Building Control Regulations 2003 - Singapore Statutes Online

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;

[Deleted by S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

“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;

“architectural works” means any building works other than structural works, geotechnical building works, fixed installation works and works relating to mechanical or electrical installations in buildings;

[S 854/2023 wef 18/12/2023]

“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;

“deemed approved” means deemed approved by the Commissioner of Building Control under section 5AA(1) of the Act;

[S 854/2023 wef 18/12/2023]

[Deleted by S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

“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 building which is below or in direct contact with the ground, and through which the weight of the building and the loads acting on the building are transmitted to the ground, and includes any footing, raft or pile of the building;

[S 709/2017 wef 15/12/2017]

“fresh air” means normal outdoor air not unduly affected by odours, smoke, effluents, dust, fumes discharges from mechanical plants and the like;

“geotechnical report” means calculations, plans or report prepared in respect of geotechnical building works by a qualified person who is a geotechnical engineer showing —

(a)	the results of the findings, evaluation and interpretation of the site investigation and laboratory tests;
(b)	assessment of and recommendations on the geotechnical aspects for the design and construction of the geotechnical building works; and [S 591/2012 wef 01/12/2012]
(c)	plans showing those elements of building works designed by the person who is a geotechnical engineer; [S 250/2008 wef 01/10/2008] [S 591/2012 wef 01/12/2012]

“gross floor area” has the same meaning as “floor area” in the Planning (Development) Rules 2008 (G.N. No. S 113/2008);

[S 579/2022 wef 01/08/2022]

“household shelter”, “public shelter” and “storey shelter” have the same meanings as in the Civil Defence Shelter Act 1997;

[S 579/2022 wef 31/12/2021]

“immaterial changes”, in relation to building works, means any changes that do not affect the objectives and performance requirements set out in the Fifth Schedule relating to the approved plans or deemed approved plans, and 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; [S 665/2013 wef 01/04/2014]

[S 854/2023 wef 18/12/2023]

“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 other than immaterial changes;

[S 665/2013 wef 01/04/2014]

“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;

“ready‑mixed concrete” means concrete in a fresh state that is manufactured in a batching plant situated at any location, and supplied for use in an unhardened form;

[S 665/2013 wef 28/10/2013]

“record plan” means a plan showing the immaterial changes made to the building works of the approved plan or deemed approved plan;

[S 854/2023 wef 18/12/2023]

“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;

[S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

“safety barrier integrated with a window” means a barrier —

(a)	that is put in place to prevent a person from falling from a height where there is a vertical drop of 1,000 millimetres or more; and
(b)	that is integrated with a window; [S 905/2022 wef 01/03/2023]

“service road” means a road required by the competent authority under the Planning Act 1998;

[S 579/2022 wef 31/12/2021]

“Singapore Accreditation Council” means the national authority for accreditation of conformity assessment bodies in Singapore;

[S 709/2017 wef 15/12/2017]

“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;

[S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

“standardised design” means an acceptable solution specified in the Approved Document as the standardised design;

[S 905/2022 wef 01/03/2023]

[Deleted by S 665/2013 wef 01/04/2014]

“supervising qualified person” means the qualified person appointed under section 8(1)(b) or 11(1)(d)(ii) of the Act to supervise the carrying out of any building works;

[S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

[S 905/2022 wef 01/03/2023]

“window” does not include any feature that is a safety barrier integrated with a window.

[S 905/2022 wef 01/03/2023]

Geotechnical building works

2A. For the purposes of paragraph (d) in the definition of “geotechnical building works” in the Act, all types of foundation works for buildings of 30 or more storeys are prescribed as geotechnical building works.

[S 591/2012 wef 01/12/2012]

Application

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), 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 5(1) of the Act is made on or after 1st January 2004.

[S 709/2017 wef 15/12/2017]

(2) Part IVA of these Regulations applies to insignificant building works.

[S 709/2017 wef 15/12/2017]

Insignificant building works

3A. For the purposes of section 4(d) of the Act, insignificant building works are any of the building works specified in the First Schedule.

[S 54/2008 wef 15/02/2008]

[S 709/2017 wef 15/12/2017]

Lodgment works

3B. For the purposes of section 5AA(7)(a) of the Act, lodgment works are any of the building works specified in the Ninth Schedule.

[S 854/2023 wef 18/12/2023]

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).

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