The High Court of Telangana (HC) declared that a real estate developer must seek fresh permission to modify an existing structure. 

Approval Required for Building Modification

Will the addition of a fifth-floor to an existing building on four floors have any impact on the safety and layout of the existing building? The High Court said that it wanted to assess this problem and instructed the GHMC to study the effect of a 5th floor on an existing 4-story Apartment at Himayatnagar street number 2 in Hyderabad.

A progress report on the matter was sought by the Chief Justice Hima Kohli and the Justice B Vijaysen Reddy. It was a petition from one of the owners of Kashish Avenue's Apartment that the construction company Virendra Tiwari granted permission to lift additional floors by the civic authority with no approval or notice from any of the flat owners. This additional floor would lay more stress on common amenities besides endangering the safety of the existing structure.

Following GHMC's standing counsel saying that the builder only carries out work after the due approval, a single judge denied the petition earlier. The petitioner requested an appeal over the particular judge's order. The division bench noticed that the developer had to receive new approval to even change the current structure. However, the bench said that it would first concentrate on the effect on the entire structure of the additional floor.

The lawyer stated that a separate civil suit was levied against the flat residents and also against GHMC by the builder. The bench said that any structure raised in future will be subject to the outcome of the petition before the High Court.

The petitioner claimed that when they bought the flat in 2017 the main plan for the apartment is stilt plus four floors. Currently, without acceptance of the current owners, the builder has applied for the fifth floor.

The petitioner stated that the GHMC granted permission without justification and the action was contrary to the provisions of the Law on Promotion, Construction and Ownership (1987) of the Telangana Apartments. Once the apartments are sold, the builder has no authority to seek new construction permits.

By: Shailaja K