Insignificant Building Works
Building works that do not require building plan submission to BCA are termed “insignificant building works”. Homeowners who are interested in renovating their homes can learn more about the types of building works that are considered to be insignificant building works to prevent costly rectification work in future.
Carrying out building works without an approval from BCA is an offence under Section 20 of the Building Control Act. Those found to have contravened Section 20 of the Building Control Act may incur a fine of up to $200,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
“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,
and includes site formation works connected with or carried out for the purpose of paragraph (a), (b) or (c).
Clearances from other Relevant Authorities
The homeowner is responsible for checking if clearances from other relevant authorities (e.g. the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)) are required for any building work that will be done. Homeowners should also be mindful of other laws with which they have to comply (e.g. caveats, MCST by-laws, etc.).
We advise homeowners to engage a Registered Architect (RA) who specialises in architectural services and/or a Professional Engineer (PE) who specialises in the field of civil and structural works to advise on the clearances required from BCA and other relevant authorities for the building works that will be done.
Types of Insignificant Building Works
You may find out more about the types insignificant building works for each building type / building works in the following pages