Statutory approvals required for residential building construction

If you are looking to buy a property in Chennai, you might be looking to gather information on the projects, locations, pricing, and offers. Have you gathered information on the list of approvals, NOCs, and licenses required for a residential building? Every builder / developer / promoter must obtain several statutory approvals, NOCs, and licenses from the competent authority before they launch a project. If you are NOT aware of, read this blog to understand the types of approvals, NOCs, and licenses required for residential building construction. 

CMDA / DTCP approval

Chennai is the fourth largest Metropolitan City in India. An area encompassing 1,189 sq.km in the city and surrounding its suburbs in Kanchipuram, Chengalpattu, and Thiruvallur districts has been demarcated as the Chennai Metropolitan Area (CMA) and the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) has been designated as the nodal authority to handle town planning and development within the metro area.

The CMDA regulates developments of residential, commercial, industrial, and special buildings in the Chennai metropolitan area through the issuance of Planning Permission (PP) under section 49 of the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act 1971.

On the other hand, the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has its jurisdiction over the entire Tamil Nadu except for Chennai Metropolitan Area.

You should be aware that Village Panchayat President does NOT have powers to sanction any plot layouts. Although the Government of Tamil Nadu introduced regularization schemes to approve unapproved plots, the areas that were classified as archaeological sites, heritage and monument sites, civil aviation and defense zones, and hill and coastal zones are not covered under the regularization scheme, and it remains unapproved.

No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Civic and Defense Establishments

Depending on the project, a developer may also need to obtain NOCs from relevant authorities such as clearance from the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), Tamil Nadu Highways Department, Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB), Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), Tamil Nadu Fire and Rescue Services, Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety, Tamil Nadu Forest Department, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF), Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Airport Authority of India (AAI), and Indian Air Force (IAF).

Approval from Coastal Zone Management, Tamil Nadu

India has a vast coastline of around 7,500 km while Tamil Nadu alone has a coastline of 1,076 km. The Government of India has notified 500 m from the High Tide Line (HTL) and a stage of 100m along banks of creeks, estuaries, backwaters, and rivers subject to tidal fluctuations as the Coastal Regulation Zones (CRZ).

Through this notification, the Government intends to protect the coastal stretches, promote sustainable living, and ensure the livelihood of fisherman / local communities in the coastal areas. Therefore, a clearance is required from the Coastal Zone Management, Tamil Nadu if the projects lie near the coastlines.

Completion Certificate

Once the building is fully constructed, a developer applies to the competent authority, either CMDA or DTCP, for a completion certificate as per the format prescribed in the National Building Code, 2016. The competent authority shall appoint empanelled professionals to conduct a site inspection and check whether the building is constructed as per the approved plan. The competent authority shall also check the compliance certificate from various civic and defense authorities who have issued NOC for the building construction. Once the competent authority is satisfied, a completion certificate is issued.

Occupancy Certificate

A developer would have obtained a temporary connection from the utility agencies for the purpose of building construction. Once a completion certificate is obtained, the same is submitted to the utility agencies to disconnect the temporary connection and provide a regular utility connection. Once the regular utility connection is made available, the developer applies to the competent authority who will then certify that the building is ready for occupation by the homebuyers. Only then, developers do issue a Possession Letter to the homebuyers.

Though this certificate is necessary for homebuyers to occupy their houses in several Indian states, this is NOT a statutory requirement in Tamil Nadu.

TN RERA Registration

The Government of India notified the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 empowering States to appoint a regulatory authority to regulate real estate developments in the State and to appoint an appellate tribunal to adjudicate the dispute that may arise between the buyers and the promoters/developers of residential or commercial projects.

The Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O.Ms.No.112, Housing & Urban Development Department, dated 22.06.2017 has approved the Tamil Nadu Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Rules, 2017 to carry out the provisions of Real Estate (Regulation & Development) Act, 2016.

With TN RERA in place, every developer must register their project if the area of land exceeds five hundred square meters or if the number of apartments proposed to be developed exceeds eight inclusive of all phases. A developer must upload the details of the proposed project, promoters, structural stability report, geotechnical report, NOCs from the civic and defense authorities, expected completion date, bank details, and unit inventory details.

The Government of Tamil Nadu has also made this registration a pre-requisite for obtaining the Completion Certificate from the competent authority.

Many homebuyers do not have sufficient knowledge to check whether a developer has obtained all approvals, NOCs, and licenses required for the project. With RERA in place, developers must submit all approvals, NOCs, and licenses to the RERA authority to get the RERA registration number. This will give peace of mind and confidence to homebuyers when they buy a property.

Encumbrance Certificate

Before you buy a property, ensure that the property is free of any encumbrances. An encumbrance certificate (EC) is issued by the Sub-registrar under whose jurisdiction you intend to buy a property. EC document is typically obtained for the last 30 to 50 years to ascertain the ownership, sale transactions, and other details regarding the particular property vide survey number.

You must also check if all the Parties or legal heirs of Parties have consented to the sale transactions individually or through a Power of Attorney. Ensuring this step will protect you and your hard-earned savings from any litigation later.

The registration department has computerized the application process for obtaining an EC for the property you intend to buy by accessing https://tnreginet.gov.in/portal/

Licenses for Utilities Operation

If the project has a swimming pool, diesel generator, firefighting systems, waste management facilities, or storage of flammable liquids and hazardous chemicals, a developer or a utility maintenance agency must obtain and renew the licenses required to operate these amenities.

Conclusion

So, while buying a property in Chennai, check with the developer if the project is approved either by CMDA or DTCP, check whether TN RERA registration is applicable for the project or not, and check whether necessary NOCs are obtained from the civic and defense authorities.

When all approvals and NOCs are in place, you can be assured that the building cannot be demolished by any authorities unless a deviation, violation, or non-compliance is found from the approved layouts or Planning Permission or NOCs.