Building Control (Amendment) Act 2025: What Changed

What is the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2025?

It is a law that amends the Building Control Act, 2013, the Act that sets who approves buildings in Uganda and what happens if you build without approval. Parliament passed the Bill in 2025, which explains the year in its title, and the President assented to it on 19 February 2026. Some law firms and news outlets call it the 2026 Act. The Economic Policy Research Centre reports that the President signed it at State House Entebbe together with the Mortgage Refinance Institutions Act and the Valuation Act. KTA Advocates says its aim is to close longstanding gaps in the Building Control Act, restructure oversight institutions and tighten the permit regime, and that it came into force on 19 March 2026.

Our checking has limits. We could read the 2013 Act, but we could not find the text of the amending Act online. Everything below about what changed comes from news reports, a law firm alert and a government agency's public statement, and we say who said what. Section numbers, exact fine amounts and transitional rules should be confirmed against the Act in the Gazette or by a lawyer before you rely on them.

What changed in building law in 2026?

The table sets the 2013 baseline, which we read in the Act, against the 2026 changes as reported. The baseline fines use the Act's value of UGX 20,000 per currency point.

The same Nile Post report, quoting the NBRB's Executive Secretary Flavia Bwire at the Uganda Media Centre, says the NBRB can issue stop or evacuation orders for unsafe buildings and enter sites to check compliance, and that Local Building Committees can demolish or evacuate structures built in breach. It adds that new construction technologies and materials may be approved if they are assessed and certified, and that regulations covering demolition, new technologies and enforcement are still to be drafted. In practice that means the headline rules are in force but the detailed regulations are not all in place.

KTA Advocates and the Nile Post both describe the amendment as imposing harsher penalties. Neither source, in the pages we could read, gave the per-square-metre rates. If you need to know what you would pay for a specific building, ask a lawyer for the rate in the Act.

Do I need inspection before moving in?

Yes. This part is not new, but 2026 has made it more visible. Section 44(1) of the 2013 Act requires the owner of a completed building to notify the Building Committee of practical completion and to apply for an occupation permit. Section 44(2) gives the committee fourteen days to examine the building and issue the permit or refuse it with written reasons. Pulse Uganda, writing in April 2026, reports that the requirement existed before the amendment and that what changed is the enforcement climate. It adds that applications can be filed through the Building Industry Management System (BIMS), and that there are full, temporary and partial permits.

For the full process, documents and the KCCA fee, read Occupation Permit in Uganda: When You Need One. If you are a buyer, ask for the permit before you pay the balance, because moving into an uncertified building can expose you personally.

What must owners, developers and buyers do now?

This is a practical checklist based on what is reported. It is not legal advice.

• If you are about to build: get the approved plan and building permit first, from KCCA or your local authority. See Building Plan Approval in Kampala. Use a registered architect and engineer. KCCA and the Architects Registration Board said in May 2026 that unqualified people posing as architects and engineers are linked to poor workmanship and building collapses, and that new enforcement measures have been introduced against them.
• If you have a permit and are building: note the reported time limits. Start within 12 months and finish within five years, or apply for an extension in writing. Keep the jobcard up to date.
• If your building is finished: notify the Building Committee and apply for the occupation permit. Do not allow tenants in before it is issued.
• If you are a developer of apartments: you carry the obligations above for the whole building, and the unit titles come through the condominium route. See condominium property act and New Apartment Developments in Kampala, 2026.
• If you are buying: ask for the approved plan, the permit and the occupation permit, and have a lawyer check them. Compare prices on House Prices in Kampala and Wakiso (Our Listings), and browse house listings.
• If your building is old and unapproved: ask your local authority what regularisation route exists, because we found no published one. Do not extend or sell on the assumption that nothing will be enforced.

Costs may also rise. See cost to build a house in Uganda for what we could verify on building costs. This Act is separate from the land laws, which are covered in Land Act sections. When you need to see a building and its paperwork, book an escorted site visit.

What are the penalties and who enforces them?

Enforcement has three layers. First, the Building Committee of the district or urban authority (for example KCCA in Kampala) approves plans, inspects work and, as reported, can now demolish or evacuate buildings that breach the law. Second, the National Building Review Board oversees the system and, as reported, can order unsafe buildings to stop or be evacuated. Third, the courts impose the fines and prison terms.

The reported penalty headlines are fines per square metre or up to five years' prison for building without a permit, using prohibited methods or continuing after a permit has expired, and fines up to UGX 10 million or up to 12 years' prison where negligence causes an accident. The Act, the NBRB said, also makes compliance with the National Building Code mandatory. Because these are reports and not the Act's text, check the exact wording for your case.

Property buyers should remember one more link in the chain. The Physical Planning Act, 2010, section 33, separately makes developing land without development permission an offence, and says dealings connected with that development are null and void. Both laws can apply to one building.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Homes and Condominiums for Sale in Uganda
• Occupation Permit in Uganda: When You Need One
• Building Plan Approval in Kampala: KCCA Steps and Fees
• Condominium Property Act 2001 in Plain English
• Cost of Building a House in Uganda
• New Apartment Developments in Kampala, 2026