Most houses have no building permits

TANGERANG: As many as 70 percent of residences in 26 districts of Tangerang regency do not have the required building permits, officials said on Monday.

Head of the permits department at Tangerang Planning and Building Layout Agency, Mursan, revealed that only 5,299 houses were legal according to Bylaw No. 10/2000 on building permits.

"The residents are still not aware that house owners can use the permits as collateral for loans from banks. Besides, the building permits enable the administration to control the growth of residential buildings," he said.

He called on residents to get their permits arranged at the district administration office.

The administration targets Rp 15.5 billion (US$1.68 million) in revenue from building permits this year. As of September, the administration had collected 65 percent of the targeted amount. -- JP