If you are lucky or diligent enough to have inherited or bought (respectively) a piece of land, be sure that it has been accurately registered in your name. The conveyancer (property lawyer) will hand you the certificate of title (or lease) to your land on which you may proceed to build.
The certificate of title (or lease) would normally state what one can or cannot do with the piece of land as different zones have different requirements and, therefore, different elements in the title deed. In Syokimau area of Kenya, for instance, each house is to be within a minimum plot of 0.125 acres.
Once you have decided that you want to construct a given type of building in line with the zoning regulations, you need to continue engaging qualified professionals at every stage. In Kenya, it is very highly likely that you will need the following professionals, services and skills when constructing your building:
1. Professional land use planning and site development skills.
2. A qualified registered and experienced architect to design the building (based on the intended use, applicable building regulations) and let you know of the other legal requirements of building the house.
3. Professional environmental and noise analysis skills.
4. Professional natural light optimisation skills.
5. A qualified experienced and registered quantity surveyor (building estimation skills) for the preparation of the bill of quantities/operational bill (an itemization of necessary materials, parts and labour as well as the costs thereof) based on measurements in the architect’s, structural engineer’s and/or other building consultants’ drawings. Detailed specification, project planning, budgeting and cost control is key.
6. A qualified, registered and experienced civil/structural engineer to supervise the construction.
7. The engagement of a registered, qualified and experienced contractor with project management or contract administration skills ensures that your building will be constructed in time. The registered contractor (who should be confirmed by the NCA) should be supervised by qualified consultants and the county government.
There is a green card that the county government supervisor should complete for each key stage of construction (on completion the developer should get an occupation certificate from the county government).
8. Professional landscaping skills as well as pavement design and analytical skills.
9. Professional interior design skills.
10. You also need to secure access to utilities i.e. water & sewerage, energy & waste disposal.
11. County government building plan approval: Approval of building plans is a process undertaken by authorities to ensure new buildings are safe for human habitation and as per planning regulations. The approval process checks whether the building will be safe and structurally sound, and whether the building materials proposed are safe for human habitation.
The architect or the developer presents the necessary documents to the county government (physically or online) for approval. The necessary documents include copy of the title, architectural plans, site plans, survey plans, mutation plans and the architect’s registration certificate. Other documents that are needed (especially in cases of leases as is common in cities, municipalities and towns) include the latest annual land rates receipts, the completed application for approval for building permit and a structural drawing done by the structural engineer (for road planning and verification of sewer provision). A fee is charged for this approval procedure.
Structural drawings are important in any project because they show all the steel layout, reinforced concrete columns, slabs and beams which determine the strength of the building.
The type and depth of a foundation will be informed by locational factors. Different foundations i.e. raft, strip-type e.t.c. are recommended for different kinds of soil. Wetlands demand a different kind of foundation from that used on dry land or on sandy soil. When building in a place with loose or cotton soil, the foundation must be reinforced with bars to provide equal settlement of the structure.
12. Approval from the National Environment Management Authority (Nema). Nema requires an environmental impact assessment (EIA) preliminary report to be undertaken on a project by consultants registered with Nema prior to its construction.
13. By-laws require one to put up signage stating the nature of the project, the architect, the engineer, the contractor and the owner.
14. Once the construction is completed alongside statutory inspections, the developer lodges an application for an occupancy certificate. The certificate is given when the authorities deem the building is in compliance with the approved architectural drawings.
Note: The Kenyan construction industry is governed by a number of laws and authorities. These include planning laws under the Physical Planning Act (cap 286), which regulates what may be built where, how high, size of plot, etc.; the Building Code which specifies the materials to be used and the supervision process; and the National Construction Authority (NCA), which registers all contractors and individuals involved in construction work as well as construction professionals. The NCA has set a levy of 0.5 per cent of the construction cost for a building to be approved.
The Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors (BORAQS) of Kenya has legal powers to police the industry and weed out quacks while the Architectural Association of Kenya has capacity to point out malpractices in the industry.
We at InterCurrency have established reliable business relationships with selected professionals enabling us to assist clients seeking efficient professional services from registered and experienced architects, structural engineers, contractors, surveyors and lawyers for various construction projects. We focus on quality and cost-effectiveness rather than quantity and cheapness. Clients who know that cheap is expensive have confirmed that our professional partners are affordable.
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Good practices
a) Remember, to construct a building that will withstand earthquakes/vagaries of nature and last more than 200 years, you will need to have a strong sense of quality, engage qualified professionals who work according to contract and ensure efficient supervision. It is essential that only one contractor does the whole project instead of doing it piecemeal using different contractors.
b) Be keen to prepare and only sign time-bound contracts with clearly defined obligations, penalties & redress mechanisms. Good contractors have insurance cover in case of professional’s mistake.
c) Have a contingency sum in place to mitigate unpredictable occurrences (i.e. delays or price changes that you least expected).
d) Watch out for workers/contractors/consultants who do not perform their duties but still find ways of charging you for the work not done. Sometimes, it could be the suppliers failing to deliver the quality and quantity of materials you ordered, you may have paid for 20 tonnes of sand only to be supplied with 15. You could be supplied with under-gauge steel rods or bars. You could also get incorrect concrete mixes (incorrect ratio of sand/balast/cement).
In some cases, the building may not be of the correct size, the rooms may not be correctly sized or the sitting of the building may not be optimal to exploit or take care of the sun and rain. In some cases, storey heights are not correct (the heights are too low). Some contractors also inflate the price midway.
e) Ensure a professionally supervised handing over on completion (contractor hands over the finished product as per contract and guarantees the the building has been completed according to the approved professional standards and is fit for human occupation/planned purpose).