Division 1 — Dangerous buildings
Interpretation of this Part
22G.—(1) In this Part —“building” includes a building or any part of a building in respect of which building works are being carried out;
“building product” means any product, material, assembly of components, software or other thing that is, or could be, used in a building and is prescribed by building regulations to be a building product for the purposes of Division 2;
“reportable matter” means —(a)
any safety incident that —(i)
occurs on or after the date of commencement of section 19 of the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020;
(ii)
involves an exterior feature or a fixed installation; and
(iii)
is prescribed by building regulations to be a reportable safety incident for the purposes of this Part; or
(b)
any safety risk that —(i)
involves the use of a building product (even if the building product was used in a building before the date of commencement of section 19 of the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020); and
(ii)
is prescribed by building regulations to be a reportable safety risk for the purposes of this Part;
“safety incident”, in relation to an exterior feature of a building or a fixed installation, means —(a)
any situation where an individual dies, or is injured as a result of, an incident associated with the condition of the exterior feature or the operation of the fixed installation;
(b)
any situation where any property (other than the exterior feature or fixed installation itself) is damaged as a result of an incident associated with the condition of the exterior feature or the operation of the fixed installation; or
(c)
any situation or condition involving the exterior feature or fixed installation which endangers or which, if not corrected or if left unattended, would —(i)
endanger the occupants of the building or any other person; and
(ii)
induce a situation described in paragraph (a) or (b);
“safety risk”, in relation to a building product, means a feature of the design or construction of —(a)
the building product; or
(b)
a component, accessory or other part of a building product,
such that the use of the building product in a building poses to any occupant of the building, or any member of the public in or in the vicinity of the building, risk of death or serious injury arising from the use of the building product in the building.
(2) For the purpose of the definition of “safety risk” in subsection (1) and this Part —(a)
a risk can be considered to arise from the use of a building product in a building even if the risk will only arise in certain circumstances or if some other event occurs, such as fire;
(b)
a building product is used in a building if it is or is to be incorporated into, connected to, or otherwise installed in a building by means of building works; and
(c)
use of a building product in a building includes a misuse of a building product in a building.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
Dangerous building works
23.—(1) If the Commissioner of Building Control is of the opinion that any building works are being carried out in such a manner as —(a)
will cause, or will be likely to cause, a risk of injury to any person or damage to any property;
(b)
will cause, or will be likely to cause, or may have caused a total or partial collapse of —(i)
the building in respect of which the building works are or have been carried out; or
(ii)
any building, street, slope or natural formation opposite, parallel, adjacent or in otherwise close proximity to those building works, or any part of any such building, street or land; or
(c)
will render, or will be likely to render, or may have rendered the building in respect of which the building works are or have been carried out or any building, street, slope or natural formation opposite, parallel, adjacent or in otherwise close proximity to those building works, or any part of any such building, street or land, so unstable or so dangerous that it will collapse or be likely to collapse (whether totally or partially),
the Commissioner of Building Control may do either or both of the following:
(d)
engage a qualified person or a specialist to carry out such investigations and tests as may be necessary and to advise the Commissioner of Building Control on all matters relating to the safety of the building in respect of which the building works are or have been carried out or the building, street, slope or natural formation opposite, parallel, adjacent or in otherwise close proximity to those building works (as the case may be), the reasons for its collapse (if applicable) and the measures that should be taken to obviate any possible danger that might arise from the condition of the building;
(e)
make all or any of the orders in subsection (2).[47/2007; 22/2012]
(2) The Commissioner of Building Control may, for the purpose of obviating any danger or preventing any situation mentioned in subsection (1)(a), (b) or (c) from happening, order the developer of those building works —(a)
to immediately stop the building works;
(b)
to carry out or cause to be carried out (at the developer’s cost) any inspection that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify of either or both of the following:(i)
the building in respect of which the building works are or have been carried out;
(ii)
the building, street, slope or natural formation opposite, parallel, adjacent or in otherwise close proximity to those building works;
(c)
to execute or cause to be executed (at the developer’s cost) any building works that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify (which may include retrofitting under Part 3); or
(d)
to demolish or cause to be demolished (at the developer’s cost) the building in respect of which the building works are or have been carried out or any part thereof, and remove any rubbish resulting from the demolition.[47/2007; 22/2012]
(3) Where the building works mentioned in subsection (1) comprise structural works, the Commissioner of Building Control may, in lieu of or in addition to any engagement or order in subsection (1) or (2), revoke any permit granted under section 6 to carry out those structural works.[47/2007]
