No need for OC in Bengaluru for 1,200 sq ft homes; Great news for small property owners

Earlier this month, the Karnataka Government announced that individual homes built on plots measuring 1,200 square feet, with stilt-plus-3 floors or ground-plus-2 floors, will not need an occupancy certificate or OC anymore. This rule comes into effect for all home construction on a 30x40 site in the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) jurisdiction.

An Occupancy Certificate or OC is a document that the local municipal authority issues, which, in this case, is Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). This document certifies that the building is constructed in compliance with the approved plans and regulations and is suitable for habitation. The order to remove the mandatory OC for specific building types comes as a follow-up to an earlier top court order that made the occupancy certificate mandatory for all, including small residential properties.

It offers a sigh of relief to countless homeowners in the city from the earlier anxiety. Officials mention that the purpose of this exemption is to simplify compliance and prevent small housing projects from getting tied up in excessive paperwork. However, do note that mixed-use projects, high rises and commercial complexes built on plots exceeding the mentioned threshold will still need to acquire OCs.

Source: Economic Times