Extending the house – What you need to know?

After buying a new house, you will be all too excited about changing the outlook a bit here and there. If it is an apartment, chances are you cannot make many changes to it except for the interiors. The case however is a lot different with landed properties because you might have some spaces that you want to extend.

Take note that you cannot just extend your porch or the backyard the way you like it. There are certain regulations and guidelines that you must adhere to before any type of work can commence. What then should you do? Below are some pointers.

There are council officers wandering around

Local Council

– The first thing you need to do is to go to the local council or the municipal hall that has jurisdiction over your area. If you are in Kuala Lumpur, the DBKL (Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur) will be in charge. Different places will have different regulations because of safety purposes. Take the forms that are required and then proceed from there.

Experience Architects

– You need an expert opinion and design for this. A certified architect will be the needed to draft out how the extension should be and then you need to submit these drawings to the council before work can commence.

Time Factor

– Take note of the time needed to get your applications approved. In most cases, it will not be approved at the first attempt where there will be some changes, modifications before the final design can be accepted by the council. After that, you can start the renovation without any hassle or problems from the authorities.

Cost Efficient

– In total, the process will require some payments for the services of the architect and for applications. Different councils will have their respective rates which could range from RM2,000 and could be as high as RM10,000 depending on the scale of the project which must be added to your overall cost.