BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) BILL

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BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) BILL: Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Building Control (Amendment) Bill

Sir, on several occasions in Parliament this year I raised concern over the danger posed by falling windows. The incidence of falling windows has increased dramatically in the last four years - from 19 cases in 2000 to 106 cases in 2003. Despite the increased publicity and effort to raise public awareness, I am afraid the situation has not improved. Another 65 incidents of fallen windows were reported in the first six months of this year. We have been lucky so far that no one had been seriously injured or even killed by any such falling window. We have to take further steps to curb the danger to lives that are posed by dislodged windows and, for that matter, by air-conditioners, tiles or any other external parts of buildings which fall from a height, especially in our predominantly high-rise environment. My Ministry, therefore,

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proposes to amend the Building Control Act to address upstream the design and installation of exterior features of buildings, including windows, and I would now elaborate on the proposed amendments in greater detail.

A general legislative framework

This Bill proposes to amend the Building Control Act to provide a general legislative framework for theMinister to prescribe minimum performance standards of installation and to order the retrofitting of specific exterior features of buildings to meet these standards. "Exterior features" are those that are either permanently installed on, or form part of, or project outwards from the roof or exterior of a building. These include windows, air-conditioner units, claddings and curtain walls.

Order to retrofit

Part III of the current Act, containing detailed provisions for the installation and retrofitting works for air-conditioning units, will be repealed. It will be replaced by a provision to enable the Minister to make orders, where necessary, for the "person responsible" to retrofit specific exterior features of buildings to the minimum standards within a grace period.

This new provision will not apply to:

a) The exterior features installed in landed properties within private compounds, as they are not accessible to the public; and

b) The exterior features installed on the lowest level of a building, in other words, the ground floor in most cases, as they do not pose danger to public safety.

The detailed legislation for the installation and retrofitting of air-conditioning units will be moved to the Building Control Regulations.

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" Person responsible "

Sir, the Bill specifies the "person responsible" for the prescribed exterior features as someone who has charge of their maintenance or daily control. This means the owners of all buildings/premises, except in the following situations:-

a) Where the exterior features are part of the common property of a HDB flat, the Minister will designate HDB or the relevant Town Council to be responsible for the installation/retrofitting of each regulated exterior feature. In general, if the exterior feature is installed by the Town Council, it would be the responsibility of the Town Council to retrofit the feature, should the need arise. For example, estate block number signages and additional decorative roof features.

b) Where the exterior features are part of the common property of a strata development, the Management Corporations (MCs) involved would be responsible as they have charge over their maintenance.

Where windows, grilles and shutters are concerned, the owners of units have to be responsible for the proper installation of these items, as they would normally have charge over their use, maintenance and control. This includes the owners of commercial buildings, lessees of HDB flats, and subsidiary proprietors in condominium developments.

Authorised person/firm to carry out works

Sir, prescribing the standards for an exterior feature alone is not sufficient to ensure safety. We also need to ensure that the "person responsible" engages someone who is qualified to undertake the retrofitting or installation. The Bill, therefore, makes provision to allow the Minister to stipulate the required qualifications of the person/firm authorised to carry out such works.

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Penalty for non-compliance with retrofitting orders

Failure to comply with any retrofitting order will be an offence, liable to a maximum fine of $5,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six months or both. To deter continuing non-compliance, a fine of $500 may be imposed on the "person responsible" for the exterior feature for each day that the offence continues after conviction.

Window legislation

Sir, upon this Bill being passed in Parliament, the Minister will prescribe the minimum standards for the design and installation of windows. All newly installed windows will have to meet the requirements in the Singapore Standard SS212 for Aluminum Alloy Windows. This is the current standard adopted by the industry.

Next, existing casement windows in residential buildings, fitted with aluminum rivets, will be required to be retrofitted with stainless steel rivets. Starting from 1st October this year, a 12-month grace period will be granted for the retrofitting exercise. Windows that have been installed for 5 years or more will have to be retrofitted.

The retrofitting requirement will apply only to existing casement windows in residential buildings. Non-residential buildings will be exempted. This is because most of the reported cases of fallen windows involved casement windows of residential buildings. Non-residential buildings are normally maintained regularly to ensure that the buildings, including windows, are in good condition.

Notwithstanding the grace period or the exemptions, I strongly urge all owners

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to retrofit their windows as soon as possible, in the interest of public safety.

