National Building Code for Residential Apartments in India.

1. National Building Code for
Residential Apartments in India
National Building code is a document containing standardized
requirement for the design & construction of most types of building
in the country. Although codes may sometimes seem fussy, they are
the result of years of experience and testing. Building codes exist to
protect the public’s health, safety and welfare. National Building
Codes (NBC) regulate building construction & building use in order
to protect the health, safety & welfare of the occupant. You must
always take the correct precautionary measures to assure the safety
of your family members.
National Building Code
National Building code is a document containing standardized
requirement for the design & construction of most types of
building in the country. The Code was first published in 1970 at the
instance of Planning Commission and then revised in 1983.
Thereafter three major amendments were issued, two in 1987 and
the third in 1997. Considering a series of further developments in
the field of building construction including the lessons learnt in the
aftermath of number of natural calamities. As a culmination of the
Project, the revised NBC has now been brought out as National
Building Code of India 2005 (NBC 2005). The NBC 2005,
formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards, spells out new
regulations for adoption by infrastructure departments,
municipal administrators, public bodies and private agencies. It
contains mainly administrative regulations, development control
rules and general building requirements, fire safety requirements,
stipulations on use of materials, structural design and construction
and building and plumbing services.

2. General Building Requirements
The National Building Code (NBC) is now a national instrument that
will guide the regulations for construction activity. It contains all the
important aspects relevant for safe and orderly building
development. The building that does not satisfy building code or
violation of National building code will lead to penalty, cancellation
of sanction or demolition of the building.
Lift shall be provided in all building: In case of Building having
height more than 13.0 Mts. lift shall be provided. Lift shall be
provided from ground floor and shall have minimum capacity of six
persons. On the basis of detailed calculations based on the relevant
provisions of National Building Code the number of lifts can be
varied.
Fire Safety or Fire Protection: In the case of apartment buildings
exceeding three storeys above ground level, a certificate of approval
from the Director of Fire Force or an officer authorized by him shall
be obtained before issue of the building permit. All other
requirements in respect of fire protection shall conform to part IV,
Fire Protection National Building Code of India. Every floor of a flat,
apartment or residential accommodation exceeding 150 sq.
meters of floor area with a capacity for accommodating more
than 20 persons shall have at least 2 doorways as remote as
practicable from each other. At least one stair‐case shall be
provided as a fire staircase as defined in the National Building Code.
This shall not be applicable if any two sides of a staircase are kept

3. totally open to external open air space. The detailed plan showing
the arrangement of pipe lines, booster pumps and water‐tanks at
various levels shall be submitted for approval of the concerned
authority along with the plans and sections of the buildings. Every
building having a height of more than 25 Mts. shall be provided with
diesel generators which can be utilized in case of failure of the
electricity.
Foundation & Structural design: All materials and workmanship
shall be of good quality conforming generally to accepted standards
of Bureau of Indian Standard specification & codes as included in
National Building Code of India. All materials and workmanship
shall be of good quality conforming generally to accepted
standards of Bureau of Indian Standard specification & codes as
included in National Building Code of India. No building or part of
a building shall be constructed or reconstructed or no addition or
alteration shall be made to any existing building in the intervening
spaces between the building and any overhead electric supply line.
The height of the handrail in the staircase shall not be less than 90
cms and if balusters are provided, no gap in the balusters shall be
more than 10 cms wide. Every slab or balcony overlooking any
exterior or interior open space which are 2 meters or more below
shall be provided with parapet walls or guard rails of height not less
than 1.20 meters and such guard rails shall be firmly fixed to the
walls.
Plumbing Services: A plumbing or sanitation code is a set of rules
and regulations imposed by cities or counties. Anyone doing work
on drinking water and sewer or toilet facilities systems are
responsible to make the work in a specific, safe manner to avoid
accidents and spread of disease. Water conservation and the health
aspects of plumbing have become important in the construction
sector now. The National Building Code offers only guidelines for
construction. Plumbing has to be attuned to the general design of
the building. Many technical aspects such as water pressure, venting

