The council cannot find my previously approved building plans, now what?
I often hear from clients that they have been to the council to obtain a copy of their previously approved building plans, only to be told that the council cannot find previously approved building plans on file. In Tshwane, clients are often told that the plans were lost when the old Munitoria building burnt down.
Although this might be true, many of my clients have had great success in finding old building plans by employing the services of a professional runner. Runners charge a professional fee, but if they do come up with that missing building plan, it will be worth every cent.
If all else fails, we would need to submit plans for the existing building as if it is a new building. This, unfortunately, comes with its own set of problems, such as swimming pools in dolomitic areas that now need special plans if they are closer than 5 meters to the building, energy efficiency (SANS 10400XA), servitudes or building lines that have been encroached, etc.
The best plan here is to tackle one problem at a time. We begin with drawing up the building plan and handing it in, and then concentrate on solving one problem at a time until the plan is approved.