Building Control (Advertisement) Regulations

Building Control Act

(Chapter 29, Section 49)

Rg 6

G.N. No. S 353/1989

REVISED EDITION 2000

(31st January 2000)

[1st September 1989]

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Building Control (Advertisement) Regulations.

Definitions

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —

“advertisement” means any visual form of advertising exhibited or displayed on any hoarding, structure, apparatus or device erected on, in or over any premises or land and visible from any street or building and includes any advertisement that is projected on to any external surface of a building or structure by light or any other means;

“building line” means the regular line of a street and includes a line prescribed by the competent authority under the Planning Act (Cap. 232) on either side of a street beyond which no building abutting such side shall traverse;

“electronic billboard” means any frame or panel specially designed for displaying advertisements consisting of visual moving pictures by electronic means that is —

(a)	affixed onto any premises and visible from any street or adjacent premises;
(b)	erected on or over any premises and visible from any street or adjacent premises; or
(c)	erected within any premises;

“illuminate”, in relation to any advertisement, signboard or skysign, means illuminate by design or adoption by an internal or external artificial source of light directly or by reflection;

“"licence" ” means a licence issued under these Regulations and “licensee” shall be construed accordingly;

“signboard” means a display of the name, registered trade mark or nature of the trade, business or profession of any person in the form of a notice or sign printed, painted, carved, engraved or otherwise delineated on or affixed to any place or premises and visible from any street or building which exceeds half a square metre in area and in respect of the place or premises to which it is affixed contains only —

(a)	a reference to the identification or description of the place or premises;
(b)	a reference to the identification or description of any person residing or carrying on an occupation at the place or premises;
(c)	particulars of any occupation carried on at the place or premises;
(d)	such directions or cautions as are usual or necessary relating to the place or premises or any occupation carried on thereat;
(e)	particulars or notification required or permitted to be displayed by any written law; or
(f)	particulars relating to any service provided at the place or premises;

“skysign” means any erection consisting of a frame, hoarding, board, bar, pillar, post, wire or any combination of such things, or any erection of a like nature, or any visible object which floats or is kept in position by wire or other flexible attachment, displayed for the purposes of any trade or business carried on for the purposes of gain and in such a position as to be conspicuously visible against the sky and from any street or building.

(2) Any reference in these Regulations to a person who exhibits an advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign shall be construed as a reference to the person who himself or by his employee or agent exhibits or causes to be exhibited the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign, and shall include —

(a)	the owner and occupier of the land or building on which the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign is exhibited; and
(b)	any person to whose goods, trade, business or other concern publicity is given by the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign.

(3) A person to whose goods, trade, business or other concern, publicity is given by any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign shall be taken to have exhibited or caused to be exhibited the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign if the person who himself or by his employee or agent exhibited or caused to be exhibited the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign is not known or cannot be found in Singapore.

Application for licence

3.—(1) Subject to regulation 7, no person shall exhibit or cause to be exhibited any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign without a licence issued by the Commissioner of Building Control.

(2) Any application for a licence shall be submitted to the Commissioner of Building Control and shall be accompanied by —

(a)	a sketch or photograph showing full details of the proposed subject-matter of the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign in respect of which the application for a licence is made;
(b)	a site plan showing the location of the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign; and
(c)	structural and other plans and specifications in accordance with the building regulations if the skysign or electronic billboard is exhibited on any hoarding or frame which has an area of more than 5 square metres.

(3) If an advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign is exhibited on a hoarding or frame which has an area of more than 10 square metres, the application for a licence shall be accompanied by detailed structural and other plans and specifications in accordance with the Building Control Regulations (Rg 1).

Categories of licence

4.—(1) There shall be 2 types of licences, namely, Category A and Category B.

(2) A Category A licence may, on payment of the appropriate annual licence fee specified in regulation 8, be issued for such period as the Commissioner of Building Control may determine but shall not exceed 3 years from the date of the issue or from such date as the Commissioner of Building Control may determine.

(3) A fresh application for a licence shall not be required for the renewal of any Category A licence if there is no change in the subject-matter, size, location or other material particulars of the original advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign.

(4) A Category A licence may be renewed for any further period commencing from the date of expiry of the licence.

(5) Every advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign for which a Category A licence has been issued shall be painted thereon the licence number granted in respect of such advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign.

(6) A Category B licence may be issued for a period not exceeding 12 months on payment of the pro-rata rate of the appropriate annual licence fee specified in regulation 8.

(7) A fresh application in writing shall be made for any renewal of a Category B licence.

Increase in area of advertisement

5.—(1) The area of any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign may, on application, be increased during the period of validity of the licence on payment of the appropriate annual fee for the increase in area.

(2) An application under paragraph (1) shall be accompanied by the licence for endorsement by the Commissioner of Building Control.

Powers of Commissioner of Building Control

6.—(1) Upon receiving an application for a licence or the renewal thereof, the Commissioner of Building Control may issue or renew a licence, with or without conditions, or refuse to issue or renew a licence, as the case may be.

(2) In considering any application for or the renewal of a licence, the Commissioner of Building Control shall, in particular, take into consideration —

(a)	the amenities of any place;
(b)	the natural beauty of a landscape; and
(c)	the amenities of any historic or public building or monument or of any place frequented by the public solely or mainly on account of its beauty or historic interest.