4. and concepts of wet and dry areas in toilets have to be looked into in
any structure. Recently, the International Association of Plumbing
and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) developed a Plumbing Code for
India. The Indian Plumbing Association (IPA), country’s apex
body of plumbing professionals, has launched ‘Uniform Plumbing
Code’ (UPC).The World Plumbing Council’s uniform plumbing code
was mended as per Indian needs and created the code for India.
Lightning Protection: Locations, surrounded partially or fully by
unbroken metallic surfaces or nets do not allow lightning to
penetrate to the interior and hence a person is safe inside. Lightning
prefers to strike the tallest of all objects in the location of strike. Also
it prefers metal objects. The larger the metal more is the preference.
Avoid using metallic pipes to fix lamps on terrace of buildings. Also
for drying clothes on the terrace, iron poles with metallic or plastic
wires are used. The Lightning Conductor which is also known as
Lightning Rod or Air Terminal is one of the best known forms of
shielding device and has been in use in protecting buildings and
facilities where protection is mandatory. The protective value of
Inside buildings is better when at least some unbroken vertical
metallic conductors exist, such as rain gutters with down‐pipes,
water mains, rails for elevators, vertical metal strips, steel braces or
reinforcement, electrical installations and wires, etc. Electrical and
electronic equipments can be protected to a considerable extent
from damage by installing a Lightning Arrestor.
Building Services: The planning, design and installation of
electrical installations, air‐conditioning and heating work shall be
carried out in accordance with part VIII Building Service Section 2 –
Electrical installations, Section 3 Air conditioning and Heating of
National Building Code of India. The planning, design including the
number of lifts, type of lifts, capacity of lifts, depending on
occupancy of building, population on each floor and height of
building.

5. Other Building Requirements:
As a property owner you can choose your designs, products or
building methods, as long as your building consent application
demonstrates that your proposal meets National Building Code
requirements. National Building Code regulates building
construction & building use in order to protect the health, safety &
welfare of the occupant. In order to learn which codes are being
used and how they will affect you and your construction project,
contact your local building inspection department, developers and
concerned Authorities. Other building requirements are as follows.
 Every room that intended for human habitation shall abut on
an interior or exterior open space or to a verandah open to such
interior or exterior open space.
 Every interior, exterior or air space, unless the later is a street,
shall be maintained for the benefit of such building exclusively and
shall be entirely within the owner’s own premises.
 Every person who intends to erect, re‐erect or make
alternation in any place in a building or demolish any building shall
give notice in writing to the concerned Authority of his intention in
the prescribed form and such notice shall be accompanied by plans
and statements in sufficient copies.
 No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Fire Service, Pollution
Control Board, Electrical safety department, Water Supply and
Sewage Department and other concerned department.

6.  No land shall be used as a site for the construction of building if
the Competent Authority considers that the site is unsanitary or
that it is dangerous to construct a building on it.
 Building should be safe for occupant and it is important to
inspect when your site is getting marked for dimensions. Inspect
construction after every two feet progress.
The building will be inspected by concern authorities and you will
get completion certificate for your apartment or building. Issuing of
Completion Certificate will ensure that the owner has
constructed the building as per approved plan. Without the
occupancy certificate, it is difficult to get the electricity, water and
sanitary connection. The NBC 2005, formulated by the Bureau of
Indian Standards, spells out new regulations for adoption by
infrastructure departments, municipal administrators, public bodies
and private agencies.
Rain water harvesting system and solar water heater are
mandatory for newly constructed building in some
states. National Building Code will soon be updated with energy
saving methods in construction methods. In order to learn which
codes are being used and how they will affect you, contact
developers and concerned Authorities in your locality for
construction of building or apartment. Deviation from approved
plan or violation of National Building Code (NBC) will lead to charge
penalty, cancellation of approvals or demolition of property.