Pelan Setara & Car Porch Extensions
How the Council’s Standard-Plan Route Works (2026)

What a pelan setara actually is

Under the Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974 (Act 133), nobody may put up a building, or add to one, without the local council’s written permission first. MBPJ’s own FAQ quotes section 70(1) to make the point, and it applies to a car porch roof as much as to a new room. Normally that permission starts with a plan drawn and submitted by a registered consultant.

The pelan setara is the shortcut for the most common small jobs on terrace houses. The council publishes a book of standard sketches. The owner picks the sketch that matches the work, fills in the house details, signs every sheet and submits it. MBSA describes the book as a substitute plan that the owner submits without a consultant, relying on section 18 of the Uniform Building By-Laws. It is quicker and cheaper than a full plan, but only for the jobs the book lists.

Which houses can use it

Each council sets its own rules, so check yours before you plan anything. The two published examples we could open are clear enough to show the pattern:

A corner lot, semi-D or bungalow porch extension in Shah Alam therefore goes the full route: a plan certified by a professional architect or a draughtsman registered with the Board of Architects, submitted through the OSC 3 Plus online system, which MBSA says has been mandatory since 1 June 2024.

What car porch work the book covers

MBPJ lists the sketches in its book. Four of them are what most car porch enquiries are really about:

Anything outside these sketches, such as a first-floor room over the porch, a new concrete slab roof that changes the structure, or a porch pushed out beyond what the sketch shows, is not a pelan setara job. It needs a proper additions-and-alterations plan.

How the application works

MBSA’s page sets out the steps for Shah Alam, and they are typical:

1. Get the pelan setara book from the council’s building department counter.
2. Fill in the owner’s name as it appears on the sale and purchase agreement, the address and IC number.
3. Identify the house type, the part being extended, the lot size and the distance of the existing building from the boundary.
4. Choose the sketch that matches the proposed work and sign every form and sketch.
5. Apply at the same time for the permit to place building materials, and for the council’s RoRo bin service for construction waste.
6. Pay the processing fee, the materials permit, the RoRo fee and any penalty before the approved plan and letter are released.

Our RoRo bin and debris guide records the MBSA RoRo service on this route at RM880, paid before approval is released. MBPJ adds one rule that catches people out: work may only start after the plan is approved and Form B, the notice to start work, has been submitted.

The catch: you carry the structure

The pelan setara saves the consultant’s fee because nobody checks your particular structure. MBSA states it plainly: the owner is fully responsible for the stability and strength of what is built, and the council accepts no liability for claims arising from the work. In practice that means the builder you hire has to get the columns, footings, beams and roof fixings right without an engineer’s drawing behind them.

That is why the sketch should be treated as the minimum, not the design. Ask the contractor how the new roof will be tied to the existing house, where the rainwater will go, how the joint at the wall will be flashed and how the new footings will sit against the old ones. A porch roof that leaks at the wall joint is a common problem on extensions; our guide to awning joints leaking at the wall covers why.

Setbacks: how far from the boundary

A pelan setara does not let you build over the boundary or into the road reserve, and the sketches keep to set distances. MBPJ publishes the setbacks it allows for semi-D houses adding within the setback area, measured from the lot boundary:

• Front: columns of an open terrace or car porch 3.050 m; walls 6.096 m; roof eaves 3.050 m.
• Sides and rear: columns and walls 3.050 m; roof eaves 2.000 m.
• Terrace upper-floor balcony replacing the porch roof: 4.267 m from the front boundary for columns, the balcony or concrete roof, and the eaves.

Other councils publish their own figures, so treat these as MBPJ’s and ask your council for its current guideline. MBPJ also caps a new or shared fence at 1500 mm above ground level, built within the owner’s lot.

Pelan setara or full plan: quick check

Mistakes that cause trouble later

• Starting before approval. MBPJ is explicit that submitting a plan is not permission to begin.
• Demolishing the original wall on a kitchen-extension sketch where the book says it must stay.
• Going beyond the sketch: a deeper roof, a solid slab instead of a light roof, or columns closer to the boundary.
• Forgetting the neighbour on a shared porch roof or party-wall fence; MBPJ asks for the neighbour’s consent on fences where relevant.
• No plan for the rainwater: a new roof that dumps water onto the neighbour or the five-foot drain.

What happens if you build without it

Building without approval breaches section 70 of Act 133, whatever the size of the job. Councils can issue notices, compound the offence or order the work removed, and an unapproved extension can surface again when you sell or refinance. Our guide to renovating without a permit and illegal extension enforcement guide set out what enforcement looks like and how owners regularise old work.

How ClickBina can help

A porch extension is rarely only a roof: there is usually flooring, drainage, a gate or awning and some wall making-good as well. ClickBina is an experienced KL & Selangor contractor that handles whole-house refurbishment and coordinates the trades on one job. WhatsApp us your job details for a quote: your council area, whether the house is an intermediate terrace, and what you want to extend. We reply within the hour, the price we agree is a flat price with no hidden charges, and a site visit is RM150, waived if you go ahead. See also our car porch flooring guide and guide to water coming up through porch tiles.

Sources & official references

• MBPJ, Building Control FAQ — section 70(1) of Act 133, the pelan setara list, who may apply, setbacks, fence height and when work may start.
• MBSA, Permohonan Tambahan Pindaan Rumah Kediaman (Pelan Setara) — eligible houses, 5-working-day approval, owner responsibility, application steps.
• MBSA, additions and alterations (TP) for houses — the full-plan route and OSC 3 Plus.
• ClickBina RoRo bin and debris guide — the MBSA RoRo fee on the pelan setara route.

Note: council rules change and differ between MBSA, MBPJ, DBKL, MBSJ and others. Always confirm the current guideline with your own council before you build.