HKIE Professional Assessment - Building Discipline cheat sheet

Building Discipline - Hong Kong Statutory and Regulatory Framework

• Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) is administered by the Buildings Department; Building (Planning) Regulations, Building (Construction) Regulations and Building (Fire Safety) Regulations sit under it as subsidiary legislation.

• Building Authority means the Director of Buildings; plans submitted under s.14 must be approved or refused within 60 days, and deemed approval does not arise automatically - the BA may request further information, which stops the clock.

• Occupying or using a building without an Occupation Permit (s.21) is an offence; a Temporary Occupation Permit may be issued for part of a building subject to conditions and a validity period.

• Minor works are controlled under the Minor Works Control System (MWCS): three classes (Class I, II, III) by scale/risk; Class I requires BA approval plus supervision, Class III may be carried out by prescribed building professionals/prescribed registered contractors without prior approval.

• Registered Contractor registration is in five categories (Building, Specialist, Minor Works, etc.) with separate register entries; a contractor may only carry out works within its registered category.

• Authorized Person (AP), Registered Structural Engineer (RSE) and Registered Geotechnical Engineer (RGE) are separate statutory roles; supervision plans and site supervision under the Site Supervision Plan (SSP) system are tied to the type of works and the class of the building.

• Under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572), existing composite and domestic buildings (pre-1987) must comply with fire safety measures and directions issued by the Fire Services Department / Buildings Department.

• The Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Cap. 610) requires compliance with the Building Energy Code for prescribed buildings; a certificate of compliance (form prescribed by EMSD) is required for central building services installations.

• Unauthorized building works (UBW) are enforced under s.24/s.24A: a removal order may be registered against the land, and failure to comply is an offence with daily penalties; a building record (MBIS) audit can be ordered under the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme (Cap. 123M).