Rooftop relief: Kerala simplifies building permits, waives taxes for sheet roofs
Thiruvananthapuram: Temporary sheet or tile roofs on houses will no longer attract building tax, following recent amendments to the Kerala Building Rules. The exemption was introduced after such structures became common for preventing roof leakage during the monsoon, protecting buildings, and for household purposes such as drying clothes.
Houses up to three storeys are now fully exempt, provided the height from the terrace to the sheet does not exceed 2.4 metres. No special permission or fee will be required to install such sheets. Until now, permission and tax exemptions were only applicable for roofs up to 1.2 metres above the terrace.
Previously, temporary sheeting was not included in the building rules, and many local bodies treated it as a separate construction category, collecting permit fees and taxes. The government has now corrected this through a formal amendment.
Broader buildings get exemptions
- More buildings have been added to the self-certified permit category, which grants approval immediately upon application. This previously applied to houses up to 300 square metres in area and 7 metres in height (two storeys). The height limit has now been removed. Self-certification will be accepted based on the owner’s declaration.
- For commercial buildings, the self-certification limit has been raised from 100 square metres to 250 square metres.
- Instant permit approvals have also been extended to all G-1 category buildings up to 200 square metres, as well as industrial units in the white and green categories of the Pollution Control Board.
Permit processing timeline
- Within 30 seconds (self-certified): 81,212 permits
- Within 24 hours (normal permit): 31,827 permits
- Within 48 hours (normal permit): 5,012 permits
The move aims to simplify approval procedures, curb unnecessary local levies, and promote faster building construction across Kerala.