happens if you renovate without approved plans?
The council can issue a stop order or a fine, and in serious cases it can order the work to be altered or demolished. Problems also tend to surface when you sell. Banks and buyers’ conveyancers often ask for approved plans that match what’s actually built, and a mismatch can hold up the sale.
Getting plans approved after the work is done is possible, but it’s usually slower and more stressful than doing it properly at the start.
Older buildings need a heritage permit too
If any part of the building is older than 60 years, you also need a permit from PHRA-G, the provincial heritage authority, before altering it. We explain that in Home Renovations in Johannesburg: The 60-Year Heritage Rule Explained.
Two plan approvals from our own projects
For Interim Solutions, who were moving to smaller offices, we did the concept and layout, drew up the floor plans and took them through submission and approval by the City of Johannesburg.
At G&G Digital in Highlands North, the project included a new double-volume wing on a heritage Cape Dutch house. The plans went through the heritage process, with a committee inspection on site, as well as council approval.
Not sure if your renovation needs plans?
Tell us what you’re planning and we’ll give you a straight answer. We can measure up the existing building, draw the plans, submit them to the City of Johannesburg and follow them through to approval. If you’re renovating an office, our office fit-out checklist covers the rest of the process.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Requirements change, so check with the City of Johannesburg for your property.