All installation and retrofitting of windows must be carried out by contractors approved by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA). BCA will register these approved contractors under the existing Contractor Registry System (CRS). We will make available the list of approved contractors to the public before 1st October this year. Nevertheless, if the residents wish to retrofit their windows before the legislation is made effective, they can obtain a list of HDB trained window contractors from their Branch Office or from HDB's Infoweb.

These contractors have undergone the necessary training by HDB and are competent to carry out the retrofitting of windows.

To keep the retrofitting cost low, BCA and HDB will work with managing agents for private housing estates and Town Councils respectively to do en bloc retrofitting wherever possible.

Other amendments

Sir, apart from the amendments related to exterior features, my Ministry is also proposing other amendments to provide for more effective administration of the Building Control Act.

Periodic inspection of buildings

Currently, the Act requires owners of commercial buildings to carry out periodic inspections at 5-yearly intervals and residential buildings at 10-yearly intervals, after obtaining their Certificates of Statutory Completion (CSCs). The purpose of the inspections is to ensure that structural defects can be detected and rectified early, in order to keep our buildings structurally sound. This is

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especially important as our buildings age over time, and wear and tear start to set in.

However, some buildings may not obtain their CSCs for several years after obtaining their Temporary Occupation Permits (TOPs). Hence, the Bill proposes to amend the Act so that the first structuralinspection will be conducted at the specific number of years after obtaining the TOP or CSC, whichever is earlier.

Composition fine

The Building Control Act and the Building Control Regulations are aimed at protecting public safety. To provide greater deterrence against contravention of the Act and the Regulations, the Bill proposes to raise the cap on composition fine from $400 to $2,000.

Sir, in conclusion, this Bill will provide a framework for regulating upstream the design and installation of exterior features of buildings. Where necessary, the Minister will issue orders to require specific exterior features to be retrofitted to the required standards to ensure public safety.

However, I must stress that the owner needs to make the effort and continue to properly maintain these exterior features after they have been installed or retrofitted.

My Ministry will introduce provisions in the Building Maintenance and Management Bill that is currently being considered by a Select Committee, to require external features to be properly maintained.

Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

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Dr Teo Ho Pin (Holland-Bukit Panjang): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I rise in support of the Bill.

In a high-rise and high-density built environment like Singapore,we must ensure that both building users and the general public are safe from objects falling from heights. The recent cases of falling windows from high-rise buildings have raised much safety concern among the general public. Over the last two years, more than 100 windows had fallen from high-rise buildings. We are fortunate that no fatality has occurred. Sir, the authorities must address this safety issue urgently; otherwise, there may be adverse consequences.

Sir, I support the Bill which aims to provide a framework for the regulation of specific exterior features on building facade which pose danger to the public if they should fall from a height. I also support that persons responsible for the maintenance or daily control of the specified exterior features should be held accountable if these features fall from heights. But the Bill falls short of taking a holistic approach in tackling the problem of falling objects from all high-rise buildings. Let me elaborate the shortcomings of the Bill.

(1) Prevention strategy

Sir, to prevent exterior features from falling from heights, we need to address the root of the problem. Why do exterior features such as windows, grilles, air-conditioning units, tiles, gutters, rainwater downpipes and various other features that are permanently installed on building facade fall from heights? There are five possible causes of such failures: (1) poor design; (2) poor construction; (3) poor maintenance; (4) poor usage; and (5) environmental factors such as wind, rain, ultra-violet light, earthquake and air pollution.

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In order to ensure that exterior features of buildings do not fall from heights, we need to adopt a prevention strategy. First, we should minimise the number of exterior features on the facades ofbuildings. Sir, in Singapore, we have far too many buildings with lots of exterior features such as cantilevered architectural features, hanging sun shades, protruding awnings, and extensive tile claddings on the facades of buildings.All these features are attributed to design. Thus, it is necessary for the proposed Bill to regulate the design of exterior features onfacades of buildings so as to reduce the chances of such features falling from heights.

Sir, if you observe the high-rise buildings in Tokyo, the external facade design is usually simple and easy to maintain with minimum exterior features. Instead of spending large sums of money onbuilding facades, their designers focus more on the interior design and comfort of its users. In Singapore, you cannot help but feel a littleunsafe when you walk in the housing estate or in the city area. Many of our buildings have extensive exterior features cantilevering or protruding over your head. I hope the Minister can explain why the authorities do not regulate the design of exterior features of buildings in Singapore so as to further enhance the safety of the public.

