No. S 666
Building Control Act
(Chapter 29)
Building Control Regulations 2003
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 49 of the Building Control Act, the Minister for National Development hereby makes the following Regulations:
PART I
PRELIMINARY
Citation and commencement
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Building Control Regulations 2003 and shall come into operation on 1st January 2004.
Definitions
2.  In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires —
“acceptable solution” means the specifications, design, material or method of construction set out in an Approved Document;
“alternative solution” means a solution that entails the use of any design, material or method of construction that differs completely or partially from those in the acceptable solution;
“applicant” means the person who makes the application concerned under the Act or these Regulations;
“approved” means approved by the Commissioner of Building Control;
“Approved Document” means an Approved Document issued by the Commissioner of Building Control under regulation 27;
“building envelope” means the elements of a building which enclose air-conditioned spaces through which thermal energy may be transferred from the exterior;
“code of practice” means the relevant Singapore Standard Code of Practice, and where there is no such code of practice means the relevant British Standard Code of Practice or any other relevant code of practice which is acceptable to the Commissioner of Building Control;
“construct” means build, erect and place in position and includes reconstruct, rebuild, re-erect, and replace in position;
“existing building” means any building in respect of which a certificate of statutory completion or a temporary occupation permit has been issued;
“floor” includes a horizontal platform forming the surface of a storey and any joist, board, timber, stone, concrete, steel or other material connected with or forming part of such platform;
“foundation” means that part of a construction immediately below the footings of a building, which is in direct contact with, and through which the weight of a building is transmitted to, the ground, and includes piling works;
“fresh air” means normal outdoor air not unduly affected by odours, smoke, effluents, dust, fumes discharges from mechanical plants and the like;
“gross floor area” has the same meaning as “floor area” in the Planning (Development Charges) Rules (Cap. 232, R 5);
“household shelter”, “public shelter” and “storey shelter” have the same meanings as in the Civil Defence Shelter Act (Cap. 42A);
“immaterial changes”, in relation to building works, means any changes that —
(a)do not affect any key structural elements; or
(b)affect the key structural elements but the effects are localised in nature and do not require a re-design of the key structural elements;
“imposed load” or “imposed loading” means the load assumed to be introduced by the intended occupancy or use, including distributed, concentrated, impact and inertia but does not include wind loads;
“lift” means a lift machine or an appliance equipped with a car, platform or other device that moves along guides in a substantially vertical direction and is used for carrying persons or goods but does not include any temporary hoist in any construction site or dumb waiter or lift for the carriage of goods only;
“load bearing”, in relation to a part of a building (including its foundation), means that part of the building which bears a load other than that due to its own weight and wind pressure on its own surface;
“material changes”, in relation to building works, means any changes that affect the key structural elements of the structure to such an extent as to require a re-design of the key structural elements;
“mechanical ventilation” means the process of supplying or removing air to or from a building or part thereof by mechanical means or devices;
“natural ventilation” means the supply of outside air to a building or removal of inside air from a building by means of windows and other openings;
“record plan” means a plan showing the immaterial changes made to the building works of the approved plan;
“residential building” means a building or part thereof designed or adapted or used for human habitation such as a detached, semi-detached or terraced house or residential flat, and includes any outbuilding and other covered structure which are intended for the enjoyment of the occupiers of the building or part thereof or are otherwise appurtenant to such a building;
“retaining wall” means a structure used to resist the lateral displacement or support the load of any retained material and includes any contiguous or secant bored-piled or diaphragm wall, reinforced concrete wall, steel sheet pile wall, soil nailed wall, reinforced earth wall, crib wall, gabions wall, cofferdam, tied-back wall or other types of wall serving the same purpose;
“service road” means a road required by the competent authority under the Planning Act (Cap. 232);
“site formation works” means any kind of site formation and includes earthworks for site stabilisation, the construction of foundations, basements, sub-structures, piling, underpinning, ground anchors, trenches or any other kind of ground works;
“structural elements” means those parts or elements of a building which resist forces and moments and includes foundations, beams, columns, shear cores, slabs, roof trusses, staircases, load bearing walls and all other elements designed to resist forces and moments but exclude doors, windows and non-load bearing walls:
Application
3.  These Regulations shall apply only to building works where an application to the Commissioner of Building Control for approval of the plans of those building works under section 6(1) of the Act is made on or after 1st January 2004.
Made this 29th day of December 2003.
PETER CHAN JER HING
Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of National Development,
Singapore.
[ND 202/1-19 Vol. 12; AG/LEG/SL/29/2002/1 Vol. 3]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 52 of the Building Control Act).