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Outline
 Rationale for building control
 Legal Framework
 Street, Drainage and Building Act 1974
 Uniform Building By-Laws
 TCPA 1976
 Administrative Framework
 Dealing with inconsistencies in the various legal
provisions

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STREET, DRAINAGE AND BUILDING ACT
ACT 133, 1974

Part II: Street

Part III: Drains
Part IV: Backlanes
Part V: Building
 Uniform Building By Laws, UBBL
 Part V CI.70A(1): Earthworks
Part VII.CI.133: By-laws

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STREET, DRAINAGE AND BUILDING ACT
ACT 133, 1974 - EARTHWORKS
SDBA Part V - S.70A(1)
 Earthworks approval from LA
 Any act of excavation, leveling, filling with any material,
piling, the construction of foundations, or felling or
trees, on any land, or any act of dealing with or
disturbing any land.
• Local Authority Earthworks By-laws

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STREET, DRAINAGE AND BUILDING ACT 1974
Uniform Building By-laws 1984

 Part I: Preliminaries
 Part II: Submission of Plans for Approval
 Part III: Space, Light & Ventilation
 Part IV: Temporary Works
 Part V: Structural Requirements
 Part VI: Construction Requirements
 Part VII: Fire Safety Requirements (Passive)
 Part VIII: Fire Safety Requirements (Active)
 Part IX: Miscellaneous

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part I: Preliminaries

 Establish the jurisdiction (powers) of the by-laws and

its identity.
 Defines terms e.g.
 Architects, Engineers, Registered Building
Draughtsman
 Qualified Person, Submitting Person
 Basement, Floor, Type of Rooms, Walls, Roofs, Height,
Headroom, Depth, Dead Load, Wind Load etc.

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 Uniform Building By-Laws
Part II: Submission of Plans
 Rights, obligations & responsibilities of:
 Local Authority
 Submitting Person
 Land Owner/Occupier

• Submission of Plans:
 Method of submission of plans
 Contents & formats of plans to be submitted
 Permits
 Notices
 Certificate of fitness
 Temporary
 Partial
 Full
 Certificate of completion and compliance
 Plan fees
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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part III: Space, Light Ventilation
 Open space around a building
 Access to a building
 Projections over street and building line
 Natural lighting and ventilation
 Mechanical ventilation and air conditioning
 Minimum floor areas and dimensions
 Minimum heights of rooms

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Uniform Building By-Laws - Part IV:
Temporary Works (To Construction Works)

 Signboard
 Hoarding
 Construction vehicle access
 Fire fighting (to high rise construction)

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part V: Structural Plan
 Building materials
 Structural loading
 Parapet and balustrades
 Foundations

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part VI: Constructional Requirements
 Site drainage, dampness
 Thickness of walls – party walls
 Kitchen and flues
 Staircase and handrail
 Roofs
 Refuse disposal
 Lifts
 Swimming pools

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Fire Safety Requirements
 Part VII: Passive
 Part VIII: Active

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part IX: Miscellaneous
 Applicable buildings (to Parts VII & VIII)
 Reference to British Standards, & Malaysian Standards
& Codes of Practice
 Building Failures

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Uniform Building By-Laws
Part IX: Miscellaneous. Schedules

 First Schedule
 Fees
 Plan
 Permit
 Inspection of plans
 Temporary Certificate of Fitness

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 Requirements to apply for permission
before construction

 Constructing or erecting of building cannot be made

without prior written permission of the LPA.

 Why – to ensure buildings are constructed according

to the specifications to prevent

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  no person is allowed to commence erection of a
building unless a copy of detailed structural plans of
building together with a legible copy of its structural
calculations and any other particulars, documents or
reports as may be required by the local authority have
been submitted.

 SDBA s 70(9A). Uniform Building By-Laws 1984 Part

II on Submission of Plans for Approval.

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 Activities considered as act of erecting of building:
 1. begins work on the site of or in respect of a new
building;
 2.adds to or alters any existing building in such a manner
as to involve:
 (a)new foundations; or
 (b)new or partly new or increased superstructure or roof on
existing walls or existing foundations;
 3. converts into a dwelling-house any building not
originally constructed for human habitation;

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  4. converts into more than one dwelling-house a
building originally constructed as one dwelling-house;
 5. converts to other purposes a house originally
constructed as a dwelling-house;
 6. departs either before or after completion of building
in any particular form from any plan or specification
approved by the local authority at any time in respect
of the building;

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 7) infringes SDBA 1974 or any by-laws relating to
buildings;
 (8) renews or repairs any existing building in such a
manner as to involve a renewal, reconstruction or
erection of any portion of an outer or party wall to the
extent of one storey in height whatever the material of
the outer or party wall is;
 (9) demolishes and reconstructs or adds to a building in
such a manner as to involve

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 Meaning of building plans
 plans that include site plans, key plans, floor plans,
sections and elevations as set out specifically in any by-
laws made under SDBA
 S. 2 SDBA 1974

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 Any plans, specifications, calculations, particulars,
documents or reports required to be submitted must be
prepared and certified by the principal submitting
person or submitting person

s. 70(19) SDBA 1974

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Legal Framework
 Street, Drainage & Building Act 1974
 Town and Country Planning Act 1976
 Uniform Building By-Laws

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 Town and Country Planning Act 1976

 Town Council’s liability to neighbouring owner for

approval of building plans contrary to the Town
Boards Enactment (Johor No 118))
 Tok Jwee Kee v Tay Ah Hock & Sons Ltd [1969] 1
MLJ 195

