Every constructor, be it an individual building a new home or a builder developing a vertical city, needs to have the proper information to be able to build in compliance with government regulations. The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Government of India, as a part of its “Modern Building By-Laws, 2016”, has defined various types of buildings
MoHUA explains a building to be a structure constructed using any type of material (s) and for whatever purpose, be it for residential, commercial, industrial or other. The structures that fall under the definition of a building are as follows:
- Foundations, plinths or pedestals, walls, floors, roofs, chimneys, plumbing/drainage structures, fixed structures, etc.
- Verandahs or atriums, balconies, cornices, projections in the building which extend beyond its exterior walls, etc.
- All the various components that comprise the building or any structure attached to it
- Fences or boundary walls enclosing an area, land or building, signboards or display structures outside the boundary walls or above the structure ..
- Tanks constructed for the purpose of storing fluids or other materials such as chemicals, water, effluents, and swimming pools, ponds, etc.
- Temporary structures such as tents, shamianas and tarpaulin shelters which are built to serve a particular purpose for a short duration of time have been exempted and are not to be considered buildings
- Further, the government has categorized various types of buildings on the basis of different criteria depending on their usage, design and height, safety standards and other features as follows.
Types of buildings:
- Residential Buildings
- Educational Buildings
- Institutional Buildings
- Assembly Buildings
- Business Buildings
- Mercantile Buildings
- Industrial Buildings
- Storage Buildings
- Wholesale Establishments
- Mixed Land Use Buildings
- Hazardous Buildings
- Detached Buildings
- Semi-Detached Buildings
- Multi-Storey or High Rise Buildings
- Slums
- Unsafe Buildings
- Special Buildings
- Multi-Level Car Parking
How are buildings categorized according to the purposes their premises are being used for?
Residential Buildings
These are buildings that are used for normal residential purposes and should facilitate activities such as sleeping, living, and cooking. The building must include one or more family residences, apartments, flats, and private garages.
Educational Buildings
These are buildings housing educational institutions such as schools or colleges which are affiliated and recognized by an appropriate board, university or any similar affiliation authority. The building should promote the aggregation of instructional, educational and recreational activities pertaining to educational purposes. Further, it is mandatory for the building to have proper residential facilities for essential staff who need to reside within the campus. Apart from this, the institution should also have a hostel exclusive to the institute either within its premises or outside.
Institutional Buildings
These types of buildings consist of buildings that are constructed by the government, semi-government organizations or registered trusts for specific purposes. Those specific purposes include medical treatment purposes such as treatment of physical or mental illness, children’s hospitals, old age homes, centers for the care of orphans or abandoned women, auditoriums or complexes meant to be used for cultural or allied activities, religious accommodation facilities such as Dharamshala, jails, correctional facilities, detention centers, juvenile reformatories, etc.
Assembly Buildings
These are defined as buildings or parts of them which houses public gatherings congregated with the intent of amusement, recreation, social, religious, patriotic, civil, travel or other similar purposes. Buildings such as movie houses, drama theatres, drive-in theatres, assembly halls, clubhouses, town halls,
auditoriums, exhibition halls, museums, mangal karyalayas, gymnasiums, sports complexes, restaurants, boarding houses, dance clubs, gymkhanas, places of worship, bus stops, taxi stands, railway stations, airports, piers, etc. are categorized as assembly buildings.
Business Buildings
If a building or a part of it is primarily used for keeping records of business transactions, maintaining accounts, bookkeeping purposes or managing other types of records then it can be classified as a business building. Buildings under this category include offices, banks, courthouses and other professional establishments serving the aforementioned purposes.
Mercantile Buildings
In these types of buildings, either the entire building or a part of it is used for housing shops, stores or showrooms where display and sale of wholesale goods, retail goods or merchandise is carried out. Such buildings should also accommodate office, storage and service facilities essential for the business which should be located in the same building.
Industrial Buildings
Buildings used to manufacture, assemble or process products or materials are termed as industrial buildings. They include manufacturing units, assembly plants, factories, mills, power plants, oil refineries, gas plants, dairy plants, laboratories, etc.
Storage Buildings
If a building or a part of it is used for the storage of commodities, goods, merchandise, etc. then it is categorized as a storage building. They comprise buildings such as warehouses, cold storages, grain storage units, barns, stables, freight depot, transit shed, hangars, truck terminals, public garages, etc.
Wholesale Establishments
Buildings under this category include establishments being fully or partially utilized for wholesale trade and manufacture, wholesale shops having required storage facilities or warehouses and establishments providing truck transportation services and/or truck transportation booking services.
