FAQ

In fact, the cost of construction of an independent residential building in Kerala can fall in the range of Rs. 1600 to Rs. 2400 per square feet inclusive of material cost, labour charges and consultancy fees.

The first step in the process of submission of a Building Permit Application is to apply in writing to secretary of Municipality in the Form Appendix A of Kerala Municipal Building Rules. The form shall be accompanied by well dimensioned site and service plans drawn to the scale of 1:400, Building plan including elevation & floor plan, and Section drawings. Apart from these documents, the Land Tax Receipt, Copy of the Original Deed, and Sanction Drawing need to be submitted to the Municipality/Building Corporation’s Department. Generally, it takes a maximum of thirty days for approval. Once sanctioned, you hold a building permit.

The supporting documents to be uploaded for Building Permit Application are Aadhaar Card, latest Land Tax Receipts, Proof of Ownership of property, Possession certificate, three copies of Land sketch, Encumbrance Certificate, Voters ID and Copy of license of signatory architect /licensee. On-line acknowledgement certificate. The certificate is issued in mostly in a week, upon payment of the prescribed fees.

The principal phase for conversion of agricultural land for residential or commercial use is receiving the approval from the competent revenue authority i.e. District Collector/ RDO/ Tehsildar. To avail the approval, an application (FORM No 6) has to be submitted for change of land use citing need of such conversion. The application shall include documents like certified copies of land records, original sale deed, copies of duly signed Layout, Site plan and Building Plan, no Objection Certificates from competent authorities etc. Subsequently an enquiry will be conducted by the authorities seeking basic information of concerned land including ownership, type, area and encumbrances.

To avail a home loan, an application form has to be submitted affixed with three passport sized photographs of the applicant along with identify proofs for residence, Bank Account Statement/Passbook for last 6 months. This will be followed by a signature verification by the bankers of the applicant. Besides, statement on Liabilities and Personal Assets, and property documents are to be submitted. While for salaried employees, original Salary Certificate issued by the employer and Form 16/|T Returns for the past 2 financial years are required, for self-employed businessmen/ professionals, copies of IT Returns/Assessment Orders for the last 3 years need to be submitted along with challans as proof of Advance Income Tax payment.

FSI is the ratio of the total covered built-up area of the building to the area of the plot it stands on. For instance, if you possess an area of 1000 square feet in a locality where the FSI is 1.5, you can develop a residential or commercial building admeasuring 1,500 square feet.

The plinth area or built-up area is the area covered by the floor of the built-up property, along with the area covered by its internal and external walls. Ideally, it exceeds the carpet area by 15 to 20 percent.

According to Kerala Municipal (Panchayat) Building rules, a minimum set back is to be ensured while constructing a structure. The minimum setback for residential buildings in Kerala is as follows. The set back from any street shall be as that required for a building as per KMBR / KPBR. The set back at front side shall be 3 metres, rear 1.5 metres and sides, 1 metre.

A minimum depth of 0.9 metres is adopted for buildings to be founded on clayey soil, considering the volumetric changes like expansion and shrinkage apart from characteristic plasticity. An ideal measure would be adopting a depth until a hard strata is available.