A by-law, which is most commonly known in the United States as Bylaws, is a set of rules and regulations which is established by any community or the organizations or the community in order to regulate itself. It is allowed or provided by some higher authorities. The higher authority mainly is the legislators or some other government body that established the degree of control that by-laws may exercise. Different entities like a business corporation or neighbourhood association which depend on the jurisdiction of the municipality. In the United Kingdom and in some other commonwealth countries, the local laws established by the municipality which are referred to as by-laws because of the scope which is regulated by the central government of those nations.
So, to discuss the term briefly, you must know that for any sort of development, a specific set of rules are required to be followed while building construction activities goes on. So, in real estate, too, there is a specific type of rules which builders must comply with, and that is known as building by-laws. It aims at provoking the orderly development in the cities. In the absence of the building by-laws, cities can be confronted with excessive coverage and haphazard development, resulting in chaotic conditions and inconvenience for the users.
Typically, bylaws regarding building are created by the town planning authority. And they address various building and safety requirements without giving much thought to height, coverage, limitations and amenities in the building.
Bylaws regarding the real estate are formulated mainly by the central authority. These bylaws make sure the construction not only to be safe but adheres to the aesthetic standards. In that sense, these regulate the construction and the architectural aspects of all the construction activities. For instance, the rules under the building bylaws also govern the provisions for open spaces in the project, and this project aims to ensure the developments that do not generally turn the city into a jungle.
Not only this, but building bylaws also contain the rules to ensure that there must be the minimum harm to the environment because of all these developments.
There are certain aspects that building bylaws cover. These are Area and usage, building height, building coverage, floor space index, green spaces, open spaces, sewerage facilities, provision of water, provision of power supply, provision for waste management, basement facilities etc.
