Building Control Act · 2023 Revised Edition · Part · General
56. Power to enter premises
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
The Authority or any authorised officer for this purpose may enter any premises at all reasonable hours for the purpose of —
Authority
“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;
ascertaining whether there is, or has been, on or in connection with the premises, a contravention of this Act or the building regulations;
ascertaining whether circumstances exist that would authorise the Authority to take any action or execute any work under this Act or the building regulations;
taking any action or carrying out any work, authorised or required by this Act or the building regulations; or
inspecting the documents, books or records kept and maintained by a qualified person under section 13(4)(d) respectively.
For the purposes of subsection (1), the Authority or any authorised officer under subsection (1) may take such steps as the Authority or he may consider necessary, including the making of openings and the taking without payment of reasonable samples of building materials for analysis.
authorised officer
“authorised officer” means any person authorised by the Authority under section 3(2);
Building Control
building
“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;
The results of any analysis of a sample of building materials taken under subsection (2) shall not be admissible as evidence in any proceedings under this Act or the building regulations unless the samples were taken in the prescribed manner.
building regulations
“building regulations” means any regulations made under section 74;
A certificate of the results of an analysis of a part of a sample taken under subsection (2) shall be signed by the analyst but the analysis may be made by a person acting under the direction of the analyst.
For the purposes of any inspection under subsection (1)(d), the qualified person or builder concerned shall afford the Authority or any authorised officer access to and shall produce the documents, books or records and shall give such information and facilities as may be required by the Authority or a person appointed under subsection (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;
Any qualified person or builder, as the case may be, who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (5) is guilty of an offence.
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;
The documents, books or records referred to in subsection (5)
shall not be required to be produced at such times or at such places as would interfere with the proper execution of the building works.
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.
Any person who wilfully obstructs the Authority or any authorised officer appointed under subsection (1) in the performance of any matter or thing which the Authority or he, as the case may be, is authorised to do by this section is guilty of an offence.
Terms defined in this Act
authorised officer
Defined · s 2“authorised officer” means any person authorised by the Authority under section 3(2);
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.
premises
Defined · s 2“premises” includes buildings, lands, easements and hereditaments of any tenure;
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;