 Deviation from approved building plans - continuing

offence
 Tan Sin v PP [1969] 1 MLJ 230

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  As to a refusal to approve amended building plans and
as to whether it is ultra vires the statute and whether
the ‘damage’ is recoverable -
 Mak Koon Yong v Municipal Councillors, Malacca [1967] 1
MLJ 256

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  building without approval and conversion of house to other
purposes – mere change of user without any kind of
construction work cannot be deemed to be erecting a building

 R v George E Lee [1952] MLJ 232

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 Appeal Against Decision of LPA
 Ah San v Majlis Bandaraya Ipoh [2005] 7 CLJ 473
 Ct - the plaintiff's redress, against the alleged refusal,
omission or neglect by defendant to issue the certificate of
fitness is clearly not by way of an appeal to the Appeal
Board pursuant to s. 23 TCPA 1976 but rightfully by an
order of mandamus to compel the defendant, as Local
Authority to perform its statutory duty but subject to
leave having been obtained.
 The relief applied by the plaintiff is against alleged,
omission or neglect on the part of the defendant to issue
the Certificate of Fitness and is not on the plans
submitted for approval or against the decision of the
planning Authority.
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  Erection of a building is subject to requirements
stipulated in SDBA 1974 Pt V (ss 70–90) and Building
By-Laws

 Such requirements must not be inconsistent with

development plans

 s. 31A TCPA 1976

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  The Uniform Building ByLaws is a standard building
control mechanism.

 It places a heavy responsibility on the Architect as the

PSP

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Administrative Framework
 Local Authorities

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 Local authority will receive, process and approve planning
permission and building plans (under more efficient and
expeditious regime of OSC).

 Authorize site inspections on own initiative or acting on

complaints to check the works in progress, issue a notice
if there is a breach or divergence and failure to rectify it,
issue a notice in writing to the PSP not to issue the CCC if
breaches and divergence are not rectified, taking action to
rectify any continuous breach or divergence including
reporting to Professional Boards.

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 PSP can rectify changes or variations either by
complying on site or in form of as-built drawings.

 The project works need to be completed in accordance

with approved Building Plans (or subsequent revised
approved building plans or as-built plans) and PSP has
supervised the works accordingly.

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  All Form GsFormsG1-G21.pdf duly filled and certified,
clearances and or confirmation of supply/connection
to six essential services departments:

 TNB (confirmation of electrical supply), water

authorities (confirmation of water supply)

 JPP (confirmation of connection to sewerage

treatment plant or mains),

 JKKP (clearance from lifts and machinery department

– if applicable)

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  Bomba (clearances for active fire fighting systems
except for residential buildings not more than
18m high) and Roads & Drainage Department.
With these the PSP can issue the CCC.

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  PSP’s tasks are to prepare and present planning and
building plans to the local authority for approval,
informing the local authority of the commencement of
construction works on site, supervising construction
works at the site and ensuring that the laws and
technical conditions of the local authority are
followed.

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  Reporting building breaches, explaining reasons of
breach and performing recovery actions in the event of
breach during construction, presenting work-
resumption notice to the local authority, with the
completed Form Gs.

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  Upon satisfactory completion of the works and
obtaining clearances or confirmation from the six
essential services departments, the CCC can be issued
to owners and developers as well as presenting a copy
to the local authority and the Professional Board.

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  Before the issuance of a certificate of completion and
compliance, it shall be the duties and responsibilities
of the principal submitting person to:
 (a) supervise the erection of the building to ensure
that the erection is in conformity with the approved
plans and the requirements of SDBA or any by-laws

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  b) ensure that the building has been duly constructed
and completed in conformity with approved plans and
requirements of SDBA or any by-laws, all technical
conditions imposed by the local authority has been
duly complied with; and
 (c) ensure that the building is safe and fit for
occupation.

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Effect of Noncompliance with approved plans &
provisions of law
 If LPA discovers non compliance with approved plans and
provisions of Act or any by-laws by PSP has occurred in the
erection and construction of building, LPA can issue to PSP
 (a) a notice in writing, requiring compliance within the
period specified in the notice, as the local authority thinks
fit, in order that the noncompliance be rectified; and
 (b) a directive in writing to withhold the issuance of CCC
until such non-compliance has been rectified.

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 Perunding Alam Bina Sdn Bhd v Errol Oh & Ors
[1999] 6 MLJ 101 (pp 109-110)
 Court : “Though undoubtedly the ultimate decision of
whether to proceed with, or without approved amended
plans lies with the proprietor, but when the law is
broken, the plaintiffs, as architects, to my mind, must
report the matter to the authorities. Otherwise they may
not only be an accessory to the commission of an offence
but also liable to unprofessional conduct.

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 If everyone adopts the attitude that it is 'the client's decision' and not the
architect's, and that in the general practice of the industry to built first
before approval, then there is practically no necessity to obtain approval
of plans for any building. And if the argument relates to only major
changes needs approval first, then where is the line to be drawn between
what is major and minor. Is the episode of Jaya Supermarket which built
an additional four office floors without prior approval a minor deviation
since only a fine was imposed? If this is the attitude of the industry to rely
on the precedent of Jaya Supermarket experience, then it will be
practically forcing the authorities to compromise; very similar to
thumping the nose of the authorities. Surely, as citizens and
professionals, the plaintiffs must ensure that the law must be followed,
even at the risk of being discharged by the client; otherwise, the
architectural profession will suffer irreparable damage if allowed to
continue with such mentality.

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