On 26/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 26/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 26/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 30/12/1999.
PART VI
Miscellaneous
30. The Minister may by order, either generally or in any particular case, and subject to such conditions as he may impose, exempt any premises or building or any building works from all or any of the provisions of this Act or the building regulations.
[31
31. Where an offence under this Act or the building regulations has been committed by a body corporate, a partnership or unincorporated association of persons, any person who at the time of the commission of the offence was a director, manager, partner, secretary or other similar officer thereof, or was purporting to act in any such capacity, shall also be guilty of that offence unless he proves that —
(a)
the offence was committed without his consent or connivance; and
(b)
he had exercised all such diligence to prevent the commission of the offence as he ought to have exercised having regard to the nature of his functions in that capacity and to all the circumstances.
[32
32.
—(1) No liability shall lie against the Government or any public officer by reason of the fact that any building works are carried out in accordance with the provisions of this Act or that such building works or plans of the building works are subject to inspection or approval by the Commissioner of Building Control or the public officer.
[4/99]
(2) Nothing in this Act shall make it obligatory for the Commissioner of Building Control to inspect any building or building works or the site of any proposed building to ascertain whether the provisions of this Act are complied with or whether any plans, certificates, notices or other documents submitted to him are accurate.
[4/99]
(3) No matter or thing done by the Commissioner of Building Control or by any public officer shall, if it were done bona fide for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act, subject the Commissioner of Building Control or the public officer personally to any action, liability, claim or demand.
[4/99]
(4) Where the Commissioner of Building Control provides any information to any person in respect of any building or building works by electronic or other means, neither the Government, the Commissioner of Building Control nor any public officer shall be liable for any loss or damage suffered by any person by reason of any error or omission of whatever nature or howsoever caused, including any defect or breakdown in the electronic equipment used for providing the information, if such error or omission is made in good faith and in the ordinary course of duties of the Commissioner of Building Control or public officer.
[33
[18/95; 4/99]
33.
—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may enter any premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of —
(a)
ascertaining whether there is, or has been, on or in connection with the premises, a contravention of this Act or the building regulations;
(b)
ascertaining whether circumstances exist that would authorise the Commissioner of Building Control to take any action or execute any work under this Act or the building regulations;
(c)
taking any action or carrying out any work, authorised or required by this Act or the building regulations; or
(d)
inspecting the documents, books or records kept and maintained by a qualified person or builder under section 9(3)(d) o r 11 (4) (c), respectively.
(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1), the Commissioner of Building Controlmay take such steps as he may consider necessary, including the making of openings and the taking without payment of reasonable samples of building materials for analysis.
[4/99]
(2) The results of any analysis of a sample of building materials taken under subsection (1A) shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceedings under this Act or the building regulations unless the samples were taken in the prescribed manner.
(3) A certificate of the results of an analysis of a part of a sample taken under subsection (1A) shall be signed by the analyst but the analysis may be made by a person acting under the direction of the analyst.
(4) For the purposes of any inspection under subsection (1)(d), the qualified person or builder concerned shall afford the Commissioner of Building Control access to and shall produce the documents, books or records and shall give such information and facilities as may be required by the Commissioner of Building Control .
[4/99]
(4A) Any qualified person or builder, as the case may be, who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (4) shall be guilty of an offence.
[4/99]
(5) The documents, books or records referred to in subsection (4) shall not be required to be produced at such times or at such places as would interfere with the proper execution of the building works.
(6) Any person who wilfully obstructs the Commissioner of Building Control in the performance of any matter or thing which he is authorised to do by this section shall be guilty of an offence.
[34
[4/99]
34.
—(1) In any proceedings instituted under this Act for the commencement or carrying out of any building works on any premises in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the building regulations, the owner of the premises at the time the building works were commenced or carried out shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to be the person commencing or carrying out the building works.
