One would think putting up a harmless thing like a carport at one’s own home would be at one’s own whim – not as far as the law is concerned.
Randfontein resident Amanda van Zyl came forward about her house not being able to be sold due to a carport without plans.
Randfontein Local Municipality was contacted with regard to this law that is not commonly known by residents.
“According to the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act (Act 103 of 1977) a carport is defined as a building intended to provide shelter for a motor vehicle, caravan, or boat with walls on not more than two sides,” Lucky Chiya, spokesperson for the Randfontein Executive Mayor said.
Chiya said a building plan must be submitted to the municipality for approval prior to the erection of a carport. He said application fees for the plan submission varies with each municipality.
In addition the cost of drawing up these plans are not regulated by the municipality as private companies draw up the plans for submission. It should be noted that the municipality works hand-in-hand with certain companies in order to ease the process.
According to Van Zyl who was outraged that her house could not be sold without a plan for the carport, she was asked to pay R2 900 for the approval of the plans and R1 400 for drawing up the plans. This is more than the amount she paid for her carport to be erected.
“The plans for my carport are now costing me almost the same amount of the carport itself. It will be cheaper for me to just break it down. Nobody told me I needed plans for it, not even the people that put it up,” Van Zyl said.
The next time residents think about putting up a carport, it should be noted that they are not only paying for the erection of the carport but also for the permission to put it up, which in the case of Van Zyl is almost the same price as the carport itself.