Exceptions

7. No licence shall be required for —

(a)	any notice for sale or letting not exceeding 2 square metres in area where the notice is exhibited on the land or property for sale or to be let, but not more than one such notice for sale or letting shall be exempted in respect of any one property;
(b)	any building or civil engineering contractor’s sign not exceeding 4 square metres in area where the sign is erected on the property upon which any building or civil engineering work is being carried out or within such close proximity to the property as the Commissioner of Building Control may allow, but not more than one such sign shall be exempted in respect of any one project on that property;
(c)	any sub-contractor’s sign not exceeding 2 square metres in area erected in connection with any building or civil engineering project if the sign does not have any pictorial matter other than to illustrate the material or manufactured item being supplied or the service being rendered by the sub-contractor; and a sub-contractor shall be entitled to one exemption for each type of material or manufactured item being supplied by him for the project or for each sub-contracting service being performed by him on the project;
(d)	any signboard projecting not more than 15 centimetres from any building or at the frontage of a shop unit provided that the aggregate area of the signboards at the premises does not exceed 5 square metres in area;
(e)	any sign of any religious body or Government-aided school;
(f)	any sign of any hospital or clinic run by any charity;
(g)	any newspaper billboard;
(h)	any sunblind or chick which bears only the name or trade mark or both of the firm occupying the premises;
(i)	one directive sign in respect of each business or profession carried on in any premises;
(j)	the exhibition of election posters in accordance with the Parliamentary Elections Act (Cap. 218); and
(k)	any advertisement inside any shop unit or showroom at a line behind the rear line of the footway, corridor, passageway, lobby or concourse of the building provided that such advertisement is 30 centimetres behind the front or rear of the shop unit.

Fees

8.—(1) There shall be payable to the Commissioner of Building Control the following annual licence fee in respect of any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign:

(a) illuminated or unilluminated advertisement

—

(i) $140 per licence if the advertisement is more than one square metre but not more than 10 square metres.

(ii) $20 per square metre or part thereof if the advertisement is more than 10 square metres.

(iii) $8 per sign if the advertisement is less than one square metre.

(b) electronic billboard

—

(i) $225 per licence if the electronic billboard is not more than 10 square metres.

(ii) $30 per square metre or part thereof if the electronic billboard is more than 10 square metres.

—

(i) $50 per licence if the signboard is not more than 10 square metres.

(ii) $20 per square metre or part thereof if the signboard is more than 10 square metres.

(d) skysign

—

$40 per square metre or part thereof.

(2) Where more than one face of any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign is displayed, an annual licence fee shall be payable at the appropriate rate specified in paragraph (1) for every face of the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign which is displayed.

(3) For any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign exhibited for any period of less than one month, 10% of the appropriate annual licence fee shall be payable.

(4) Where the fee payable under this regulation includes any fraction of a dollar, the fraction shall be regarded as a dollar.

(5) The fee for each additional copy of any licence shall be $5.

(6) Where the annual licence fee payable is not paid within the period stipulated in the notice of payment, 10% of the annual licence fee or $10, whichever is the greater, shall be payable.

Location requirements

9.—(1) No advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign which is displayed more than 3.75 metres above any street shall project over the street beyond the building line by more than 1.5 metres except on balconies or canopies.

(2) Any advertisement, electronic billboard or signboard fixed in a verandah-way or over a footpath shall be not less than 2.5 metres above the level of the verandah-way or footpath.

(3) No advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign shall project over any street by more than 60 centimetres beyond the building line up to a height of 3.75 metres measured vertically from the roadway.

(4) Where a roadside drain is covered, no advertisement, electronic billboard or signboard projecting over any street shall be erected less than 2 metres above the cover of the drain, measured vertically from the top of the cover to the underside of the advertisement, electronic billboard or signboard.

(5) No person shall illuminate any advertisement, signboard or skysign that is visible from the street by means of flickering, flashing or running lights.

Alteration and maintenance of advertisements

10.—(1) A licence shall not be transferable.

(2) The subject-matter of any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign shall not be changed without the prior written permission of the Commissioner of Building Control.

(3) Every advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign licensed under these Regulations shall be maintained to the satisfaction of the Commissioner of Building Control.

Amendment, suspension or cancellation of licences

11.—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may by notice in writing amend, suspend or cancel any licence issued under these Regulations.

(2) A licensee whose licence has been cancelled under paragraph (1) may apply in writing for a refund of the fee paid for the licence.

(3) The Commissioner of Building Control shall refund the appropriate pro-rata sum for the unexpired period of the licence except that no refund shall be made where the licence is cancelled by reason of any contravention of or failure to comply with these Regulations.

Order for removal, replacement, etc., of advertisements

12.—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may, in writing, order the removal, obliteration, replacement, alteration or maintenance of any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign.

(2) Any order under paragraph (1) shall be served on the person who, in the opinion of the Commissioner of Building Control, is responsible for displaying the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign or the owner or occupier of the premises in or on which the same is exhibited and such person, owner or occupier shall comply with the order within the period specified in the order.

(3) Where any order under paragraph (1) is not complied with, the Commissioner of Building Control or any officer authorised, either generally or specially in that behalf by the Commissioner of Building Control, may enter the premises and remove or obliterate the advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign or take such other steps as may be reasonably necessary for preventing its exhibition.

(4) All costs and expenses incurred by the Commissioner of Building Control or any officer authorised by him in removing, obliterating or taking other necessary action under this regulation shall be recoverable from the person on whom the order was served as a debt due to the Government.

(5) Any person who fails to comply with any order under this regulation shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Penalties

13. Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $50 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.

Exemptions

14.—(1) The Commissioner of Building Control may, with the approval of the Minister, exempt any person or class of persons or any advertisement, electronic billboard, signboard or skysign from all or any of these Regulations.

(2) An exemption granted under paragraph (1) may be revoked by the Commissioner of Building Control at any time.

[G.N. Nos.S353/89; S 16/99]

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