(4) If the person to whom an order in subsection (2) is given fails to comply with the order within the time specified, the Commissioner of Building Control may execute the order in any manner that he or she thinks fit and recover in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to him or her all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in doing so from the person in default.[47/2007]
(5) Without affecting the right of the Commissioner of Building Control to exercise his or her powers under subsection (4), any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any order in subsection (2) that the person is given shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to —(a)
where the order is to immediately stop the building works —(i)
a fine not exceeding $500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both; and
(ii)
in respect of a continuing failure to comply, an additional fine not exceeding $10,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order; or
(b)
in the case of any other order in subsection (2) —(i)
a fine not exceeding $100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both; and
(ii)
in respect of a continuing failure to comply, an additional fine not exceeding $2,500 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order,
and if the failure to comply continues after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on conviction of this further offence to a further fine not exceeding —
(c)
where the order is to immediately stop the building works — $20,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order after conviction; or
(d)
in the case of any other order in subsection (2) — $5,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order after conviction.[47/2007]
(6) Any person to whom any order in subsection (2) is given must, while the order is in force, display a copy of the order at every entrance to the building to which the order relates, and that copy must be displayed in a way that it can be easily read by people outside the building.[47/2007]
(7) Any person who contravenes subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence.[47/2007]
(8) The Commissioner of Building Control may also order the developer of the building works concerned to pay or reimburse the Commissioner of Building Control, all or a specified part of the expenses he or she has incurred in engaging a qualified person or a specialist under subsection (1)(d).[47/2007]
(9) The Commissioner of Building Control may recover in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to him or her so much of the amount payable under an order made under subsection (8) as is not paid in accordance with that order.[47/2007]
(10) Any person on whom an order under subsection (8) is served may, within 14 days after the date of receipt of the order, appeal in writing to the Minister against the order in the prescribed manner.[47/2007]
(11) The Minister may determine an appeal under subsection (10) by confirming, varying or cancelling the order of the Commissioner of Building Control under subsection (8); and the decision of the Minister in any such appeal is final.[47/2007]
Dangerous buildings
24.—(1) If the Commissioner of Building Control is of the opinion that a building is in such a condition, or is used to carry such loads, as to be or likely to be dangerous, the Commissioner of Building Control may, for the purpose of obviating any danger, order an owner of the building to do all or any of the following:(a)
to appoint an appropriate person to carry out (at the owner’s cost) any inspection of the building that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify;[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(b)
to execute or cause to be executed (at the owner’s cost) any building works that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify (which may include retrofitting under Part 3);
(c)
to demolish or cause to be demolished (at the owner’s cost) the building or any part thereof, and remove any rubbish resulting from the demolition;
(d)
to cause (at the owner’s cost) the building to be shored up or otherwise secured and a proper hoarding or fence to be put up for the protection of the public from danger, or arranging for the building to be watched;[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(e)
to suspend the operation or use of any part of the building by any occupier or other person until after the Commissioner of Building Control otherwise approves.[47/2007; 22/2012]
[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(1A) In addition, the Commissioner of Building Control may give an order under subsection (1) to do any thing under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) in respect of an exterior feature of a building or a fixed installation, or any building product used in a building, that the Commissioner of Building Control reasonably believes is necessary for either or both the following purposes:(a)
to prevent safety incidents involving the exterior feature or fixed installation in the future;
(b)
to eliminate or minimise a safety risk posed by the use in the building of the building product.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(1B) Where an order under subsection (1) is given to the owner or owners of 2 or more adjoining or connected buildings, a power to order the doing of anything under subsection (1)(a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) includes —(a)
a power to order the respective owners of the buildings to jointly appoint the same qualified person or persons to carry out (at the owners’ cost) an inspection of each of the buildings, where subsection (1)(a) is concerned; and
(b)
a power to order the respective owners of the buildings to jointly do that thing under subsection (1)(b), (c), (d) or (e) in relation to each of those buildings.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(1C) In the case of an order under subsection (1) in respect of a building with 2 or more owners, each of those owners is jointly and severally responsible —(a)
to take such steps as are necessary to comply with the order; and
(b)
to bear all costs incurred to comply with the order.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(2) The Commissioner of Building Control may, in lieu of or in addition to any order under subsection (1), make —(a)
