NATIONAL BUILDING CODE - Lagos

1 NATIONAL BUILDING code FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA NATIONAL BUILDING code ^0 LexisNexis Butterworths Members of the LexisNexis Group worldwide South Africa Argentina Australia Austria Canada Chile Czech Republic France Hong Kong Hungary India Ireland Italy Malaysia New Zealand Poland Singapore Switzerland United Kingdom USA LexisNexis Butterworths DURBAN 215 North Ridge Road, Morningside, 4001 JOHANNESBURG Grayston 66, 2 Norwich Close, Sandton, 2196 CAPE TOWN Ground Floor, Waterford House, 2 Ring Road, Century City, 7441 LexisNexis Argentina, BUENOS AIRES LexisNexis, CHATSWOOD, New South Wales LexisNexis Verlag ARD Orac GmbH & Co KG, VIENNA LexisNexis Butterworths, MARKHAM, Ontario LexisNexis ChileLtda, SANTIAGO DE CHILE Nakladatelstvl Orac sro, PRAGUE Editions du Juris-Classeur SA, PARIS LexisNexis Butterworths, HONG KONG HVG-Orac, BUDAPEST LexisNexis Butterworths, NEW DELHI Butterworths (Ireland) Ltd, DUBLIN Giuffre Editore, MILAN Malayan Law Journal Sdn Bhd, KUALA LUMPUR LexisNexis Butterworths, WELLINGTON Wydawnictwo Prawnicze LexisNexis, WARSAW LexisNexis Butterworths, SINGAPORE Stampfli Verlag AG, BERNE LexisNexis Butterworths Tolley, LONDON, WC2A LexisNexis, DAYTON, Ohio ISBN 0 409 02361 2 Copyright subsists in this work.

2 No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the publisher's written permission. Any unauthorised reproduction of this work will constitute a copyright infringement and render the doer liable under both civil and criminal law. Whilst every effort has been made to ensure that the information published in this work is accurate, the editors, publishers and printers take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of the reliance upon the information contained therein. Printed and bound by Interpak Books PietermaritzburgNATIONAL BUILDING code PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION 1. In 1987, the Defunct NATIONAL Council of Works and Housing directed that a NATIONAL BUILDING code be evolved for Nigeria.

3 All the stakeholders in the BUILDING Industry were duly contacted for input. Thereafter the defunct Federal Ministry of Works and Housing organised a NATIONAL workshop at ASCON, Badagry - Lagos State in 1989. To further fine tune the Draft NATIONAL BUILDING code , another workshop was held at the Gateway Hotel, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State in 1990. The product of the Ijebu-Ode code was approved by the then NATIONAL Council on Housing in 1991. Unfortunately this document was not ratified by the then Federal Executive Council for use in the Country. 2. The 1991 approved document was re-presented to the 2nd NATIONAL Council on Housing and Urban Development held in Port-Harcourt, November, 2005 and the Council directed that the document be widely circulated to all stake holders for input to facilitate the production of an acceptable NATIONAL BUILDING code .

4 3. Consequently, the Draft document underwent some restructuring from three (3) parts to four (4) parts as follows: (i) Part I changes from Administration and Environment to Administration; (ii) Part II forms Classifications and Requirements, subdivided into two major divisions: Sections 4 and 5 then Sections 6-12 respectively. The second division charges the major stakeholders in the BUILDING Industry to produce her own requirements as per the working tools from Sections 4 and 5. (iii) Part III forms the Enforcement part of the Codes. The entire BUILDING Process is divided into four (4) convenient stages and developed under two (2) subheadings: (a) Pre-Design Stage - Requirements and Enforcement; (b) Design Stage - Requirements and Enforcement; (c) Construction Stage - Requirements and Enforcement; and (d) Post-Construction Stage - Requirements and Enforcement.

5 This approach does not only make the enforcement functional but its adaptability to the Nigerian situation makes it efficient (iv) Part IV is madeup of a separate part namely, Schedules, where all supportive documents, data, tables, information and all sorts of relevant and approved application forms to Part I, II, and III can be found. 4. The need to evolve a NATIONAL BUILDING code arose from the following existing conditions of our cities and environment: (a) The absence of planning of our towns and cities; (b) Incessant collapse of buildings, fire infernos, built environment abuse and other disasters; (c) Dearth of referenced design standards for professionals; (d) Use of non-professionals and quacks; (e) Use of untested products and materials; (f) Lack of maintenance culture.

