No permission required for adding roofs to houses; Relaxation introduced in building construction permits

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: No permission is required from the local body for roofing a house made of sheets or roof tiles. The exemption is applicable to houses up to three floors. The exemption is subject to the condition that the height from the terrace to the sheet should not exceed 2.4 meters. For residential buildings of 300 square meters, it is also permitted to construct sheet roofing in an area of ​up to 15 square meters at the front and back, maintaining a minimum distance of 60 cm from the road. More buildings have been included in the category (low-risk buildings) that can receive a self-certified permit upon application.

Houses up to 300 sqm in area, up to 2 floors, and 7 meters in height were included in this category. The height limit has been completely removed. With this, about 80 per cent of the houses will now be able to get construction permission within minutes if they apply, said T.V. Anupama, Special Secretary, Local Government Department, at a press conference.

Earlier, it was not possible to secure permission for additional construction on buildings if the minimum distance to be maintained from the boundaries and the road was not available at ground level. With the new amendment, no matter how far the buildings are from the road, the minimum distance requirements need to be met only for the newly added part.

This will be helpful for those who have given away land, including for road development, as well as for those making additions to existing buildings. Necessary strengthening of the remaining buildings on the land given away for the road has been permitted.