Sectional title: simple patio aluminium awning - city council approval required?

[surface]

Hello All, please advise if you any of you have gone through this process.

Is City council approval needed to put up a simple aluminium awning for covering patio. Same question for carport. Where do you go to apply - COJ offices? Do we need to submit some documents (diagram etc?) ? Does anybody from council visit for inspection (before and/or after?)

 

[atomcrusher]

I put up two large aluminium awnings on a freehold home in Jhb, covering two open, external patios. I also installed smaller awnings over each window ... I did the latter because I had a flat-roofed house which had no roof overhang.
I did not ask permission from CofJ .. stuff them. I have recently sold the house (earlier this month) and nobody queried if I had planning permission to install them.

I very much doubt that you would need planning, or Town Planning permission for what you intend to do.

 

[quovadis]

I think you may need to check with the trustees of your body corporate as the installation of an awning and covering your patio will in effect change your participation quota and need to be surveyed etc. I believe that you may need permission for the extension and it's aesthetic effect to the overall scheme.

 

[Roo!]

Here's the strange thing, you do not need the plans to be amended for a carport but you do for an awning. You will need to get the plans drawn up and then have them submitted to your council for approval. Of course if there is a HOA or body corporate involved you will need their permission as well.

 

[atomcrusher]

Here's the strange thing, you do not need the plans to be amended for a carport but you do for an awning. You will need to get the plans drawn up and then have them submitted to your council for approval. Of course if there is a HOA or body corporate involved you will need their permission as well.

Interesting, but can you refer to any regulation / legislation re: this?

 

[Roo!]

Interesting, but can you refer to any regulation / legislation re: this?

Sadly, no. This is simply what I was informed from the chairman of the body corporate when we enquired about having an awning erected.

 

[rodga]

Both the carport and the patio covering will require plan submission to council. Iirc any roofed area greater than 1,5sqm will require approval.

 

[atomcrusher]

Sadly, no. This is simply what I was informed from the chairman of the body corporate when we enquired about having an awning erected.

It may be a requirement for a sectional title unit, as the Body corporate "owns" the exterior of all the buildings. I had no problem as the home I had where I installed external awnings was "own title" (freehold) and the Home Owners Assoc only managed the common areas of the complex (e.g. roadways, and gardens outside of the freehold homes in the complex)

 

[IainMarsh]

We installed a louvre deck. We only needed to ask permission from body corporate as this was regarded as a temporary structure. If we had put up a patio, with brick columns, we would have had to go to the city council. Plans would have to be amended, etc. The Louvre deck bolts to the wall and ground, thus making it easy to remove.

 

[Rahl]

Unfortunately you will have to do as rodga indicated. With Sectional Title you have a participation quota (PQ) and any solid roof extension (i.e patio or carport) does affect this number according to the council. Some people have been told that you can get around this if the awning is adjustable or if its a material cover that lets light through. They may be wrong but that's a separate discussion for you to have with the council.

The problem comes in though as you can't just assess your own unit, as you may have to look at the entire complex. Every houses participation quota builds up to the overall number so your extension may push the entire complex over the allotted coverage of land in the complex. The number may be static from what was initially submitted to the council but people sometimes do funny things and don't check/ ask permission before they build onto their houses/units.

I'm no lawyer so don't quote me, but this is what I was told by the head of the body corporate in my complex and from what I could dig up online.