Do I need approval to renovate my landed house?

Landed renovation permit: the short answer

For most landed owners, the answer turns on how far the work goes beyond the surface. Replacing worn kitchen tiles in an older terrace, repainting a semi-detached house, or changing taps, lights and wardrobes is the kind of job that usually needs no planning or building approval.

BCA says insignificant building works do not require plan submission to it. For other works, it tells owners to consult a Qualified Person (QP), meaning a registered architect or professional engineer. Two points apply even to small jobs. If your house is in a strata development, such as a cluster house estate, the Management Corporation Strata Title (MCST) may need to approve the works. Approvals from other authorities may also still be needed.

The picture changes once the work alters the building itself: adding floor area at the back for a bigger kitchen, building new external walls, removing structural walls or changing the roof. Those jobs are covered in the sections below. For narrower questions about owning and running a landed house, browse the landed homes FAQ.

Landed additions and alterations: URA lodgement

URA lets additions and alterations (A&A) to a landed house be lodged instead of applied for, if the proposal meets its lodgement criteria. This route, a URA lodgement for your landed house, relies on plans endorsed by a Qualified Person with the owner's consent. The criteria include:

• The land is zoned Residential.
• The house stays the same housing type.
• Added floor area is no more than half of the existing approved floor area.
• New external walls are no more than half of the existing ones.
• Structural changes cover no more than half of the floor area.
• There is no change to vehicle access.
• Earthfill raises no point by more than 1m.

A rear kitchen extension or an extra bedroom over the porch is the kind of plan to test against this list early. Whether yours fits is a call for your QP, not something to judge from a sketch. For related questions on what you can change, see the renovation rules FAQ.

Roof replacement and attics

URA says replacing the entire roof can be A&A as long as it adds no storey, and that an attic can be added within the floor area limit. For owners of older terraces and semi-detached houses whose original roof is wearing out, this means a full roof replacement does not by itself turn the project into a rebuild.

The flip side matters too. A new roof form that creates an extra storey falls outside that allowance, so ask your QP to check the roof design before you fall for a drawing. If the real problem is water coming through the ceiling, read the landed roof leak guide first, since a repair may fix it without touching the structure.

When it is a reconstruction

URA says a proposal that cannot meet the A&A guidelines is lodged as new erection or reconstruction instead. Picture a plan that adds more than half the existing approved floor area, or replaces most of the external walls. At that point the project is no longer handled as an alteration of the old house.

Knowing which route applies changes the paperwork and the scale of the build, so settle it before you commit to a design or contractor. Work through the pre-renovation checklist once your QP has told you which route your plans fall under, so budget, timeline and hiring all match.

Role of the Qualified Person

For an A&A lodgement, the QP endorses the plans with your consent as owner, so they are the professional standing behind the submission. That makes the choice of QP one of the first decisions in a landed project, ahead of picking tiles or a builder.

BCA points owners to a registered architect or professional engineer for works that are not insignificant. Anything structural, such as removing a load-bearing wall, adding a floor slab or cutting a new opening in an external wall, needs that professional input before work starts.

Keep the QP and the builder separate in your mind: one signs off the design, the other builds it. Before paying a deposit, ask the contractor for the company's registered name and verify a contractor UEN yourself.

Plan services alongside

An extension or attic rarely stops at walls and roof. A bigger kitchen, an extra bathroom or more aircon units can mean more electrical load and new water and sanitary points. Bring these up with your QP and contractor at the design stage, while everything is still lines on paper.

Ask whether the existing electrical supply is enough or needs an upgrade, and whether a Licensed Electrical Worker (LEW) will handle it. For plumbing, ask whether a licensed plumber will handle the new points and where the pipes will run. Once the dust settles, the landed home maintenance checklist helps you keep track of the roof, gutters and pipes.

Questions