Building Control (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 31/1990

Read the first time on 9th November 1990.
An Act to amend the Building Control Act (Chapter 29 of the 1990 Revised Edition).
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Building Control (Amendment) Act 1990 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Amendment of section 4
2.  Section 4 of the Building Control Act (referred to in this Act as the principal Act) is amended by deleting the words “This Part” and substituting the words “Except as otherwise expressly provided, the provisions of this Part”.
Amendment of section 13
3.  Section 13 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately after the word “owner” in subsection (2)(a), the words “or occupier”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after the word “necessary” in the fifth line of subsection (3), the words “, including ordering the closure of the building,”; and
(c)by inserting, immediately after subsection (5), the following subsection:
(6)  This section shall apply to any building works, whether or not for or connected with buildings which are required for a limited time or constructed of short-lived materials.”.
Amendment of section 25
4.  Section 25 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection:
(1A)  A closure order may require the owner or occupier of the building to which the order relates to cease to inhabit the building and to remove all goods, furniture and effects from the building before the closure order comes into force.”;
(b)by deleting the words “subsection (1); and” in subsection (5)(a) and substituting the words “subsection (2);”; and
(c)by deleting the full-stop at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (5) and substituting the word “; and”, and by inserting immediately thereafter the following paragraph:
(c)the Building Authority or any police officer may remove all goods, furniture and effects from the building.”.
Amendment of section 42
5.  Section 42 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by inserting, immediately after the word “seized” in the first line of subsection (1), the words “or removed”;
(b)by inserting, immediately after the word “seizure” in the sixth line of subsection (1), the words “or removal”;
(c)by inserting, immediately after the word “pay” in the fourth line of subsection (2), the words “on demand”; and
(d)by inserting, immediately after subsection (2), the following subsection:
(3)  Any proceeds of sale of property or materials under this section not claimed within two years of the sale shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.”.
Amendment of section 43
6.  Section 43 of the principal Act is amended —
(a)by deleting the words “may be served” in the second line of subsection (1) and substituting the words “shall be deemed to be sufficiently served”; and
(b)by inserting, immediately after subsection (1), the following subsection:
(1A)  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.”.
Amendment of section 54
7.  Section 54 of the principal Act is amended by deleting subsection (3) and substituting the following subsections:
(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; and for the purposes of this section, “temporary building” means a building which is required for a limited time or constructed of short-lived materials.
(3A)  The powers conferred on the Building Authority 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.”.