By Aggrey Baba
The new Building Control Act (2026) has come into force with tough rules meant to give a new shape to how buildings are planned, approved, and built. But even as enforcement begins, the law is already running into a hard reality of a construction sector where many buildings were built outside formal systems.
The law introduces stricter penalties tied to the size of a building, faster enforcement without long court processes, and wider powers for regulators to stop or demolish non-compliant structures. Developers are also required to start construction within 12 months (one year) of approval and complete projects within five years unless an extension is granted.
According to the National Building Review Board (NBRB), the reforms are meant to improve safety and bring order to a sector where many buildings have no approved plans or proper inspections, adding that it can’t guarantee safety for structures built without approved drawings or structural checks, which is why new requirements like “as-built” assessments have been introduced.
But on the ground, the picture is more complicated, with a large number of buildings in Kampala being believed to have no approved plans, while many also lack occupation permits. Outside urban areas, the situation is widely believed to be even more worse. This raises concerns about how the new law will be enforced without affecting ordinary people who built under a weak or slow system.
Local governments are now expected to enforce the law, but there are concerns about capacity. Building inspectors are few, and in some areas already stretched, with critics warning that this could lead to uneven enforcement or confusion in implementation.
Under the law, offenders face fines of up to UGX 10 million or up to 12 years in jail for serious violations. Authorities also have powers to stop construction, enter sites, and enforce compliance throughout a building’s lifecycle.
While government agencies defend the law as necessary to improve safety and discipline in the sector, developers and professionals say the bigger challenge is not the rules themselves, but how they will be applied in a system where informality has been the norm for years.
The new law, as it awaits president Museveni’s ratification, is now being tested between two worlds, a legal framework trying to set a firm foundation, and a construction reality that has long been built on uneven ground.(For comments on this story, get back to us on 0705579994 [WhatsApp line], 0779411734 & 041 4674611 or email us at mulengeranews@gmail.com).
