1. Proof of Ownership
Of Land (With Certificate of occupancy or Governors Consent Document Where
Necessary):
This is a form
of receipt or deed of agreement with which the land owner claims the property.
Land can be transferred, out-rightly bought or inherited. The title to the land
may be a certificate of occupancy (CofO) an official document that
acknowledges the right to ownership of a certain property. It is proof that the
governor of the state has obliged his consent and is aware that a right of
possession has been given to the individual, corporate entity or group of
persons to whom a Certificate of Occupancy has been issued.
Or Governor’s Consent which is issued by the Governor of the state who decides
the direction of development in the state as provided by the land use act of 1978. To that effect, any land acquired after 1978, will require
a governors consent document for the ownership claim to be recognized.
2.
Sets
of Relevant Drawings (Architectural, Electrical, and Structural):
This is perhaps
the most important document when applying for building plan approval because it
contains the ideal information for which application is sought. The
architectural drawings provide the evidence of spatial consideration used by
the architect or designer to provide the spaces requested by the client. The
spaces are expected to flow into each other and be compatible. As much as
possible, the spaces should be ordered such that the interior micro climate of
the spaces are thermally comfortable by providing cross ventilation where
possible and paying attention to the location of rooms with respect to the
cardinal points. He also checks to see the conformity of the design to basic
regulations of offsets from the property line which is expected to be 3 meters
from property line and 6 meters from the road. These are some of the information
that the vetting officer will check when he inspects the drawing in plan,
section and elevation. It is expected that only about 60% of the land should be
developed, the remaining 40% provide air spaces, and circulation.
3.
Survey
Plan with Proof of registration:
This is a
document that shows the accurately determined terrestrial position of points,
distances and angles between them. It is used to establish land maps and
boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes. Land survey plan documents
in Nigeria are usually produced by professional and registered surveyor where
the blue copy is handed to the client and the red copy is sent to the office of
the surveyor general for documentation.
4.
EVIDENCE
OF PAYMENTS OF APPROVAL FEES:
After the processing
fee would have been prepared by the clerical staff, and the payments made, the
client or client’s representative is expected to advance to the accounting
department to convert all tellers obtained from banks into treasury receipts
which is the only acceptable document recognized by the development permit
departments. These receipts are in three different categories; the treasury
receipt for the payment of the processing fee, the receipts for payment of the
10% LGA and development levy.
5.
TAX
CLEARANCE CERTIFICATES
This is an
evidence of responsibility to the government. A tax clearance certificate is
always requested when an application for building plan approval is embarked on.
In recent times, the tax clearance certificate is electronically driven and
only a photocopy of the document is required as an essential document to be
presented to the clerical officer.
Typical delays in
getting a building plan approval stems from tax and structural drawing papers
as well as loopholes in tax documents. It is therefore, advisable that you get
familiar in advance with the required documents as some of these will take some
time to obtain and also make sure your tax papers are up to date.
What’s more, getting the
final approval usually varies with different construction sizes.
Nonetheless, you can simply employ the
services of an agent, consultant, Architect,
Surveyor or any other knowledgeable member of your
building team to process your building plan approval on your behalf.
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