for mbsj, just get the contractor to find the architect for you to do the submission. no such thing as asking you to submit since you are not a chartered architect. they will draw, submit and get the approval. once approved, you can start the renovations and once reno done, they will jus give u the ccc.

no approval from neighbour is required. if your contractor are not sure of the process, i suggest to change them

done renovation recently, the MBSJ says that they used to requires neighbour (left and right) consent for reno but they remove this rule as they said that it will make everyone's life difficult as some pricks will not consent. *this is from the mouth of the mbsj staff, not mine.

what we did, contractor introduced an architect to do the drawing and submissions. all approved and renovation starts, after reno done, wait for ccc. never went for neighbors for approval. most important the drawing must match and from a certified architect, only then you can get the ccc. not sure what cert the contractor have but as long as the reno and ccc are given, it doesnt matter as no one check the contractor background (normally no one does). again, most important is the one who do the house plan drawing is certified to do so.

better to have a ccc else they have all rights to tear down the structure.