Building plans are the graphical representation of what a building will look like after construction. In most countries, it is customary to obtain a permit or approval from appropriate authorities and Nigeria is not an exception. A Building plan approval is necessary before construction can commence.

This is to ensure that building complies with building laws and codes and to prevent people from just constructing as they deem fit. Hence, in Lagos, the very first thing to do when you want to commence construction is to obtain a Development Permit from the Lagos State Physical Planning and Development Authority (LASPPDA), a parastatal under the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.

How to get your building approval:
In order to get building approval in Lagos, the land in question, where the building is to be erected must first have a certificate of occupancy before your building plan can even be assessed by the appropriate bodies. Also, your land title determines the height and the density you can go, depending on the area the building will be or the kind of building you intend to put up.

Hence, the following documents must be submitted at the point of registration of all applications for building plan approval in line with the State policy on Operation 30 – 30; an acronym for speedy processing/approval of building plan applications:
1. Five (5) sets each of :-
• Architectural Drawings,
• Structural Drawings, with detailing/calculations and letter of structural stability from COREN certfied Engineer.
2. Survey
3. Title Document
4. Tax clearance and Government fee (In the case of individuals); the Government fee only comes to play after your building plan must have been assessed and marked for approval…
Having paid your government fee, site inspection can now be carried out. It is after site inspection, all documents such as tax clearance certificate, title document, receipt of Tenement rate paid to the Government in respect of rateable properties owned by the applicant in Lagos State or Sworn Affidavit in lieu of that, or better still Land use charge rate. This ensures that you pay a development levy of 100 naira.

Furthermore, a team is sent to the site yet again to ensure that the land is still vacant, after which the Site Inspector writes a report. The Charting officer charts while the Site Engineer also performs his duties. In the case of 1-2 storey buildings, the design is sent to the architect after charting, for clearance. Architectural design is submitted for inspection to confirm if design is in conformity with the approval standards and order for the area which the land is located.

But, if it the structure is more than a 2-storey building in the design, then a Mechanical and Electrical drawing will be required. Invariably, the site will also be checked with the
immediate environment to see if proposal is in conformity with the existing land use, and if the size of the plot is as presented in the survey plan and design proposal. If the inspection report is satisfactory, the application will then be registered, provided all documents have been submitted.

The processes your building approval application undergoes:
The file is sent to the district officer who transfers it to the vetting officer. The application can then be recommended as long as there are no outstandings. The District Officer later sends it for concurrent approval. The file is authorized for registration by the District Officer(D.O) and registered by the clerical officer who assigns the file number and receives all sheets of the drawing submitted. Provided all relevant documents are submitted, the file is sent to the table of the DO, who sends it to the field officer to include his site sketch and report while another file is opened with all relevant payment receipts and sent to the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service for payment of tax confirmation. If all is well and good, you then declare your tax.

Your file is sent back to the District Officer from the General Manager’s desk for final approval. A stamp and a seal is put on it. However in the case of commercial buildings,
Institutional applications and some other uses prepared by an Urban and Regional Planner registered by NITP/TOPREC, an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required.

When the EIA gets to the Head Quarters, the department of the EIA will clear it. After the EIA has been certified, it is attached to the file and sent to the General manager for concurrent approval. If the application for building plan approval entails a project that goes beyond 2-storey building, then the file will come to the permanent secretary to the government. When it is beyond 4-storey building, the file is sent to the commissioner.

Also, beyond 6-storey building goes to the governor but in all, it’s the same process except you are doing high rise buildings. In this case, we will be having 10-20 floors. This requires that you tender a Transport Impact Assessment (TIA) that is handled by the Ministry of Transport. The recommendation officer’s job is crucial as he/she will go through the entire file to ensure that all requirements in terms of documents and fees have been included in the file.

Finally, the site will be re-visited to confirm that construction has not commenced before recommending to the District Officer for final approval. All of these can be done for you by your Architect, Surveyor or any other knowledgeable member of your building team. Albeit, we at www.naijapropertiesonline.com can link you up with reputable surveyors to help process your building plan approvals.


Source:
http://www.naijapropertiesonline.com/how-to-get-building-plan-approval-in-lagos/

Issokay

Insightful..

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Nice one, but why does it take years to get C of O.

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Ever heard of 'Palm Greasing' ?




Are you new in Nigeria/Lagos?

Nice one. Thanks Op

Nice one

Surveyor has nothing to do with building approval, pls be wise... Give ur work to a building expert not a surveyor.

All these long process to get approval to erect a building?
Na wa ooo

Correct...

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Ok

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interesting..

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I want to know what happens if your building does not have building plan, because 90 percent of the building in my area don't have gazette, let alone building plan their owners are all land lords.

Can someone tell me why I should go through all this stress when the government is not even policing the building plan laws?

without ekunje and oiling the wheels, your file would sit there for decades. I still wonder how we can say we are fighting corruption when nothing has changed in service delivery and govt offices.

Whether it is one building or many, always contact us!

Turks:
You didn't add 'Palm Greasing'

Are you new in Lagos?

hahahhahah.

OP what is the likely penalty if construction has started before building plan approval?

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gurnam:
OP what is the likely penalty if construction has started before building plan approval?

Yes if u a been served before you start d processing, bt if u a nt been served u can get ur way out. However d penal fee is *4 of d assessment fee.

Check my signature

einsteino:
without ekunje and oiling the wheels, your file would sit there for decades. I still wonder how we can say we are fighting corruption when nothing has changed in service delivery and govt offices.

It is nt eguje, it call PR whc even help u, der a some little area whc can make ur file stand still. Dey just help u amend it based on d fact dat u av wash ur hand well.

Seriously nobody will ask u for it nd u wnt b fustrated to drop it bt u knw will knw dey serve sometyn.

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Op thank you. But you committed a very important and inevitable point. In Lagos Soil test is inevitable if your building is not a bungalow. Contact a qualified and certifiedEngineering Geologist for your soul test on info@gemfieldsltd.com. www.gemfieldsltd.com. Avoid quacks

blueseacats:
I want to know what happens if your building does not have building plan, because 90 percent of the building in my area don't have gazette, let alone building plan their owners are all land lords.

Can someone tell me why I should go through all this stress when the government is not even policing the building plan laws?

For dos who does nt av dey can b served noticed at anytym, d land can b aquire by govt if it nt gazetted, der house can b easily demolished.

On the other hand for dos dat av d approval, ur house cnt b demolised, even if it is done for public interest u will b compensated. It gives u assurance dat ur house is fit to resides in, u wnt av to pay penal fee among other benfits

melejo:
Op thank you. But you committed a very important and inevitable point. In Lagos Soil test is inevitable if your building is not a bungalow. Contact a qualified and certifiedEngineering Geologist for your soul test on info@gemfieldsltd.com. www.gemfieldsltd.com. Avoid quacks

Yes it very important bt note soil test is required for residential building above 2floors, commerical, institutional 2floors and above.

dahreh90:
Surveyor has nothing to do with building approval, pls be wise... Give ur work to a building expert not a surveyor.

are you pained ?

well, it's only a jobless surveyor that will be running upndan because of building approval for someone else. with the new review of professional scale of fees in Lagos state, just fives jobs in a quarter and you re good to go

.....and besides, we re in Nigeria

It is the sole responsibility of government to provide shelter for the citizens.

In this part of the world, citizens provide shelter and government try to make life difficult for such person. You pay more than the house you wish to build.

Phulish government.

Ok thanks this will be useful to me in the nearest future

Nice topic