Even though necessary, many people are still not aware of the importance of the document.

Building has become a common phenomenon in the country as people seek to own their homes or promote real estate. In Yaounde, houses are constructed everyday in all neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, many people build their houses without building permits. Due to the absence of building permits, people do not only build haphazardly but they also build in risky areas. This has always called for the intervention of officials of the Yaounde City Council.

In order to obtain a building permit in Yaounde, the owner has to go to the Yaounde City Council where he is given a list of documents to compile and a form to fill.  There are three types of building permits. There is a building permit which is given when there is a land title. The second type of building permit is the implantation permit which is a temporal permit given by the Government Delegate to the Yaounde City Council while waiting for the land title. The building permit is issued free of charge immediately the land title is obtained. Formerly, this permit concerned only temporal construction but now it is extended to people who want to build permanent houses. There is also the building permit for communal houses and the building permit for plots on MAETUR land.

Among requirements to obtain a building permit, the owner must fill a registration form provided by the Yaounde City Council with one fiscal stamp and two communal stamps, provide a certificate of property from the Regional Delegation of State Property, Land Tenure and Survey, certificate of urbanisation, plan of situation and mass plan. Also, a building plan, descriptive estimates and plan of the septic tank are also required. Each document is presented in four or five copies, respectively, if the surface area is inferior or superior to 400 square metres.  The documents are submitted in the mail service of the Yaounde City Council. The policy of the Government Delegate to the Yaounde City Council today is to control all buildings in the city whether they are inhabited or not. For people who build their houses without building permits, they have been called upon, in a recent release, to go to the City Council and regularise their situation.

Eugene Kodo, an architect in the Yaounde City Council said the City Council will facilitate the process for obtaining building permits. He explained that for now, only the Government Delegate to the Yaounde City Council issues building permits.