City of Windhoek Requirements - Building Procedures

BUILDING PROCEDURES This serves as a guideline for the preparation for, submission and approval of a building permit and the inspection of building work. A: The Architectural stage with guidelines during planning and drafting processes B: The Building plan approval stage with guidelines during which plans are formally submitted and municipal officials scrutinize the plans for compliance with municipal regulations C: The Construction process during which certain building inspections have to be carried out

PLEASE NOTE : The municipality does not necessarily have records of all buildings and plans. The records only date back to approximately 1925. If buildings were erected without a building permit, no records will be available. The same applies to engineering drawings. If an owner wishes to utilize a section of the street in front of his property for the temporary storage of building material and/or rubble, he must submit a rent agreement application form obtainable from the Building Clerk’s office.

A: ARCHITECHTURE Vacant Land

Developed Land

Obtain erf diagram from Land Surveyors Division or a copy of General Plan at Customer Care Center, if required

A copy of Erf map can be obtained from the Customer Care Centre. In cases of doubt or conflict, a copy of the diagram or General plan from the Surveyor General’s Office will be the authoritative plan. (Written permission of the owner of property to make copies of existing building plans is a prerequisite.)

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Obtain water and sewer services plan from Customer Care Center if required.

Obtain water and sewerage services plan from Drawing Customer Care Center and existing drainage drawings from Building Clerks at Customer Care Center, if available and required.

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Obtain copies of contour drawings from Customer Care Center if required.

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It is recommended that proposed major developments be discussed at sketch stage with the Chief Building Inspector at Customer Care Center. (Tel: 2902379)

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In the event of encroachment of building lines, the following procedure is recommended: 1. Enquiries from the Customer Care Center, with regard to municipal water and sewer lines; 2. The Drawing room of the Electricity Department at the corner of Stokes and Armstrong Streets with regard to electrical services; 3. The Cable Section of Telecom Namibia in Hintrager street Pionierspark with regard to telecommunications services; 4. The Roads Planning Section, Customer Care Center with regard to proposed street building line relaxations, possible red routes and parking requirements.

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A: ARCHITECHTURE (continued)

5. Town Planning Section, Customer Care Center with regard to possible flood areas and other Town Planning Scheme restrictions before drawing work is put in hand. 6

Prepare Drawings for building plan approval purposes only, or employ a draughtsman or architect or engineer to do the same. (The Namibia Institute of Architects (Tel: 231559) or The Engineers Council of Namibia (Tel:223264) may be contacted for lists of registered persons

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The requirements of the City Engineer with regard to the submission of a building permit application as stated in the Building Regulations are as follows: • An outlined block measuring 100mm wide and 200mm high, reserved for municipal use only on the right hand side of each plan submitted. • A clear space of at least 30mm around each plan, section, elevation or detail of a building on a drawing. • A Site Plan showing: The dimensions of the boundaries, the position of building lines, the position of existing and new structures in relation to the boundaries, adjacent erf numbers and street names, the north point, contour lines with levels, the flow of stormwater, the pool size and distance from two boundaries or sides of a building, a vehicular access point of minimum 15m from the intersection of a street corner or a splay, flood lines or red routes if applicable and the scale employed. (Minimum 1:1000)

A: ARCHITECHTURE (continued)

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A floor Plan/s showing : The dimensions of rooms and wall thickness, the proposed use and areas of rooms, the direction and incline of staircases, window types or sizes, support beams, positions and type of waste water fittings, positions of fire walls and fire doors, levels of floors in relation to a base reference, the roof line, sewer lines positioned minimum 1m from structures and the scale employed. (Minimum 1:1000). Sections of structures showing : The size of foundations, the level of floors in relation to natural ground level or reduced ground levels and each other, the position and indication of horizontal and vertical damp proofing layers, the outside dimensions of reinforced concrete or steel components, the height of ceilings above finished floor levels, the type and construction of roofs and ceilings (Different sections for different types of roof constructions), the type of construction material to be used and width and height of boundary walls and their foundations, a section showing the levels and positions of the road edge, street boundary and finished floor levels pf a building in relation to each other if the building encroaches the street building line, a section of a swimming pool indicating the depth and type of construction and fire wall dimensions of structures on the boundaries. Layout and Section Showing : The details of the drainage system the direction of flow, details of the levels, coverage, fall and distance of primary and secondary sewer lines exceeding 6m in length, the connection levels and point to the municipal sewer line and the method of safeguarding sewer lines when buildings are built over the domestic sewer. General information such as : The position of municipal sewer (flow direction), water and electricity lines and telecommunication lines and the accommodation and discharge of stormwater when the natural flow of stormwater is obstructed by buildings or walls.

