Bengaluru: Small buildings up to 1,200 sq ft no longer need occupancy certificates
In December 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that an OC was mandatory to get electricity, water, and sewage connections. Because of this, lakhs of homeowners were left without basic services, even though many of their houses were built legally. Hence, this decision was important.
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday announced that small houses built on plots of up to 1,200 square feet will no longer require an Occupancy Certificate (OC). This applies to buildings with ground plus two floors, or stilt plus three floors.
Officials explained that nearly 4,000 such houses come up every year in Bengaluru, and checking each one for an OC has become difficult because of limited staff. To solve this, the government has used its powers under the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, to make the change, according to a report in Deccan Herald.
Why was this needed?
In December 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that an OC was mandatory to get electricity, water, and sewage connections. Because of this, lakhs of homeowners were left without basic services, even though many of their houses were built legally.
For instance, BESCOM alone has around one lakh pending requests for electricity connections due to this rule.
Digital approval already available
At present, most small houses in Bengaluru get online plan approvals quickly through Nambike Nakshe, a system that clears building plans within 15 days. The government said that since small houses already go through this process, demanding a separate OC is not necessary.
However, some experts are worried about this change. They feel that without OCs, it will be difficult to check whether buildings are safe or legally constructed. There have also been cases where multi-storey apartments were built illegally on small plots.
In addition, people who own ‘B’ khata properties will not benefit, since OCs are not given for such plots. This problem still needs to be addressed. The government clarified that action will still be taken against illegal constructions, but this new rule is meant to help genuine homeowners avoid unnecessary delays.