Major amendments to building rules comes into effect in Kerala

The state government has made several changes in construction rules as part of various measures to ensure ease of doing business as well as reduce the difficulties faced by common people in obtaining permissions. Announcing the major changes at a press conference here on Wednesday, Local Self Government Minister M B Rajesh said the changes were made keeping in mind the issues arising in district-level adalats and a 14-member committee held wide consultations with various stakeholders.

One significant change is the expansion of the low-risk building classification; This will ensure immediate issuance of a self-certified building permit. Currently, only two-storey residential buildings up to 300 m2 with a maximum height of 7 meters are included in the classification. With the change, the height limit was removed and almost 80 percent of residential constructions were entitled to receive a construction permit within a few minutes of application. The change was made in view of complaints that fast clearances are no longer available for many two-storey houses due to height restrictions in adalats.

Condition of commercial buildings

For commercial buildings, the maximum area for a self-certified permit has been increased from 100 m2 to 250 m2, making many medium-sized businesses eligible for immediate permit allocation. The same will apply to buildings with an area of ​​up to 200 square metres, falling under the Pollution Control Board’s white and green categories. To reduce delays in obtaining permits for buildings that are not in the low risk category, pre-construction site inspection can be avoided if the validity of the application is determined by digital methods. However, if the construction is completed up to the base level, an on-site inspection will be carried out, and in case of violation, the license will be frozen and action will be taken against the owner and license holder.

The Floor Space Index (FSI), which is the ratio of the total construction area to the land area for state-owned IT parks, was increased from 4 to 7, while the coverage area was also increased from 60% to 70%. The same changes will apply to all buildings in areas declared as public transport-oriented developments and central business districts.

Mandatory buildings for the government

The maximum distance from unlicensed roads to residential buildings on plots up to two cents in size up to 100 square meters has been reduced from 2 meters to 1 meter. Considering the numerous cases of violations of various rules, building permits were also made mandatory for government buildings.

The category of buildings that can be approved for construction by the local building secretary without the permission of the regional urban planner has been expanded. Hospital buildings up to 6,000 m2 (currently up to 1,500 m2), industrial buildings up to 3,000 m2 (currently up to 1,500 m2), storage buildings up to 8,000 m2 (currently up to 6,000 m2) and hazardous category buildings up to 500 m2 will be able to benefit from this change. The need to obtain the chief urban planner’s permission for some categories of buildings has also been eliminated.

allow transfer

With the liberalization of permit transfer norms, the validity of the construction permit will not be affected even if some of the remaining land is transferred to another party. Existing rules invalidated the permit if the owner wanted to sell part of the land or transfer it to a relative.

Exemptions currently available for residential construction have been extended to cover small-scale businesses such as flour mills, food processing units and bakeries up to 100 m2, and pain and palliative care units up to 300 m2.

For lawns, courts

A new category of ‘Group D1 – Recreational buildings’ with fewer restrictions has been introduced for grass pitches and playing fields to encourage sporting activities. In small industrial units with an area of ​​up to 200 m2 in the G1 category, the front distance was reduced from 3 meters to 1.8 meters, and the distance on the side and rear was reduced from 2 meters to 1 meter. The minimum height of rooms in this type of construction has been reduced from 3.6 meters to 3 meters.

Parking requirements

Fees for extending the permit validity period have been halved. At least 25% of the parking facilities for buildings must be provided on the same parcel, while the remaining 75% can now be accommodated on a parcel 200 meters away. For hostels of educational institutions, parking facilities are required to be provided only at 50% of the housing capacity. If the hostel is on the same site as the institution, this area should only be 25%. Nursing homes, seminaries, convents, and orphanages are also required to provide parking at only 25% of the residential capacity.

Child-friendly toilet facilities must be provided in new construction. Sheet metal roofs were allowed on houses up to three floors without the need for any additional permission. Restrictions on revised permit applications and regulation were liberalized.