an order (called in this Part an occupancy order) directing the owner or occupier of the building to not allow more than the number of people stated in the occupancy order to be in the building at any time or to otherwise restrict the use of the building, until the Commissioner of Building Control, being satisfied that any inspection or building works mentioned in subsection (1) are completed, withdraws the order; or
(b)
an order (called in this Part a closure order) directing the closure of the building, and that every owner and occupier of the building must quit the building and must not allow anyone else to occupy the building except as permitted under this Part.[47/2007]
(3) Before exercising any of his or her powers under subsection (2), the Commissioner of Building Control must, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, give notice of his or her intention to make an occupancy order or a closure order, as the case may be.[47/2007]
(4) If the person to whom an order in subsection (1) is given fails to comply with the order within the time specified, the Commissioner of Building Control may ––(a)
execute the order in any manner that he or she thinks fit; and
(b)
recover in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to him or her all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in doing so from the person in default,
except that so far as the expenses incurred under this section consist of expenses of fencing off the building, or arranging for it to be watched, the expenses are not recoverable in respect of any period after the danger has been removed by other steps under this section.
[47/2007]
(5) Without affecting the right of the Commissioner of Building Control to exercise his or her powers under subsection (4), any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any order in subsection (1) that the person is given shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —(a)
to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and
(b)
in respect of a continuing failure to comply, to an additional fine not exceeding $2,500 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order,
and if the failure to comply continues after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on conviction of this further offence to a further fine not exceeding $5,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order after conviction.
[47/2007]
(6) Any person to whom any occupancy order or closure order under subsection (2) is given must, while the order is in force, display a copy of the order at every entrance to the building to which the order relates, and that copy must be displayed in a way that it can be easily read by people outside the building.[47/2007]
(7) Any person who contravenes subsection (6) shall be guilty of an offence.[47/2007]
(8) For the purposes of subsection (1A), it does not matter that the building product was used in a building before the building product became the subject of a reportable safety risk.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
(9) Where a building in respect of which the Commissioner of Building Control is to exercise his or her powers under this section is a fixed installation, any reference in this section to the owner of a building is a reference to the fixed installation owner of that fixed installation.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
[Act 15 of 2026 wef 01/07/2026]
Dangerous slopes
24A.—(1) If the Commissioner of Building Control is of the opinion that any natural, formed or man‑made land or slope which abuts or is in close proximity to any building is in such a condition as to be dangerous or likely to be dangerous to the building, the Commissioner of Building Control may, for the purpose of obviating any danger, order the owner of the land or slope to do all or any of the following:(a)
to appoint an appropriate qualified person to carry out (at the owner’s cost) any investigation in relation to the land or slope that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify;
(b)
to submit to the Commissioner of Building Control the findings of the investigation by the qualified person under paragraph (a);
(c)
to execute or cause to be executed (at the owner’s cost) any building works or other works that the Commissioner of Building Control may specify to obviate the danger.[22/2012]
(2) The Commissioner of Building Control may, in lieu of or in addition to any order under subsection (1), make a closure order in relation to either or both of the following:(a)
the building that is endangered by the land or slope;
(b)
the land or slope.[22/2012]
(3) Before exercising any of his or her powers under subsection (2), the Commissioner of Building Control must, if it is reasonably practicable to do so, give notice of his or her intention to make the closure order.[22/2012]
(4) Any person to whom a closure order under subsection (2) is given must, while the order is in force, display a copy of the order in a way that it can be easily read by people —(a)
at every entrance to any building to which the order relates; and
(b)
on any hoarding, fence, cordon, barricade or other physical barrier to entry upon any land or slope to which the order relates.[22/2012]
(5) If the person to whom an order in subsection (1) is given fails to comply with the order within the time specified, the Commissioner of Building Control may —(a)
execute the order in any manner that he or she thinks fit; and
(b)
recover in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due to him or her all expenses reasonably incurred by him or her in doing so from the person in default.[22/2012]
(6) Without affecting the right of the Commissioner of Building Control to exercise his or her powers under subsection (5), any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with any order in subsection (1) that the person is given shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —(a)
to a fine not exceeding $100,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both; and
(b)
in respect of a continuing failure to comply, to an additional fine not exceeding $2,500 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order,
and if the failure to comply continues after the conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence and shall be liable on conviction of this further offence to a further fine not exceeding $5,000 for each day or part of a day the person fails to comply with the order after conviction.
