Working With a General Contractor

Building Approvals: What Do You Need Before You Start Construction?

24 July 2020

Avery Shaw

There is no doubt about the lucrative nature of the real estate industry and the returns you can get when you invest your money there. Anything from a residential home to a commercial complex promises good returns, especially when you invest in an upmarket urban area. The hard part is getting the approval you need to start your construction project. There is much scrutiny from the start of the project to the end. Local authorities must ensure that you adhere to the regulations set out for all investors taking on construction projects. Therefore, they have set out a couple of approvals you must have before you start your construction project. Here is an outline of some of the approvals you should have:

Planning Approvals

All construction work begins with a plan of the structures that you want to build. Planning approvals or permissions are the legal processes used to determine whether you can proceed with the developments you planned.

For example, local authorities specify various land uses within urban centres. Some areas serve as dedicated spots for residential housing while others host commercial complexes, government offices and more. Getting a planning permission means that you have to match your development plans with the desired land use. You cannot build a residential complex in an area dedicated to commercial spaces unless there are pre-approved exceptions to such provisions.

Health and Safety Approvals

The next set of approvals relate to the actual work happening in the site. Construction projects are home to multiple workplace hazards that endanger the workers' safety and the people in proximity to the work. For instance, extensive excavation that is needed when making the foundation can weaken the soil and compromise the foundations of other nearby structures. You can only begin working in such sites after a health and safety approval confirms that you have put up measures to guarantee safety for everyone. Such measures include the use of reinforcing walls to reduce the impact of excavations and excavating at safe distances from other structures.

Building Approvals

Building authorities pay attention to the design elements of the structure that you intend to put up. They do this by issuing building approvals specifying the features that you must include in your structure. Popular examples here include provisions for fire safety equipment and exits for occupants. The permission will also focus on the layout of HVAC, plumbing and electrical installations. Lastly, the approval here will depend on general design elements to ensure that the building is a good fit within that area. 

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