How To Complete LDA Approval– A Detailed Guide
The Lahore Development Authority (LDA) introduced the LDA Private Housing Schemes (PHS) Rules in 2014 which discusses various building regulations in Lahore. It is important to know whether or not the society you are choosing to invest in is LDA-approved or not, and this blog discusses the stage-wise process of getting a private housing scheme approved according to LDA regulations. Each stage requires a certain amount of time before the process is cleared, and it is only after these stages that the entire process of developing the housing scheme is started.
According to LDA, there are four kinds of housing schemes:
- Private housing schemes that have an area greater or equal to 100 kanals. This also includes cooperative housing schemes.
- Farm housing schemes.
- Housing schemes with land subdivisions having an area of less than 100 kanals
- Housing schemes with land subdivisions having an area of less than 40 kanals
Sponsors of a housing society need to file an application for Preliminary Planning Permission. This stage is not necessary for a housing scheme with a land subdivision with an area of less than 40 kanals.
An Application for Preliminary Planning Permission requires the following documents:
- Complete mailing address, including the email address of the sponsor
- A certified copy of the National Identity Card of the sponsor
- Copy of last paid utility bill for the property mentioned in the last mailing address
- Certified copy of the certificate of registration of the company or the cooperative society
- Location plan of proposed scheme signed by a town planner
- Proof of ownership status of the land; whether it is self-owned or private land not owned by the sponsor
- An Application for Preliminary Planning Permission requires the following documents:
- A certified copy of the National Identity Card of the sponsor
- Complete mailing address, including the email address of the sponsor
- Copy of last paid utility bill for the property mentioned in the last mailing address
- Certified copy of the certificate of registration of the company or the cooperative society
- Location plan of proposed scheme signed by a town planner
- Proof of ownership status of the land; whether it is self-owned or private land not owned by the sponsors
- Once all of these documents are submitted, LDA proceeds with the evaluation criteria.
Evaluation Criteria
LDA then moves forward to examine the proposed site for the housing scheme, and evaluates if it fulfills the following requirements:
- It is located on an accessible road
- It is not prone to flooding
- It is not notified by the government for acquisition for any other public purpose.
- The housing scheme proposal conforms with the approved master plan or outline development plan.
For a housing scheme with land subdivision, additional concerns are if the land is:
- Surrounded by an existing built-up area or an approved housing society
- Separated from the built-up area by physical barriers
- The sponsor ensures that they don’t own additional land in continuation of the land proposed for subdivision.
When the evaluation is done, the processing of the Preliminary Planning Permission begins, which then prepares the housing scheme for submission and further vetting.
Processing
- The Director of Metropolitan Planning then forwards the case to the Water and Sanitation Agency. This needs to be done within the following 7 days when the application for the Preliminary Planning Permission has been planned.
- The Water and Sanitation Agency (or other concerned department or Agency) then issues a ‘No Objection Certificate’, or communicates their observations to the Director of Metropolitan Planning. This will be done within the next 10 days.
- After intently investigating the case, the Director of Metropolitan Planning then submits it to the Chief Metropolitan Planner, who then submits the case to the Director General for approval and permission to proceed with the planning of a housing scheme. This process is done within the next 7 days.
- The Director of Metropolitan Planning then issues their observation and/or issues the planning permission. This process takes another 7 days.
- The Director of Metropolitan Planning then conveys the permission to the sponsor within 7 days. This is valid for the next 6 months. After all of these documents are submitted, LDA then proceeds with the evaluation criteria.
Submission of a Housing Scheme
LDA can only entertain an application for the authorization of a housing scheme if it has been submitted within a certain time, and the initial application for submission includes:
- A certified copy of the National Identity Card of the sponsor
- Certified title documents such as registered sales deed, mutation, fard-e-malkiat, and all documents that can be used as proof of ownership
- Khasra plan or aks-e-shajra certified by the concerned revenue officer
- Non-encumbrance certificate to ensure that this property does not have any pending dues
- Location plans that are approved and signed by a town planner
- A topographic survey that is extended to a depth of 1000 feet around the area of the scheme
- Layout plan as super-imposed on khasra plan with details of residential and commercial plots, road networks, etc.
After this, a proper layout plan is to be devised that will ensure how the overall housing scheme is to be constructed. This extensive document for the Layout Plan of the Housing Scheme has to have the scale of the scheme plan set at 1:1200 to 1:2400, and a scale of the location plan set at 1:4800. Like the layout of a single house, this contains an exact plan of where and what size each component of the scheme will be.
When this is done and submitted, the Authority proceeds to check the planning standards as per the requirements. These requirements are summed in the table below:
The Authority has to ensure that the following, additional requirements are also met by the Sponsor:
- Accommodation of roads in the master plan, outline development plan, structure plan, agro-ville development plan
- Location of a tube well, overhead reservoirs, pumping and disposal stations to be required
- Location of fire hydrants on the main water line in open space
- Displaying of a guide map at an entrance and other prominent locations in a scheme and board at the corner of the road
- Green strip under high-tension electricity lines
- Appropriate provision for place of worship
- Approval of design and specification of water supply, sewerage, drainage system, electricity and street light, road, solid waste management systems
- 20% of plots in a housing scheme, except in a farmhouse scheme or land sub-division, shall be reserved for low-income groups
- 10% of plots should be sized between 3-5 marla
- 10% remaining to be allocated for multi-story flats or apartments for low-cost housing.
A sponsor has to submit the following documents:
- Approved layout plan
- Location plan
- Topographic survey plan
- Land use analysis
- Soil test report from an approved laboratory
After all these are provided, a sponsor is required to start work on providing various utility services and structural arrangements in a housing scheme. These include providing services for:
- Water supply, sewerage, and drainage
- Road network
- Electricity and street light plan
- Landscape plan
- Solid waste management plan
- Gas supply charges
- Telephone Services
- Underground services for all utility connections
For each of these, the sponsor is required to engage the proper technicians for work and ensure that the design and specifications follow the law, rules, master plan, and all guidelines. No formal construction for any society begins at this stage, as this is a formal and detailed report on the proposal for the housing scheme. The approval and construction begin after all of these plans have been accepted.
This blog is intended to be a thorough and detailed overview for investors and sponsors alike who require assistance regarding the procedure and paperwork that goes into attaining LDA’s approval for private housing societies.
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