Mixed Land Use Buildings
These are buildings that are used for both residential purposes as well as for carrying out non-residential activities.
Hazardous Buildings
These types of buildings have been further divided into two sub-categories by the government. They are:
- Buildings used for the manufacture, processing, handling or storage of substances which are radioactive, highly combustible/explosive or capable of burning rapidly with/without the potential to produce poisonous fumes or emissions that are explosive in nature
Buildings used for the manufacture, processing, handling or storage of substances which are highly corrosive, toxic or noxious alkalis, acids or other chemicals producing explosive or poisonous fumes, explosive mixtures or substances capable of disintegrating matter into fine particles causing spontaneous ignition
How are buildings categorized with respect to their design and height?
Detached Buildings
A building comprising roofs and walls which is detached from any other building and has open spaces within its boundaries is termed as a detached building.
Semi-Detached Buildings
These are buildings that are detached from any other building on three sides and have open spaces on all those sides.
(Open spaces have been defined as integral parts of the site which are left open to the sky.)
Multi-Storey or High Rise Buildings
All buildings comprising more than 4 stories and/or buildings with height more than 15 meters (without stilt) or 17.5 meters (with stilt) above the average level of the front road have been categorized as high rise buildings.
How are buildings categorized in terms of safety standards resulting due to their use and maintenance level?
Slums
Buildings under this category have a low level of maintenance and bad habitability conditions which are caused due to inadequate sanitation, ventilation, and other detrimental factors. Slums are tagged according to the concerned legislation by a competent authority.
Unsafe Buildings
Buildings that are structurally weak and thus unsafe, unsanitary or contaminated, do not have proper entry and/or exit facilities, prone to fire hazards, poses dangers to human life or according to its existing use, may pose a danger to safety, health or public welfare are deemed to be unsafe. As per Government regulations, these buildings must undergo restoration, demolition or undertake necessary measures as per the instructions of the concerned authority.
How are buildings categorized on the basis of other miscellaneous features?
Special Buildings
This is an all-encompassing category that includes assembly buildings, industrial buildings, wholesale establishments, hazardous buildings, hotels, hostels and buildings with central air conditioning which are more than 15 meters in height and have a built-up area of more than 600 square meters.
Multi-Level Car Parking
These are buildings that are either partially below ground level and have two or more basements or above ground level with two or more floors that are principally used for parking cars, bikes, scooters, and other light motorized vehicles.
NOW COMING TO YOUR MAIN QUESTION WHETHER IS THERE ANY REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS, THERE IS DEFINITELY REGULATION BY THE GOVERNMENT BODIES:
- FIRST OF ALL, NO PROJECT IS POSSIBLE WITHOUT A QUALIFIED ARCHITECT CERTIFYING THE PROJECT, AN ARCHITECT IS ALSO LICENSED BY THE GOVERNMENT BODIES.
- SECONDLY, IT HAS TO BE DESIGNED BY AN AUTHORISED STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS HAVE A LICENSE WITHOUT WHICH THEY CANNOT PRACTICE AND IN SHORT CANT DESIGN BUILDINGS OR ANY STRUCTURE.
- THIRDLY NO STRUCTURE IS CERTIFIED WITHOUT THE SIGNATURE OF THE SUPERVISING ENGINEER, WHO IS ALSO GIVEN A LICENSE, WHICH WE CALL AS SUPERVISOR LICENSE.
- ALL PLUMBING WORKS ARE CERTIFIED BY A PLUMBING SUPERVISOR LICENSE WHICH ALSO NEEDS HIM TO BE ATLEAST A DIPLOMA ENGINEER
- ALL ELECTRICAL WORKS ARE CERTIFIED BY A LICENSED ELECTRICAL ENGINEER.
SO SAYING THAT THERE IS NO REGULATION WILL BE COMPLETELY WRONG. IN MAHARASHTRA WE HAVE MAHARASHTRA REAL ESTATE REGULATORY AUTHORITY (RERA )
THE GOVERNMENT KNOWS THE REGULATIONS AND THEY DO NOT ENTERTAIN NON TECHNICAL PERSONS, ITS THE PRIVATE BUILDERS AND PUBLIC WHO ARE UNAWARE AND WANT TO EARN A QUICK BUCK.
EVEN GOOD PRIVATE BUILDERS DEPLOY PROPER TECHNICAL STAFF, WHICH INCLUDES ENGINEERS, SUPERVISORS ETC AND GET THE WORK DONE. ALL THESE THINGS WHICH YOU ARE REFERRING MUST BE HAPPENING IN RURAL AREAS................. SO GOD ONLY CAN HELP THEM WHO CAN'T HELP THEMSELVES.