[22/2012]
Closure orders
25.—(1) Where the Commissioner of Building Control makes any closure order, the order must be served on the owner and every occupier of the building or the land or slope, as the case may be.[47/2007; 22/2012]
(2) A closure order in respect of a building may require the owner or occupier of the building to which the order relates to cease to inhabit the building and to remove all goods, furniture and effects from the building before the order comes into force.[22/2012]
(2A) A closure order in respect of land or a slope may do one or more of the following:(a)
require the owner or occupier of the land or slope to which the order relates to secure the area within or around the land or slope to prevent access into the area;
(b)
specify the means by which the area is to be secured, including the installation of any hoarding, fence, cordon, barricade or other physical barrier to entry;
(c)
require the installation of safety features within or around the land or slope, including adequate lighting and warning signs or lights.[22/2012]
(3) Except with the written permission of the Commissioner of Building Control, a person, other than a public officer in the course of his or her duty, must not —(a)
enter or be in a building at any time while a closure order is in force in respect of the building; or
(b)
enter or be on any land or slope at any time while a closure order is in force in respect of the land or slope.[22/2012]
(3A) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both and, in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $200 for every day during which the offence continues after conviction.[47/2007]
(4) Where the Commissioner of Building Control thinks fit, he or she may, subject to such conditions as he or she may impose, by written notice permit any person to enter and be in a building or on any land or slope while a closure order is in force in respect of the building or land or slope, as the case may be.[22/2012]
(5) Any permission granted under subsection (4) may be cancelled by the Commissioner of Building Control at any time and for any reason.
(6) Where a closure order is in force in respect of a building or any land or slope —(a)
any police officer may, with such force or assistance as may be necessary, remove any person who is in the building or on the land or slope in contravention of subsection (3);
(b)
the Commissioner of Building Control may seal or cause to be sealed, all or any of the entrances to or exits from the building or the means of access to or egress from the land or slope, as the case may be; and
(c)
the Commissioner of Building Control or any police officer may remove all goods, furniture and effects from the building.[22/2012]
(7) A closure order remains in force in respect of a building until the Commissioner of Building Control has served a notice of expiry of the order on the owner of the building by causing the notice to be posted upon a conspicuous part of the building to which it relates and by serving a copy of the notice upon the owner.
(7A) A closure order remains in force in respect of any land or slope until the Commissioner of Building Control has served a notice of expiry of the order on the owner of the land or slope.[22/2012]
(8) Every notice of expiry of a closure order must specify the building or the land or slope to which it relates and the date upon which the order expires.[22/2012]
Investigations into dangerous occurrences
25A.—(1) Where the Commissioner of Building Control becomes aware of any dangerous occurrence in any premises at which building works are carried out or in any other premises, the Commissioner of Building Control may direct any person authorised on his or her behalf to investigate the circumstances of the dangerous occurrence.[47/2007]
(2) A person must not, without the prior consent of the Commissioner of Building Control —(a)
alter, replace, remove or add to any building element, machinery, equipment, plant or article at any premises in respect of which the Commissioner of Building Control has made any direction under subsection (1); or
(b)
modify any premises in respect of which the Commissioner of Building Control has made any direction under subsection (1).[47/2007]
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.[47/2007]
(4) Nothing in subsection (2) operates to interfere with rescue work or work necessary for the general safety of life and property.[47/2007]
(5) In this section, “dangerous occurrence” means —(a)
the collapse or structural failure of any building (completed or otherwise);
(b)
any structural distress that is likely to lead to the instability of any building (completed or otherwise); or
(c)
the instability or failure of any land or slope which abuts or is in close proximity to a building,
whether or not the collapse, structural failure or structural distress of the building or the instability or failure of the land or slope results in any death, bodily injury or injury to health.