A: ARCHITECHTURE (continued)

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The Plans and Details shall be colored as follows : Existing work – Grey, Floor Plan New Work – Red, Floor Plan New Work on Site Plan. Outlined Red, Demolitions – Yellow, Additional Alterations – Red, Brickwork – Red, Concrete – Green, Wood - Brown, Steel – Blue, Water Closets and Sewer Lines – Red, Waste Water Fittings and Pipes – Blue and Sanitary Fittings – Standard. All drawing work shall be neatly done to correct scales as indicated. Make copies of drawings and submit one durester copy for services confirmation to the Water and Sewer Section Drawing Office, Electricity Dept, The Cable Section of Telecom Namibia and the Drawing Office with regard to the respective services if building lines are encroached. Letters of or consent signatures of neighbors are also required if building lines are encroached. Complete building permit application form obtainable from Building Clerks and submit it together with a minimum of one durester; with services conformation stamps and consent of neighbors if applicable; and one paper copy of each drawing to the Building Clerks for plan acceptance purposes and calculation of building plan approval fees. If an engineer’s design is required, a duly signed agreement form plus one set of paper copies of all engineering drawings must accompany the application. (Housing loan institutions require one or more approved paper copies for loan purposes.) Pay prescribed fee at Customer Care Cenrte and submit plans receipt to Building Clerks in Customer Care Center. In the event of re-approval of an expired building permit and plans, go through processes A2, A9 and A10.

B: BUILDING PLAN APPROVAL

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All situations with regard to “buildings” Once the application form and supporting documents have, been accepted by the Building Control Division, the scrutinizing process starts. The Sections /Divisions/Departments possibly involved with the scrutinizing of the building permit application once the Building Control have accepted an application are: Health Department – Verifying compliance with health regulations such as ventilation, lighting, provision of ablution facilities, etc. Road Construction – Check for accommodation of stormwater etc. Water and Sewer – Examine the design of the sewer system and connection points to municipal systems. Town Planning – Check for compliance with Town Planning Scheme, issues such as zonings, bulk factors, parking requirements, etc. Roads Planning – Check for red routes, parking requirements and street building line relaxations. Architecture – Check for acceptance of building if structure encroach on building lines adjacent to municipal owned land and scrutinize applications submitted by municipal personnel under housing scheme system. Fire Brigade – Scrutinize plans for compliance with fire regulations such as fire fighting equipment, escape routes, etc. Building Control – Perform final check of application, the scrutinizing of other sections, provision of required informationand compliance with building regulations.

B: BUILDING PLAN APPROVAL (continued)

3 If all are in order, the Chief Building Inspector approves the application and issues a building permit. 4

The building clerks register the approval on the database and contact the applicant for collection of all documents to be returned to the applicant.

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The applicant then collects, acknowledging receipt of the building permit and approved plans, from the building clerk’s office.

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Enquire from the Building Clerks, telephone 2902386, if no telephonic or written acceptance or rejections of application has been received within 28 calendar days after submission or 35 calendar days if public holidays occur during the 28 day period after submission.

C: BUILDING INSPECTIONS

All situations with regard to “buildings” 1

The onus rests with the owner of a property to call all necessary building inspections on forms prescribed by the municipal and to ensure that the erf boundary pegs are in place and correct. The inspections required are not necessarily all of the following; Foundations – Check the correct excavation work, distances from boundaries and whether erf pegs are pointed out etc. Damp proof course – Check that all horizontal and vertical damp proofing are placed. Open Sewer Check that sewer is correctly laid and connected to municipal system. Closed Sewer – Check that sewer system has been completed correctly and that system is working. Final – Check that all work has been done as per approved plans. Cognizance should be taken of the restriction that building work may not progress beyond stages where inspections are required and the work has not been accepted.

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No building may be occupied unless it has been certified complete. This certification may not necessarily be a certificate, but can be a “partial completion” input on the database; subject of course to the owner having called for a final inspection and that the building inspector has approved it. Actual completion certificates are only issued if requested by the owner. If an improvement taxes retrospectively for up to two years.

C: BUILDING INSPECTIONS (continued)

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If the approved plans are deviated from to such an extent that the Building Inspector requests the submission of an amended plan, building work may only continue with the Building Inspector’s consent. The owner must then go through the applicable Architecture, Building Plan Approval, and Building Inspections processes again.

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Follow-up inspections on all approved building plans are carried out at approximately three month intervals

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If for any reason an inspection is called for and the work is rejected, the owner is obliged to rectify the work and call for a re-inspection before the work may proceed and further inspections are carried out.

PLEASE NOTE : The Building Inspectors cannot certify that erf pegs are correct because the onus rest with the owner to ensure the correctness thereof. The duties of the Building Inspectors are limited to compliance with regulation inspections and do not carry out quality inspections. They may condemn suspect work or material if it contravenes safety regulations, or advise an owner with regard to such work or material without obligation. The owner may seek advice from the Building Inspector without obligating the Building Inspector or Council If an inspection was requested and carried out and the work or part thereof has been condemned or rejected, the owner may not proceed with the work or part thereof, unless a follow-up inspection had been called for and the work accepted.