Sir, if a high-rise building is designed with lots of complex exterior features, it makes construction and maintenance difficult. As such, the quality of construction and maintenance of the exterior features will be affected. Who should be held responsible if such complex exterior features were to fall from heights? I believe the designers and contractors must be held accountable. This design and construction responsibility is not featured in the Bill. Can I ask the Minister whether architects and engineers should be held responsible for designing

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exterior features which are difficult to access for construction and maintenance?

Sir, although clause 11 of the Bill empowers the Minister to make regulations relating to the design and construction of exterior features and to regulate persons authorised to carry out installations or retrofitting of any exterior feature, it is not clear how this should be regulated. From the experience of maintenance personnel, the simplest solution to prevent exterior features from falling from heights is not to have any of such features on building facades.

(2) Due diligence offlat owners

Sir, while I agree thatflat owners should exercise more responsibility to keep their windows, grilles and shutters in a serviceable condition, there are problems relating to the exercise of due diligence on the part offlat owners. There is a general lack of information in the industry to help flat owners make informed decisions to select a qualified person or firm to install windows, grilles or shutters properly in their flats. The Building andConstruction Authority should exercise more stringent control to license these qualified persons or firms, and take effective enforcement action against firms which flout the rules.

To-date, the extensive sub-contracting system in the industry does not ensure quality installation of windows, grilles and shutters. There should be better traceability and accountability of such qualified persons and firms. Manyflat owners are laymen who do not understand the technicality of building materials and designs. Frankly speaking, not many flat owners would know the difference between using aluminum or stainless steel rivets for their windows, and its implications on the performance of the windows.

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Sir, I would like to commend the efforts of HDB in publishing a HDB Residents' handbook in November 2003 to educate its lessees on the maintenance and repair of various building components. I would urge BCA to do likewise for all other high-rise buildings in Singapore, especially with regard to the safe installation and maintenance of windows, grilles, shutters and air-conditioners.

At present, there is no clear regulatory guideline on how flat owners should maintain their windows and grilles. Technically speaking, windows, grilles and shutters are relatively maintenance free, except for periodic cleaning. Even window unit air-conditioners, if installed properly, can last many years. Therefore, it is difficult to ascertain whether flat owners have exercised due diligence in maintaining their windows, grilles, shutters or air-conditioners.

Sir, the Bill also restricts the responsibility to HDB flat owners and subsidiary proprietors of strata title developments. I do not understand the rationale for omitting owners of high-rise commercial buildings, especially those in the city areas where public traffic is high. I would propose that all high-rise buildings should be covered under the Bill.

(3) Safe design of exterior features

Sir, instead of focusing on the responsibility of flat owners and maintenance organisations on exterior features, we should explore innovative approaches to improve the design of exterior features of buildings with better safety features. For example, movable windows or grilles and air-conditioners can be designed to have safety catches or cables to prevent them from falling from heights.

Precast concrete sunshades which are cast monolithic with the building structures should be used instead of fixing

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sunshades of different materials to building facades. We should avoid using tile claddings on building facades as they tend to delaminate due to poor bonding and thermal expansion. Rainwater downpipes should run inside instead of outside buildings to facilitate access for maintenance and prevention from falling from heights. Where possible, avoid plastering building facades which have high sunlight exposure as they tend to experience thermal expansion and cracks if poorly designed and installed.

Sir, to ensure the safety of public from falling exterior features of buildings, we must set safety performance standards for these features. Although the Singapore Standard SS212 prescribes specifications for the use of aluminum alloy windows, there is a lack of emphasis on the safe design of windows, grilles and shutters. To date, many exterior features are designed based on building standards overseas which may not be suitable in the local context.

I would urge the Ministry to introduce a comprehensive set of Singapore Standards for all specified exterior features as stated in the Bill under clause 2. In this way, designers and contractors can comply with these local standards to ensure better and safer performance of exterior features.

To further protect the public, we should design our buildings so as to channel pedestrian traffic at the ground level to covered walkways. This will reduce the chances of persons being injured by falling objects from heights.

Sir, the safety of public is of paramount importance with regard to this proposed Bill in regulating the exterior features of buildings. To achieve this, we need to ensure that future buildings in Singapore are designed with minimum or safe exterior features. We must also ensure that persons responsible for the safe performance of exterior features are

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able to exercise their responsibility diligently, and must exercise their responsibility to ensure the safety of the public.

To address this problem, we need to change the mindsets of qualified persons upstream in the building process. Architects and engineers

must design more practical and functional building facades, and provide access for maintenance so that flat owners and maintenance organisations can exercise their responsibility to make high-rise buildings safe. Without concerted efforts upstream, we will always have "dangerous" buildings in our built environment.

