PPI Goldfields

04/12/2024

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DON'T HAVE BUILDING PLANS?

In South Africa, there are several consequences for building without approved plans, including:

Legal action-
A building inspector can enter your property and order construction to stop. They can also get a court order to demolish the structure at your expense, and you may be liable for legal costs.
Unlawful structure-
You may have an unlawful structure on your property, which the municipality can ask you to address.
Buyer rights-
If you sell a property without approved plans, it's considered to have a latent defect. The buyer can cancel the deal if they aren't told about the lack of plans.
Financial security-
Banks may consider the building a risky investment and not grant finance for the property purchase.
Selling complications-
Selling a property without approved plans can be challenging and lead to legal disputes or costly modifications.

Contact Us To Provide You With Approved Building Plans-
https://www.professionalpropertyinspectors.co.za/services

13/02/2024

07/02/2024

Selling your home? You’re responsible for the certificates of compliance.

As a homeowner, you should always have up-to-date certificates of compliance (COCs) for your electrical, gas and electric fence installations. Your bonding bank would have obtained these from the seller when you bought your property, and your insurer will most likely ask for them if you ever claim for things like loss or damage due to a fire, or explosion, or third party liability for injury caused by a fire or explosion or by a faulty electric fence.

Life hack #1
Get these COCs updated by an accredited provider if they’re more than 2 years old, or if you’ve made alterations to your home since they were issued.

Life hack #2
Scan them and email them through to your insurer right now, or store them off-site or in a fireproof safe.

Now for the legal stuff-
If you’re selling your property, you have to provide all these COCs as part of the paper trail, and you’re responsible for all costs linked to making unsafe installations compliant, as well as the costs of actually issuing the certificates.

The upside is that supplying these COCs absolves you of financial liability and responsibility for anything that goes wrong with these installations after the buyer has taken ownership.

The down-side is that if you don’t have them in order before you put your property on the market – or at the very latest by the time you get an offer – you risk holding up the sale process, or even losing the sale if the buyer is in a hurry.

# PProfessional Property Inspectors

31/01/2024