[47/2007; 22/2012]
Division 2 — Reporting of safety incidents and safety risks
Duty to notify reportable matters
25B.—(1) A person mentioned in subsection (2) must notify the Commissioner of Building Control, within the time and by the means prescribed in the building regulations, of —(a)
that reportable matter; and
(b)
the prescribed particulars about the reportable matter that are known to the person.
(2) The persons required by subsection (1) to notify any reportable matter are as follows:(a)
where the reportable matter is a reportable safety incident involving an exterior feature of a building —(i)
a person responsible for the exterior feature who is aware of the reportable safety incident;
(ii)
a person who is authorised to carry out any retrofitting of that exterior feature for the purposes of Part 3 and who becomes aware of the reportable safety incident while performing the retrofitting;[Act 15 of 2026 wef 01/07/2026]
(iii)
a builder or supervisor (including a consultant) of building works related to the building who becomes aware of the reportable safety incident while carrying out or supervising the building works; or
(iv)
a person appointed to carry out an inspection of the building for the purpose of Part 5 who becomes aware of the reportable safety incident while carrying out the inspection;[Act 15 of 2026 wef 01/07/2026]
(b)
where the reportable matter is a reportable safety incident involving a fixed installation —(i)
a fixed installation owner of that fixed installation who is aware of the reportable safety incident; or
(ii)
a person who last carried out maintenance works on the fixed installation (whether before, on or after the date of commencement of section 21 of the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020) before the happening of the reportable safety incident, and who becomes aware of the reportable safety incident;
(c)
where the reportable matter is a reportable safety risk involving a building product used in a building —(i)
a person who manufactures or assembles the building product in Singapore;
(ii)
a person who imports the building product for sale or use in a building in Singapore;
(iii)
a builder or supervisor (including a consultant) of building works using the building product for that building, who becomes aware of the reportable safety risk while carrying out or supervising those building works;
(iv)
a person appointed to carry out an inspection of the building for the purpose of Part 5 who becomes aware while carrying out the inspection that the building product has been used in the building;[Act 15 of 2026 wef 01/07/2026]
(v)
a person who carries out maintenance works on the building product (on or after the date of commencement of section 21 of the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020) who becomes aware of the reportable safety risk while carrying out those works;
(vi)
if the building affected by the building product is a fixed installation, any of the following:(A)
a fixed installation owner of the fixed installation;
(B)
a person who carries out fixed installation works or maintenance works on the fixed installation (on or after the date of commencement of section 21 of the Building Control (Amendment) Act 2020) who becomes aware of the reportable safety risk posed while carrying out those works;
(C)
a person appointed to carry out an inspection of the fixed installation required by the building regulations, who becomes aware of the reportable safety risk posed while carrying out the inspection; or
(vii)
an owner or occupier of the building who is aware that the building product has been used in the building and of the reportable safety risk posed.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c), it does not matter that the building product was used in a building before the building product became the subject of a reportable safety risk.
(4) However, subsection (1) does not apply if a person required to notify a reportable matter under that subsection knows that another person similarly required has, or other such persons have, already notified that reportable matter to the Commissioner of Building Control with all the particulars required by that subsection.[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
Offence of failing to notify reportable matters
25C.—(1) A person mentioned in section 25B(2) who is required under section 25B(1) to notify a reportable matter commits an offence if the person, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with section 25B(1).
(2) A person who is guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to both.
(3) A person is not excused from giving any information required by section 25B(1) on the ground that the disclosure of the information might tend to incriminate the person or expose the person to a penalty.
(4) Where a person claims, before giving any information that the person is required by section 25B(1) to give, that the disclosure of the information might tend to incriminate the person —(a)
that information;
(b)
the giving of the information; and
(c)
any information, document or thing obtained as a direct or indirect consequence of the giving of the information,
is not admissible in evidence against the person in any criminal proceedings other than proceedings for an offence under section 43A.
[Act 12 of 2020 wef 01/10/2025]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
