PART I | Short title and commencement |
1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Building Control Act 1989 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.| (2) The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different provisions of this Act. |
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2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “accredited checker” means a person who is registered as an accredited checker under section 16; |
| “analyst” means an analyst approved by the Minister; |
| “builder” means any person who undertakes, whether exclusively or in conjunction with any other business, to carry out any building works for his own account or for or on behalf of another person (referred to in this definition as A), but does not include any person who contracts with a builder for the execution by that person of the whole or any part of any building works undertaken by the builder for or on behalf of A under a contract entered into by the builder with A; |
“building” means any permanent or temporary building and includes any structure or erection of whatever kind or nature (whether permanent or temporary) and in particular —| (a) | a wall (including a retaining wall), partition, gate, fence, paling, platform, staging, post, pillar, shoring, hoarding or frame; | | (b) | a slip, dock, wharf, pier, jetty, landing stage or landing bridge; | | (c) | a culvert, crossing, bridge, underpass or tunnel; or | | (d) | a sewage treatment plant, sewer, drain, swimming pool or tank for the storage of any solid, liquid or gaseous matter; |
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| “Building Authority” means the Director-General of Public Works; |
| “building regulations” means any regulations made under section 50; |
“building works” means —| (a) | the erection, extension or demolition of a building; | | (b) | the alteration, addition or repair of a building; | | (c) | the provision, extension or alteration of any air-conditioning service, ventilating system or fire protection system in or in connection with a building, |
| and includes site formation works and any other kind of building operation connected with or carried out for the purpose of paragraph (a), (b) or (c); |
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| “certificate of statutory completion” means a certificate of statutory completion issued under section 20; |
| “common property” has the same meaning as in the Buildings and Common Property (Maintenance and Management) Act [Cap. 30]; |
| “competent authority” means the competent authority appointed under section 3 of the Planning Act [Cap. 232, 1990 Ed.]; |
| “immediate supervision”, in relation to any building works or part thereof, means personally and directly exercising oversight, control and inspection of the carrying out of the building works or part thereof; |
| “key structural elements” means the foundations, columns, beams, shear cores and such other parts of a building which are essential for its support and overall structural stability; |
| “occupier”, in relation to any building, means the person in occupation of the building or having the charge, management or control thereof, either on his own account or as agent of another, but does not include any lodger within the building; |
“owner” —| (a) | in relation to any premises or building, means the person for the time being receiving the rent of the premises or building, whether on his own account or as agent or trustee or as receiver, or who would receive the same if the premises or building were let to a tenant; | | (b) | in relation to premises to which the Control of Rent Act [Cap. 58] applies, includes the tenant of the premises; and | | (c) | in relation to the common property of any subdivided building, includes the management corporation established under the Land Titles (Strata) Act [Cap. 158, 1988 Ed.] having control of the building or the person receiving any rent or charge for the maintenance of that common property; |
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| “premises” includes buildings, lands, easements and hereditaments of any tenure; |
“qualified person” means a person who is registered as —| (a) | an architect under the Architects Act [Cap. 12]; or | | (b) | a professional engineer under the Professional Engineers Act [Cap. 253]; |
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| “repealed Act” means the Building Control Act [Cap. 29, 1985 Ed.] repealed by this Act; |
| “short-lived materials” means any building materials which are, in the absence of special care, liable to rapid deterioration or are otherwise unsuitable for use in the construction of permanent buildings; |
| “site supervisor” means a site supervisor of building works appointed under section 10; |
| “temporary occupation licence” means a temporary occupation licence issued pursuant to section 8(1) of the repealed Act; |
| “temporary occupation permit” means a temporary occupation permit issued under section 20; |
| “unauthorised”, in relation to a building or building works, means any building erected, or any building works commenced or carried out, in contravention of any provision of this Act or the building regulations; |
| “ventilating system” means a mechanical system for introducing or exhausting air. |
| (2) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference to a building includes a reference to a part of a building. |
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3.—(1) The powers conferred and the duties imposed on the Building Authority under this Act and the building regulations may be exercised and carried out by any of the following persons generally or specially authorised by name or office by the Building Authority and subject to his directions:| (a) | any officer of the Public Works Department; and | | (b) | a qualified person in the employment of the Government. |
(2) Subject to the directions of the Building Authority, the powers conferred and the duties imposed on the Building Authority under the provisions of Part II relating to the approving of plans of building works and granting of permits to carry out building works, and under any building regulations necessary for carrying out or giving effect to those provisions may also be exercised and carried out by any qualified person who is —| (a) | in the employment of the Housing and Development Board, the Jurong Town Corporation or such other public authority constituted by any written law as the Minister may approve for the purpose; and | | (b) | generally or specially authorised by name or office by the Building Authority. |
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(3) Any qualified person who is generally or specially authorised under subsection (2) to exercise the powers or to carry out the duties of the Building Authority under this Act shall —| (a) | be deemed to be public officers for the purposes of this Act; and | | (b) | be public servants within the meaning of the Penal Code [Cap. 224]. |
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