6 5. In view of the above, the NATIONAL Council on Housing and Urban Development deemed it necessary and initiated the process of evolving a NATIONAL BUILDING code to put a stop to the NATIONAL BUILDING code ugly trends in the BUILDING Industry. It is my hope that this NATIONAL BUILDING code will open a new vista in the BUILDING Industry and eliminate or reduce to the bare minimum the incidents of collapsed BUILDING syndrome in Nigeria; promote safety and qualitative housing for every Nigerian. To achieve these laudable objectives, every tier of government, (federal, state and local) must imbibe the spirit and intent of this code . To this end, State Governments are implored to integrate the provisions of this code into their local laws particularly those relating to Design, Construction and Maintenance (Post Construction) and efficiently monitor the implementation of the code .

7 I also charge the relevant professional bodies who have participated in producing this code not to rest on their oars. They should encourage their members to religiously observe the provisions of this code by organising various seminars to educate their members on the implications of this code . You should self-regulate yourselves to prevent incessant governmental interventions in the practice of your professions. I must counsel various professional bodies to establish a monitoring unit to ensure effective compliance with the code and punish erring members within the confines of the ethics of the professions in order to compliment the efforts of the BUILDING code Enforcement Officers.

8 Dr. Olusegun Mimiko Honourable Minister of Housing and Urban Development Abuja, 2nd August 2006. NATIONAL BUILDING code ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The following groups have contributed to the success of the production of this first edition of the NATIONAL BUILDING code : The seven professions of the BUILDING Industry and their respective Regulatory Bodies, Architecture, BUILDING , Engineering, Estate Surveying and Valuation, Quantity Surveying, Surveying, and Urban and Regional Planning. Resource persons at various stages of the production of the code . All other stakeholders in the BUILDING Industry. Their valuable contributions are hereby acknowledged. 2nd August BUILDING code NATIONAL BUILDING code Page Sections SECTION 1 SECTION 2 SECTION 3 Page Page CONTENTS Page PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.

9 PART I ADMINISTRATION Citation and Commencement .. Interpretations, Definitions and Abbreviations Organisation, Committees and Functions .. PART II TECHNICAL (PROFESSIONALS) Sections SECTION 4 BUILDING Design Classifications .. SECTION 5 BUILDING Construction Classifications PRE-DESIGN STAGE Sections SECTION 6 Environmental and General BUILDING RequirementsNATIONAL BUILDING code Sections SECTION 7 SECTION 8 SECTION 9 Sections SECTION 10 SECTION 11 Sections SECTION 12 Page DESIGN STAGE Page Architectural Design Requirements .. Civil/Structural/Geo-technical Design Requirements .. Service Engineering Design Requirements .. CONSTRUCTION STAGE Page BUILDING Materials and Components Requirements .. BUILDING Construction Requirements.

10 POST-CONSTRUCTION STAGE Page Post-Construction Requirements .. PART III ENFORCEMENT Sections SECTION 13 Control of BUILDING WorksNATIONAL BUILDING code PART IV SCHEDULES AND REFERENCES Sections Page SECTION 14 Referenced Standards .. SECTION 15 Compliance Forms .. NATIONAL BUILDING code Sections SECTION 1 SECTION 2 SECTION 3 PART I ADMINISTRATION Page Citation and Commencement .. Interpretations, Definitions and Abbreviations .. Organisation, Committees and Functions .. SECTION 1 CITATION AND COMMENCEMENT Sections Page Preamble .. Title, Aim and Scope .. NATIONAL BUILDING code SECTION 1 CITATION AND COMMENCEMENT PREAMBLE: The need to evolve a NATIONAL BUILDING code arose from the following existing conditions of the cities and the built environment: (a) Planlessness of our towns and cities; NATIONAL BUILDING code 6 (b) Incessant collapse of buildings, fire infernos, built environment abuses and other disasters; (c) Dearth of referenced design standards for professionals; (d) Use of non-professionals; (e) Use of untested products and materials; (f) Lack of adequate regulations and sanctions against offenders.