Permission to Build a Chattel House in Barbados

In Barbados, the Town and Country Development Planning Office regulates all planning applications for land development. If you want to build a chattel house in Barbados, you have to apply for permission from the department. Failure to submit applications for development may result in the property being demolished.

Town and Country Planning Act

The Town and Country Development Planning Office is responsible for the development of land in Barbados. Their activities include monitoring development plans, regulating planning standards, and environmental management practices and the enforcement of planning control.

The Town and Country Planning Act, Cap. 240 and its subsidiary legislation, Town and Country Planning Order 1972 set out legislation for planning applications. This legislation covers all development within the limits of the territorial waters of Barbados. The Act covers any development on the island that includes “building, engineering, mining or other operations”. Making any changes in the “use of any buildings, or any other land or the subdivision of land” is also included.

Other acts under the department’s purview are the Trees Preservation Act and certain aspects of the Entertainment Act, Properties Act, Tenantries Act, Gaming and Betting Act, Income Tax Act, Mental Health Act, Condominium Act and the Emergency Management Act.

Permission to Build a Chattel House in Barbados

To apply for permission to build a chattel house, several copies of the plan should be submitted as follows:

1. Four (4) copies of a location plan. The location plan shows the location of the property in relation to the nearest identifiable road junction or land-mark. The location plan should be drawn to a scale of not less than 1:2500m and should include the name of all roads which may be used to identify the property..
2. Four (4) copies of a building plan. The building plan shows the layout of the house in relation to any buildings on the land and the boundaries of the plot. The layout of any proposed existing road or vehicular access must also be shown. The building plan should be drawn to a scale of not less than 1:200m.
3. The North Point must be shown on each plan to indicate the orientation of the property and it must also be drawn to scale.
4. The application fee to submit a chattel house plan is ten Barbados dollars or five United States dollars.

The Approval Process

On receipt of a successful application to build a chattel house in Barbados, the Chief Town Planning must be notified in writing of the date on which work is expected to begin. The planning permission package will contain a specimen of the letter. The Town and Country Development Planning Office will arrange an inspection of the proposed build before works begin. This inspection costs one hundred Barbados dollars or fiftye United States dollars.

When construction has been completed satisfactorily, the department will issue a Certificate of Compliance.. The certificate will only be issued if all conditions stipulated by the planning permission are met. The fee for the Certificate of Compliance is one hundred and fifty Barbados dollars or seventy five United States dollars.

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