Building Control Act · 2023 Revised Edition · Part · Control of Building Works
15. Duties of builders
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
A builder undertaking any building works, specialist building works or both, as the case may be, shall —
builder
“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;
ensure that the building works, specialist building works or both are, as the case may be, carried out in accordance with —
this Act;
subject to section 9, the building regulations;
the relevant plans approved by the Authority and supplied to him by a qualified person under section 13(1)(c); and
any conditions imposed by the Authority in accordance with this Act and, subject to section 9, the building regulations;
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notify the Authority of any contravention of this Act or the building regulations relating to those building works of which the builder knows or ought reasonably to know;
have an adequate number of construction supervisors working under his direction to assist the builder to ensure that paragraph (a) is complied with;
within 7 days of the completion of the building works, certify that the new building has been erected or the building works have been carried out in accordance with this Act and, subject to section 9, the building regulations and deliver that certificate to the Authority; and
comply with such other duties as may be prescribed in the building regulations.
A builder who is appointed by the developer under section 12(1)(f)(ii) in respect of any building works shall not carry out any work monitoring instruments measuring pore pressures for saturated and unsaturated levels, ground-water levels, ground movements or building movements and to measure forces, deformations or displacements in connection with those building works if he, or any nominee of his, is a partner, an officer or an employee of —
developer
“developer”, in relation to any building works, means the person for whom or on whose behalf the building works are carried out;
the developer or builder of those building works; or
any associate of the developer or builder of those building works.
If any builder appointed under this section or section 12(1) in respect of building works becomes unwilling to act or unable, whether by reason of the termination of his appointment or for any other reason, to carry out his duties under subsection (1), the builder, shall, within 14 days of his ceasing to carry out his duties, notify the Authority of that fact.
building works
“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 or ventilating system in or in connection with a building; (d) site formation works (which includes earthworks such as any act of excavation, levelling, cutting and filling with any material, piling, the construction of foundations, or site clearance, on any land, or any other act of dealing with or disturbing any land) which may or may not be connected with or carried out for the purpose of paragraph (a), (b) or (c); and (e) structural works.
If any qualified person who is appointed under section 12(1) —
qualified person
“qualified person” means a person who is registered as — (a) an architect under the Architects, Professional Engineers and Quantity Surveyors Order, 2011 and has in force a practising certificate issued under section 25 of that Order; or (b) a professional engineer under the Architects, Professional Engineers and Quantity Surveyors Order, 2011 and has in force a practising certificate issued under section 25 of that Order;
to prepare the plans of any building works; or
to supervise any building works,
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becomes unwilling or unable, whether by reason of the termination of his appointment or for any other reason, to carry out his duties under this Act, the builder of those building works shall cease or shall not commence carrying out the building works until the developer appoints another qualified person in respect of those building works.
Any builder who contravenes subsection (1)(a) or (2) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
If a builder contravenes subsection (1)(b), he is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction —
to a fine not exceeding $20,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both; and
in respect of a continuing contravention, to an additional fine not exceeding $1,000 for each day or part thereof the builder contravenes subsection (1)(b), and if the contravention continues after the conviction, the builder is guilty of a further offence and liable on conviction of this further offence to a further fine not exceeding $2,000 for every day or part thereof during which the contravention continues after conviction.
It shall be a defence in any prosecution for a contravention of subsection (1)(b) for the builder charged to prove to the satisfaction of the court that he did not know nor could reasonably have discovered the contravention referred to in the charge.
If a builder, without reasonable excuse, contravenes subsection (1)(c), (d) or (e) or (3), he is guilty of an offence.
Any builder who contravenes subsection (4) is guilty of an offence and liable on conviction —
to a fine not exceeding $200,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both; and
in respect of a continuing contravention, to an additional fine not exceeding $1,000 for each day or part thereof the contravention continues,
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Terms defined in this Act
Authority
Defined · s 2“Authority”, in relation to this Act or any Part or provision of this Act or regulations made thereunder, means any Authority appointed under section 3(1) to be responsible for the administration of this Act or that Part or provision or regulations made thereunder, as the case may be;
builder
Defined · s 2“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
Defined · s 2“building” means any permanent or temporary building or structure and includes — (a) a hut, shed or roofed enclosure; (b) a kiosk or stall, movable or otherwise; (c) an earth retaining or stabilising structure, whether permanent or temporary; (d) a dock, wharf or jetty; (e) a floating structure, not being a boat or vessel, constructed or to be constructed on a flotation system that — (i) is or is to be supported by water; (ii) is not intended for or useable in navigation; and (iii) is or is to be permanently moored; (f) a culvert, crossing, access road, bridge, underpass or tunnel; (g) a sewage treatment plant, sewer, drain, swimming pool or any non-proprietary type of concrete tank for the storage of any solid, liquid or gaseous product; and (h) such other erection or structure (whether permanent or temporary) as the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, declare to be a building;
building regulations
Defined · s 2“building regulations” means any regulations made under section 74;
building works
Defined · s 2“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 or ventilating system in or in connection with a building; (d) site formation works (which includes earthworks such as any act of excavation, levelling, cutting and filling with any material, piling, the construction of foundations, or site clearance, on any land, or any other act of dealing with or disturbing any land) which may or may not be connected with or carried out for the purpose of paragraph (a), (b) or (c); and (e) structural works.
developer
Defined · s 2“developer”, in relation to any building works, means the person for whom or on whose behalf the building works are carried out;
prescribed
Defined · s 42“prescribed” means prescribed in any regulations made under section 52.
qualified person
Defined · s 2“qualified person” means a person who is registered as — (a) an architect under the Architects, Professional Engineers and Quantity Surveyors Order, 2011 and has in force a practising certificate issued under section 25 of that Order; or (b) a professional engineer under the Architects, Professional Engineers and Quantity Surveyors Order, 2011 and has in force a practising certificate issued under section 25 of that Order;
specialist building works
Defined · s 2“specialist building works” means — (a) piling works comprising installation and testing of pre-cast reinforced concrete or pre-stressed concrete piles, steel piles, bored cast-in-place reinforced concrete piles, caissons and special pile types like micro-piles, barrettes piles and composite piles, embedded retaining wall piles like diaphragm walls, contiguousbored piles or secant piles; (b) ground support and stabilisation works, including installation and testing of ground anchors, soil nails, rock bolts, ground treatment like chemical grouting and jet-grouting, reinforced-earth, shotcreting and tunnel supports; (c) site investigation work comprising field investigations, exploratory drilling or coring, logging, sampling, coring, in-site plate-loading tests, pressure meter tests, penetration tests, vane shear tests, probing tests, permeability tests, geological mapping and geophysical surveys, and installation and monitoring of instruments measuring forces, deformation, displacements, pore and earth pressures, and ground-water levels; (d) structural steelwork comprising — (i) fabrication of structural elements; (ii) erection work like site cutting, site welding and site bolting; and (iii) installation of steel supports for underground building works; (e) pre-cast concrete work comprising fabrication of pre-cast structural elements; (f) in-site post-tensioning work comprising setting out of tendon profiles, laying of conduits, anchorages and bursting reinforcement, pulling or stressing of cables, pressure grouting of conduits; and (g) such other building works as the Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, declare to be specialist building works;
Part
Retrofitting of Exterior Features
Part
Disability and Other Performance Requirements for Buildings
Part
Dangerous Buildings and Occurrences
Part
Inspection of Buildings
Part
Licensing of Builders
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