(2) Where anything is required under this Act to be done by the owner of a building, and there is more than one owner of such building, it shall be a defence to any prosecution for failing to do that thing —
(a)
that such thing was done by another owner of the building; or
(b)
that any notice or order in respect of such thing required under this Act to be served on the owner was served on another owner of the building and not on the person charged.
[35
35.
—(1) Whenever default is made by an owner of any premises in the execution of any work required under this Act to be executed by him, an occupier of the premises may, with the approval of the Commissioner of Building Control, cause the work to be executed.
[4/99]
(2) The costs and expenses thereof shall be recoverable by the occupier from the owner or the amount may be deducted out of the rent from time to time becoming due from him to the owner.
(3) The occupier may, in the absence of any special agreement to the contrary, retain possession of the premises until the costs and expenses incurred by him have been fully reimbursed.
[36
36.
—(1) Where —
(a)
the owner of any premises is required under any provision of this Act or the building regulations to carry out any work or make any provision in respect of the premises;
(b)
the owner has given written notice to the occupier of the premises of his intention to carry out the work or make such provision; and
(c)
the occupier prevents the owner from carrying out the work or making such provision in respect of the premises,
a Magistrate’s Court, upon proof thereof and upon application by the owner, may make an order in writing requiring the occupier to permit the owner to execute all such work or to make such provision with respect to the premises as may be required by the provisions of this Act or the building regulations and may also, if the Court thinks fit, order the occupier to pay to the owner the costs relating to the application or order.
(2) If, after the expiration of 8 days from the date of the order, the occupier continues to refuse to permit the owner to execute such work or make such provision as may be required by the provisions of this Act or the building regulations, the occupier shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day during which he so continues to refuse.
(3) Every such owner shall, during the continuance of such refusal, be discharged from any penalties to which he might otherwise have become liable by reason of his default in executing the work or making provision in respect of the premises or building.
[37
37.
—(1) All expenses incurred by the Commissioner of Building Control in or about the execution of any work pursuant to any provision of this Act, together with interest accruing in accordance with subsection (3), shall be recoverable from the person who is the owner of the premises on the date on which the works are completed.
[4/99]
(1A) As from the date of the completion of the work, the expenses and interest accrued due thereon shall be, until recovered, a first charge on the premises and on all estates and interests therein, exercisable against the premises and the estates and interests therein and all movable property or crops for the time being found thereon, notwithstanding any change in the ownership or occupation of the premises subsequent to that date.
(2) The Commissioner of Building Control may certify under his hand the expenses due and the names of the persons liable therefor and may by such certificate apportion the expenses among those persons.
[4/99]
(2A) A copy of the certificate shall be served upon each of those persons referred to in subsection (2), but where no such persons may be found, the certificate shall be deemed to have been duly served if a copy thereof is posted at the office of the Commissioner of Building Control and another copy thereof is affixed to some conspicuous part of the premises in respect of which the expenses have been incurred.
[4/99]
(3) Interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the expiry of one month from the date of service of a certificate under subsection (2A) shall be recoverable as part of the expenses incurred by the Commissioner of Building Control.
[4/99]
(4) A certificate purporting to be under the hand of the Commissioner of Building Control and to be made under subsection (2) and setting forth the amount claimed as due to the Commissioner of Building Control and the persons as liable for the payment thereof shall be prima facie evidence of the facts certified therein and of the signature of the Commissioner of Building Control thereto.
[4/99]
(5) If any sum or any part thereof due to the Commissioner of Building Control under this Act remains unpaid at the expiration of one month commencing from the date of service of the certificate under subsection (2A), or such further period as the Commissioner of Building Control may allow, it shall be deemed to be arrears.
[38
[4/99]
38.
—(1) Where the Commissioner of Building Control has incurred expenses in or about the execution of any work which are recoverable from any person, the Commissioner of Building Control may either recover such expenses in the manner provided in section 37 or, if he thinks fit, may obtain an undertaking from the person for the payment of such instalments as will be sufficient to defray the whole amount of such expenses with interest thereon at a rate not exceeding 9% per annum within a period of 10 years.