Sir, increasing the penalty will not solve the problem. But increasing the sense of responsibility among all stakeholders is the key to achieve a safe high-rise living and working environment. I hope the Minister would consider my suggestions to regulate the safe design of exterior features of high-rise buildings.

Sir, I support the Bill.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I thank Dr Teo for his very incisive and comprehensive comments and his support for the Bill.

I must, first of all, mention the fact that we are dealing with quite a specific problem here - the problem of fallen windows - and this is the reason why I have come to Parliament, on quitean urgent basis, toget Parliament's approval to amend the Building Control Act to allow us to make these changes, specifically to ensure that public safety is not compromised. But I do take his other comments concerning the general safety of public buildings, and I take that in the spirit in which it is given, and that is we need to look at it on a comprehensive basis. I cannot disagree with the fact that the problem is not just a matter of maintenance alone. It starts all the way

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from design, construction and, of course, maintenance, usage and, finally, environmental factors. We cannot do very much about earthquakes and high winds. I think we can take that into account when we design buildings, which is the first point he made.

But I would like to perhaps add a word of caution here in that we cannot be so prescriptive as to regulate the building industry or the qualified professionals to such an extent that we say that theycannot have exterior features or they can only have so many exterior features, etc. Do not forget that our problems are, as I said earlier, windows and air-conditioners.We have dealt with air-conditioners earlier.We are dealing with windows now. You cannot tell the designer not to include windows in his building. He has to put them somewhere. That is where our problem is. We have casement windows particularly that have not been properly installed andmaintained. But the fact is that you cannot fault the designer and the architect for actually designing windows at that particular point in timeto the standard of the day. Now that the standard has been changed,we are now requiringretrofitting. That is something that we have to do. But I submit, in all fairness, it is not the fault of the design professionals.

But, yes, the general point is correct.I agree that when somebody designs a building, it must be designed with safety in mind,with ease of maintenance in mind, andit must also be designedwith ease of construction in mind. I must say that this is part and parcel of the overall responsibility of the professionals. So, should Government regulatethe number of external features or minimise the number of external features? I do not think so. I think we leave it to the professionals, but put the onus on them to make sure that when they do design

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such things, that it is going to be properly designed, properly anchored and constructed. And, of course, we are now urging home owners, "persons responsible", to make sure that they are properly maintained.

Dr Teo also said that it is not fair to put the blame on flat owners who do not know the difference between aluminum and stainless steel rivets. Yes, I think we do need a lot more education of flat owners on how they can better maintain their flats. And this is the reason why HDB last year and together with PAP town councils this year are looking at maintenance manualswhich will better educate flat owners on how they can not only just better maintain windows but also generally maintain their flats and keep them in good condition. The other way, of course, is through regulation, which is what we are doing today. We want to have the regulations in place. And for regulations to be effective, we also need to have the clout andthe teeth, and this is the reason why there are provisions for fines and also custodial sentences, if necessary.

He asked why do we exempt owners of high-rise commercial buildings. In my Second Reading speech, Iexplained that generally the problem does not lie with them. Their buildings are regularly maintained. They do havemaintenance agents who actually maintain these buildings. That is the reason why the figure shows the overwhelming bulk of the cases of fallen windows actually comes from residential buildings and, to a large extent, from the HDB buildings.

Dr Teo mentioned about safe design. Yes, as I said earlier, definitely I agree that safety must be designed into the building and development. Should it also involve designing covered walkways? If it is necessary, of course. But I do not think we should require or mandate that everybody should be walking under

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shelter. Otherwise, we might as well live in a tunnel!

As far as safety standards are concerned, yes, there are already in place safety standards under SPRING. The building codes do specify safety standards. But where they are inadequate,we must, of course,endeavour to strengthen them. And this is one area where we have to update the building codes, specifically to SS212 for casement window rivets.

The last point that Dr Teo mentioned - I think this is a general point - is that qualified professionals (QPs) must exercise responsibility, there must be a mindset change, we must inculcate in them a sense of responsibility and that no amount of fines will do.In fact, I agree wholeheartedly with him. This is something that we have to keep on doing. No matter what legislation we put in place, no matter how much punitive measures we put into the legislation, there is no substitute for ultimately safety consciousness and the safety culturebeing inculcated and being part and parcel of all the people who are responsible in the industry.

With those remarks, I thank once again Dr Teo for his support. And I hope that with this Bill and the support of all home owners, we will be able to drastically improve public safety.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill.- [Mr Mah Bow Tan].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.