As-built plans show a building exactly as it stands today. People often need them when a buyer's bank has asked for approved plans, the plans in the council archive do not match the house, or an addition was never approved.
When you need them
- Selling. Approved plans are not a legal requirement for transfer, but banks increasingly ask for them, and the property practitioner's disclosure form asks whether alterations were approved.
- Unapproved work. A carport, an enclosed stoep, a flat at the back. As-built plans are how it gets approved after the fact.
- Lost plans. Council archives lose things. If your plans cannot be found, new ones are drawn from the house itself.
How it works
We measure the house and stand, draw what is there, and compare it with whatever approved plans the council holds. The differences are what the submission is about. Where work does not meet the building regulations as built, the drawings say what has to change for it to pass.
The legal side of selling
In Odendaal v Ferraris (Supreme Court of Appeal, 2008), a building without statutory approval was held to be a latent defect. A seller who knew about it and hid it cannot rely on a voetstoots clause. Sorting plans out before you list is cheaper than a dispute.
Questions people ask
Will the council fine me for building without plans?
Building without approval is an offence under the National Building Regulations Act, so a fine is possible. Most owners meet it as an extra fee when the plans are submitted, and the amount depends on the council. See building without approved plans.
Can you get my original plans from the council?
Councils usually release plans to the owner, or with the owner's consent, and we can help you ask. Whether they exist depends on the council's archive. If they cannot be found, as-built plans replace them.