[4/99]
(2) Upon default in payment of any instalment upon the date appointed for payment thereof by any such undertaking, the whole of the balance then outstanding of such amount shall immediately become due and payable and, notwithstanding any change in the ownership or occupation of the premises since the date of the undertaking, may be recovered by the same means and in the like manner as provided in section 37.
[39
39. The Minister may, at any time by notification in the Gazette, vary the rates of interest specified in sections 37(3) and 38(1).
[40
Liability of transferor of property in respect of expenses incurred by Commissioner of Building Control
40.
—(1) Where a person sells or transfers any premises in respect of which expenses have been incurred by the Commissioner of Building Control in or about the execution of any work required to be done under this Act which are recoverable from the owner thereof, the person shall continue to be liable for the payment of all such expenses payable in respect of the premises and for the performance of all other obligations imposed by this Act upon the owner of those premises which became payable or were required to be performed prior to the transfer.
[4/99]
(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect the liability of the purchaser or transferee to pay such expenses in respect of the premises or affect the right of the Commissioner of Building Control to recover such expenses or to enforce any obligation under this Act.
[41
[4/99]
41.
—(1) Any property or materials seized or removed by the Commissioner of Building Control, in the exercise of his powers under this Act, may be forfeited to the Government and sold or otherwise disposed of by the Commissioner of Building Control unless a claim is made by the person to whom the property or materials belong within 2 weeks of the seizure or removal in which case the property or materials may be returned to the person on such terms and conditions as the Commissioner of Building Control may impose.
[2/91; 4/99]
(2) Where the Commissioner of Building Control sells any property or materials under subsection (1), the Commissioner of Building Control shall pay on demand the proceeds of the sale to the owner to whom the property or materials belonged after deducting the amount of any expenses recoverable by the Commissioner of Building Control from him.
[2/91; 18/95; 4/99]
(3) Any proceeds of the sale of property or materials under this section not claimed within 2 years of the sale shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
[42
[2/91]
42.
—(1) Any notice, order or document required or authorised to be served under this Act shall be deemed to be sufficiently served —
(a)
by delivering a copy thereof personally or by leaving it with some adult person at the last known place of abode of the person on whom the notice is to be served;
(b)
by leaving it at the usual or last known place of abode or business of the person on whom the notice is to be served in a cover addressed to that person or by posting it upon a conspicuous part of those premises; or
(c)
by sending it by registered post addressed to the person on whom the notice is to be served at his usual or last known place of abode or business.
[2/91]
(2) Any notice, order or document required or authorised to be served under this Act on the owner or occupier of any premises or building shall also be deemed to be sufficiently served by delivering a copy thereof personally to some adult person on the premises or building or, if there is no such person to whom it can with reasonable diligence be delivered, by affixing the notice, order or document to some conspicuous part of the premises or building.
[2/91]
(3) Any notice, order or document required or authorised by this Act to be served on the owner or the occupier of any premises shall be deemed to be properly addressed if addressed by the description of the “owner” or “occupier” of the premises without further name or description.
(4) Any notice, order or document to be issued by the Commissioner of Building Control under this Act or the building regulations may be issued in such form as the Commissioner of Building Control may determine and every such notice, order or document shall be valid if the signature of the Commissioner of Building Control or any officer authorised under this Act is duly printed or written thereon.
[43
[18/95; 4/99]
43.
—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may by notice require any person who appears to the Commissioner of Building Control to be acquainted with the circumstances of any case which is under investigation to furnish him within such time as may be specified in the notice with information relating to that case in the possession of that person.
[4/99]
(2) Any person who fails to comply with any notice under subsection (1) or who furnishes any information which he knows or has reason to believe is false shall be guilty of an offence.
[44
44.
—(1) A police officer may arrest without warrant any person who has committed, or whom he reasonably suspects to have committed, an offence under this Act or the building regulations —
(a)
if the person declines to give his name and address; or
(b)
if there is reason to doubt the accuracy of the name and address, if given.
