Building Law
Building law tests whether you know which instrument controls a decision, which body issues it, and what happens when a neighbour or an authority disagrees.
Four layers of control
- Planning: the Town and Country Planning Ordinance and the Urban Development Authority Act govern zoning and development permission; in declared UDA areas the UDA is the approving body, elsewhere the local authority.
- Building control: by-laws made under the Municipal Councils Ordinance, the Urban Councils Ordinance and the Pradeshiya Sabha Act, plus the older Housing and Town Improvement Ordinance, set setbacks, heights, ventilation, drainage and construction standards.
- Environmental and resource consents: the National Environmental Act requires an IEE or EIA for prescribed projects, cleared by the Central Environmental Authority or a delegated project approving agency. The Coast Conservation Act requires a permit within the coastal zone; aviation height clearance and archaeology clearance can also be triggered.
- Private law: contract, the tort of negligence, easements, boundaries, and the Condominium Property Act for strata titles and common elements.
Worked example
A neighbour's roof overhangs 300 mm across the boundary, and the client wants to build up to the boundary. Reasoning: the overhang is a trespass but trivial in value; building to the boundary needs by-law setback compliance and a party-wall or encroachment agreement. Self-help removal would create liability. Advise: survey the boundary, obtain written consent or an easement, redesign the wall to a compliant setback, and apply for relaxation only if the by-laws permit it.
Traps
Treating planning permission and building approval as the same thing; assuming a neighbour's informal consent binds a purchaser; missing a coastal, aviation or archaeology trigger; ignoring prescriptive rights.