SANS 10400-A is the master framework standard for building in South Africa. It sits under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act 103 of 1977 (the parent Act, often shortened to the NBR or the Act), and it defines every occupancy class, lists what must be submitted before you break ground, sets out what counts as minor building work, and anchors the competent person framework. Every other Part of SANS 10400 is read together with Part A. SANS stands for South African National Standard, published by the SABS, the South African Bureau of Standards.
Before anything else, a plain caveat that runs through this whole guide. The figures and lists here come from public summaries of the paywalled SABS SANS 10400 text and from the gazetted regulations. Treat them as an orientation, not a compliance certificate. Confirm the exact current values and lists with your local authority and the SABS SANS 10400-A text before you build or submit plans.
What this Part covers
Part A is the rule book that sets the table for all the trade-specific Parts (B, H, K, L and the rest). It does four big jobs:
- It classifies every building by use, called the occupancy class.
- It says what drawings and particulars you submit to the local authority before a spade goes in the ground.
- It defines minor building work, the smaller jobs that need authorisation but may not need a full plan submission.
- It anchors the competent person framework, the registered professionals who sign off on design.
The brief draws on SANS 10400-A:2010 (Edition 3) as updated by Government Gazette amendments. The 2008 amendment rewrote the competent person definition and added the compliance hierarchy: you either comply prescriptively, comply through a SANS 10400 deemed-to-satisfy route, or get a rational design or rational assessment from a registered competent person. Confirm the current edition with the SABS.
Key requirements (plain English)
Remember the caveat above as you read these. They are an orientation drawn from public summaries and the gazetted regulations, not the full paywalled text.
Occupancy class. Every building is given a code based on how it is used. Common ones for residential and small commercial work include H4 (a single dwelling house on its own erf), H3 (two or more dwelling units on one site, like a duplex or block of flats), H5 (short-stay rental rooms within a dwelling, the Airbnb style, up to sixteen sleeping persons), F2 (a small shop with gross floor area up to 500 square metres) and G1 (an office). The occupancy class must be declared on your layout drawings.
Category 1 building. This is the threshold that unlocks the simpler empirical rules right through SANS 10400. A Category 1 building is one of certain occupancy classes (including A3, F2, G1, H2, H3 and H4), has no basements, has a maximum length of 6,0 m between walls that give lateral support, and has a floor area of 80 square metres or less. Stay inside Category 1 and you can use the deemed-to-satisfy rules in Parts B, H, K, L and others. Step outside it and you are heading for a competent person.
Plan submission. Every application to the local authority must carry a set of drawings and particulars: a site plan (boundaries, building lines, north point, service connection points), layout drawings (floor plans, sections and elevations showing the occupancy class, room sizes, damp-proofing and escape routes), a fire installation drawing, a drainage installation drawing, and a signed declaration on Form 1. The declaration is signed by a registered built environment professional, states how each functional regulation will be met, and names all the competent persons. Structural details are added if the local authority asks for them.
Minor building work. Some small jobs are defined as minor building work. The brief lists a building of 5 square metres or less, a pergola, a wire fence, an open-sided fabric shelter for a car, caravan or boat, a swimming pool (the pool fencing, electrical and plumbing still have to comply), and a free-standing wall up to 1,8 m high that does not retain soil. Minor building work still needs authorisation from the building control officer before you start, but, subject to conditions, may not need a full plan submission. The exact, current minor building work list lives in the amended regulations and varies by municipality, because some councils have adopted expanded lists by by-law. Always confirm the current list with your local authority. The brief flags that this list draws on the 2008 gazette text and secondary summaries, not the full paywalled SABS text.
The damp-proof course. A damp-proof course, the DPC, is the moisture barrier built into walls. Part A expects damp-proofing to be shown on the layout drawings, and the detail of where it goes is in the trade Parts.
When you need a competent person or plan approval
A competent person is someone qualified by education, training, experience and contextual knowledge to judge how a building or part of it performs against a functional regulation. The trade Parts refine this into discipline-specific roles, for example a competent person for structures (a registered Professional Engineer or equivalent) or for sanitation. The owner must appoint and keep the competent persons for the whole project. If a competent person is replaced, the local authority must be told within one month and Form 1 updated.
You step off the deemed-to-satisfy route and into rational design by a registered competent person where the building cannot show compliance with any Part of SANS 10400, or where it sits on dolomite land, contaminated land or a flood-prone area. Any building structurally supported by an existing building must be assessed and certified in writing by a competent person before approval.
Plan approval itself runs through the local authority. You submit, the building control officer reviews, and inspection and enforcement happen on site.
Common mistakes
- Occupancy class not declared on the layout drawings, when the regulations require it to be shown.
- Form 1 incomplete or unsigned, with no competent person named. No names, no approval.
- Site plan missing service connection points or boundary servitudes.
- Minor building work started without authorisation, on the wrong assumption that no plans means no permission needed.
- Competent person swapped without telling the local authority within one month.
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