(2) A person arrested under this section may be detained until his name and address are correctly ascertained except that no person so arrested shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a court unless the order of a court for his detention is obtained.
[45
45.
—(1) Subject to this section, the contents of any document prepared, issued or served under, by virtue of or for the purposes of this Act or the building regulations shall until the contrary is proved be presumed to be correct.
(1A) The production of any document purporting to contain any apportionment made under section 37(2) shall, without any other evidence, be received as prima facie proof of the making and validity of the apportionment mentioned therein.
(2) In any proceedings under this Act or the building regulations, a certificate of analysis under section 33 purporting to be signed by an analyst shall, on its production by the prosecution without proof of the signature of the analyst, be sufficient evidence of the facts stated therein unless the defendant requires the analyst to be called as a witness, in which case he shall give notice thereof to the prosecution not less than 3 clear days before the day fixed for the hearing of the summons.
(3) All records and other documents required by this Act or the building regulations to be kept by the Commissioner of Building Control shall be deemed to be public documents, and copies thereof or extracts therefrom certified by the officer responsible for the custody thereof to be true copies or extracts, as the case may be, subscribed by that officer with his name and his official title shall be admissible in evidence as proof of the contents of the documents or extracts.
[4/99]
(4) Where any information in respect of any building or building works is provided by the Commissioner of Building Control by electronic means, the production of any document under the hand of a public officer responsible for providing such information purporting to be a hard-copy transcript of all or any such information shall, in all courts and in all proceedings, be sufficient evidence of the information provided electronically and all courts shall in all proceedings take judicial notice of the signature of the public officer.
[46
[18/95; 4/99]
46. Notwithstanding the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cap. 68), a District Court or a Magistrate’s Court shall have power to impose the maximum penalties provided for an offence under this Act.
[47
47. Any person who is guilty of an offence under this Act for which no penalty is expressly provided shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
[48
48.
—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may, in his discretion, compound any offence under this Act or the building regulations which is prescribed as a compoundable offence by collecting from a person reasonably suspected of having committed the offence a sum not exceeding $400.
[4/99]
(2) The Minister may make regulations to prescribe the offences which may be compounded.
[49
49.
—(1) The Minister may make regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act and for any matter which is required under this Act to be prescribed.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the Minister may make regulations for or in respect of all or any of the following matters:
(a)
the regulation or prohibition of the exhibition of advertising signs, skysigns, aerial signs and projected advertisement in or on any premises and the regulation of the size and construction of those signs and advertisements;
(b)
the submission of plans of building works, the authorisation of persons qualified to submit the same and their duties and responsibilities, and the nature or classification of plans which each person may submit;
(c)
the manner of making applications for and granting of approval of plans of building works and permits to carry out building works;
(d)
the structural strength and stability of buildings or proposed buildings, including —
(i)
precautions against overloading;
(ii)
measures to safeguard adjacent buildings;
(iii)
underpinning;
(e)
the design and construction of buildings, including —
(i)
the preparation of sites for building works;
(ii)
projections;
(iii)
sanitation and drainage;
(iv)
standards of artificial lighting, ventilation systems and air-conditioning;
(v)
open space about buildings and the natural lighting and ventilation of buildings;
(vi)
the headroom of rooms, cubicles and staircases and other spaces within buildings;
(vii)
the suitability and use of materials and components;
(f)
the demolition of buildings and the safety precautions to be taken in respect thereof;
(g)
prohibiting or regulating the occupation of buildings;
(h)
the control and regulation of measures for energy conservation in buildings;
(i)
the provision of embankments and retaining walls;
(j)
measures to improve efficiency and standardisation in the construction industry relating to design, processes, construction techniques, products and materials;
(k)
the regulation of installation and retrofitting works relating to air-conditioning units, including the duties and responsibilities of trained workers in carrying out such works;
(l)
measures for the construction, installation and inspection of lifts and escalators;
(m)
the control, regulation and supervision by registration, licensing, inspection or otherwise of places to which the public has access;
(n)
the prescribing of documents, books or records to be kept and reports or certificates to be made under this Act;
(o)
the time and manner of making an application for temporary occupation permits and certificates of statutory completion;
(p)
the manner in which the duties and responsibilities of accredited checkers are to be discharged;
(q)
the manner in which appeals may be made to and determined by the Minister under this Act and the information to be supplied by the Commissioner of Building Control in connection therewith;
(r)
the granting of permits for the erection, demolition and occupation and the control of buildings required for a limited time or constructed of short-lived materials;
(s)
the procedure for the sampling of building materials under section 33;
(t)
the prescribing of forms necessary for the administration of this Act; and
(u)
the prescribing of fees and charges for the purposes of this Act.
[18/95; 4/99; 36/99]
(3) The Minister may, in making any building regulations under this section, provide that any contravention of or failure to comply with any provision thereof shall be an offence and may prescribe punishment by a fine not exceeding $5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or with both.
[50
50.
—(1) Any building regulations made under section 49 may adopt wholly or partially or as amended by the regulations or by reference any code, standard, rule, specification or provision which relates to any matter with which the building regulations deal and which is —
(a)
recommended, issued or adopted by the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board;
(b)
recommended, issued or adopted by —
(i)
the British Standards Institution; or
(ii)
any other standards organisation or body of any place outside Singapore being an organisation or body approved by the Commissioner of Building Control; or
(c)
included in any document issued by any Government department or issued by any public authority constituted by any written law.
[1/96; 4/99]
(2) The Commissioner of Building Control shall cause a copy of every code, standard, rule, specification or provision adopted under subsection (1) (other than a code, standard, rule, specification or provision recommended, issued or adopted by the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board) to be made available for inspection by members of the public without charge at the office of the Commissioner of Building Control during normal office hours.
[1/96; 4/99]
(3) In any proceedings under the building regulations, a copy certified by the Commissioner of Building Control as a true copy of a code, standard, rule, specification or provision adopted under subsection (1) (other than a code, standard, rule, specification or provision recommended, issued or adopted by the Singapore Productivity and Standards Board) shall be evidence of the code, standard, rule, specification or provision so adopted.
[51
[1/96; 4/99]
51. The Minister may by order amend the Schedule.
[52
52. Any order, notification or building regulations made under this Act shall be presented to Parliament as soon as possible after publication in the Gazette.
[53
53.
—(1) Any licence, permission, approval or other document prepared, made or granted under the repealed Act and valid immediately prior to 1st May 1989 shall be deemed to have been prepared, made or granted under the corresponding provision of this Act.
(2) A valid and subsisting certificate of fitness for occupation issued under regulations made under the repealed Act or a valid and subsisting temporary occupation licence shall have the same force and effect as a certificate of statutory completion or temporary occupation permit, respectively, granted under this Act.
(3) Any temporary permit, permission or other similar document issued in respect of a temporary building under any written law relating to building control in force before 1st February 1960 shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, to have lapsed or expired.
[2/91]
(4) The powers conferred on the Commissioner of Building Control by this Act may be exercised in respect of —
(a)
any building erected in contravention of, or deemed to be unauthorised under, any written law relating to building control in force before 1st May 1989; and
(b)
any temporary building in respect of which no temporary permit, permission or other similar document issued under any such written law relating to building control or this Act is in force,
and such building shall be deemed unauthorised for the purposes of this Act.
[2/91; 4/99]
(5) Where any written law or document refers expressly or by implication to a temporary occupation licence or to a certificate of fitness for occupation, the reference shall (except where the context otherwise requires) be construed as a reference to a temporary occupation permit or a certificate of statutory completion, respectively.
(6) For the purposes of this section, “temporary building” means a building which is required for a limited time or constructed of short-lived materials.
[54