ubbl overview 1

8/10/2019 UBBL Overview 1

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derstanding with engineering students as the audience. The paper was revised in 2009 and now

oaded to be shared with a larger audience.

drul Hisham Mohamad Said 2011

References used for this paper is l isted at the end of the series

UBBL 1984

0 INTRODUCTION

s paper is intended as an overview of the current legislations governing building and

nstruction industry in Malaysia.

e paper is not meant to be a comprehensive discourse on all the laws concerning property

velopment and construction. Nonetheless, it will give a specific review on the Uniform BuildingLaws, 1984 / Amendments 2007 that had undergone significant amendments, as well as

uching on the principal Act 133 - Street, Drainage & Building Act, 1974 / Act A1286 -

endment 2007, in light of the implementation of the Certificate of Completion and

mpliance [CCC].

1 LAWS AND THE PROFESSIONALS IN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

understand the extent of the arm of the law in the building and construction industry it isst to illustrate the effects of some of these Acts in a property development. The following is a

neral idea of the coverage of the various Acts in property development procedures and

nstruction processes:

EVELOPERS

order to start a property development on a piece of land, a developer and his consultants,

pecially the surveyors and town planners and to a lesser extent the architect and engineers,

st understand the provis ions in the National Land Code, 1965. As an example, before turning

iece of land into a developable real estate, the property developer will need to ascertain the

tegory of Land Use and Express Conditions and Restrictions in Interest of the said land. The

veloper must decide whether it will be necessary to convert its Category of Land Use from

riculture into Building or Industry and to undertake Amalgamation or Sub-division exercise or

rrender and Re-alienation of the land. The developer should also be familiar with the Land

quisition Act, 1960, if the development involves acquisition of land by the Government for

blic use or of economic benefits to the public.

the property developer moves deeper into the development processes and beyond land

tters, the developer should be very well versed with Housing Development (Control and


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ensing) Act, 1966 and Strata Titles Act, 1985. These Acts govern commercial developments

landed and stratified properties and among others the ways to conduct the construction, sale

nsactions and full development of the properties.

OWN PLANNERS

multaneously, a town planner will start work on a master plan of the proposed development. In

dition to the National Land Code, 1965 and the Land Acquisition Act, 1960, the town plannerl also need to understand the relevant Acts and guidelines which bound his town planning

signs. This is especially true with the Local Government Act, 1976, the Town and Country

nning Act, 1976 and the Environmental Quality Act, 1974. For instance, the requirement for

nning Approval links the Town and Country Planning Act, 1976 directly to the National Land

de, 1965. In this instance, a Surrender and Re-Alienation exercise for the land under the

tional Land Code, 1965 will not be considered until a Planning Approval is obtained under the

wn and Country Planning Act, 1976.

RCHITECTS

e architect will definitely look at aesthetics and functions as the prime movers of a design.

wever, the architect must also be as concerned with the requirements of the relevant building

laws, i.e. with respect to requirements such as access, lighting, health, safety, ventilation,

d fire protection. To achieve the balance between good design, great functionality and the

w, the architect will need to comprehend the Uniform Building By-Laws, 1984, which was

acted under Section 133 of the Street, Drainage & Building Act, 1974, and the relevant

laysian Standards governing design parameters such as the quality of building materials and

rformance, and access for the handicapped.

the architect is involved with the development from the earliest stages, he must also be

miliar with the National Land Code, 1965, the Land Acquisition Act, 1960, the Local

vernment Act, 1976, the Town and Country Planning Act, 1976 and the Environmental Quality

t, 1974. If the architect is involved with commercial developments, he should also be very well

rsed with the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act, 1966 and Strata Titles Act,

85, as he will be a party to the certification processes described in these Acts.

NVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERS

e environmental engineer will also be looking into the Environmental Quality Act, 1974. The

t plays an important role in the protection of the environment. Normally, the environmental

gineer will be required to prepare an Environmental Impact Assessment [EIA] report forvelopments tracts of land over 50 hectares. Nonetheless, only with inputs of other

ofessionals, e.g. architects, civil engineers and planners, who are guided by the various Acts

ated to their professions, that the environmental engineers would be able produce the EIA

port.


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VIL & STRUCTURAL ENGINEERS

design the infrastructure and services for a development, a civil engineer will need to know

e regulations governing their designs for earthworks, roads and drains, water supply,

werage and the like. Hence, it will be useful for a civil engineer to be acquainted with some

tails in Acts such as the Drainage Works Act, 1954, the Irrigation Areas Act, 1953, the

vironmental Quality Act, 1974, the Sewerage Services Act, 1993, the Waters Act, 1920 ando the Street, Drainage & Building Act, 1974,

geotechnical engineer may wish to know about soil properties and the underground nature of

e development land, but a structural engineer will work within a prescribed standards and laws

order to design structures.

e structural engineers main concern is to ensure the stability and soundness of buildings

undations, sub-structures and super-structures, which nowadays are usually of steel orncrete. Additionally, concrete work usually involves additional requirements for the concrete

withstand fire, high impact and, its ability to prevent or water leakages or seepages.

en though quite a number of structural engineers refer to the British Standards and related

tish references for their design guidelines, some of these conditions and requirements are

tually covered in the Uniform Building By-Laws, 1984.

he C&S engineer is involved in commercial developments, they should also be very wellrsed with the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act, 1966 and the Strata Titles

t, 1985, similar to the architects, as the C&S engineer will be a party to the certification

ocesses described in the said Acts.

ECHANICAL & ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS

e M&E engineer will be most concerned with the efficient delivery of all of the building

rvices. Their scope of work varies greatly between small buildings, and tall and large

ldings. Definitely, for large and tall buildings, the M&E engineer must be very familiar with

e Uniform Building By-Laws, 1984, in particular its fire protection system, lighting and

chanical ventilation requirements. In addition, they should also be very conversant with the

ctories and Machinery Act, 1967 for guidelines on building transportations such as lifts and

calators, the Fire Services Act, 1988 for additional fire protection requirements, the

ctricity Supply Act, 1990, the Sewerage Services Act, 1993, the Communications and

ltimedia Act, 1988 and the Waters Act, 1920.

e his counterparts, the architects and the C&S engineers, if the M&E engineer is involved

th commercial developments, he should also be very well versed with the Housing

velopment (Control and Licensing) Act, 1966 and the Strata Titles Act, 1985, as he will be a


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rty to the certification processes described in these Acts.

UILDERS AND CONTRACTORS

lders and contractors are also bound by the same regulations governing the consultants;

rticularly the Uniform Building By-Laws, 1984 and its principal Act, the Street, Drainage &

lding Act, 1974. However, Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994 [OSHA] and the

nstruction Industry Development Board Act, 1994 [CIDB] are two of the Acts most identifiable

th the construction industry.

r specialist contractors, especially M&E contractors, the Factories and Machinery Act, 1967,

e Electricity Supply Act, 1990, the Sewerage Services Act, 1993, the Communications and

ltimedia Act, 1988 and the Waters Act, 1920 are very relevant to their work.

e Standards of Malaysia Act, 1995 is the main Act the CIDB refers to in its pursuit for an

ustrialised Building System [IBS] wherein CIBD advocates to the industry to adopt a

nstruction process that utilises techniques, products, components, and/or building systems

ich involve pre-fabricated components and on-site installation. Of particular interest to the

nstruction industry are the standardised Pre-cast Concrete Structural Framing, Panel and Box

tems, Steel Formwork and Framing Systems, Prefabricated Timber Framing Systems and

ck Work Systems.

th the implementation CCC, builders and contractors are now required to be responsible and

countable under UBBL and the related Acts for their handiworks.

BSTRACT

summary, none of the players in the industry, be they property developers, building

ntractors or construction professionals such as architects, engineers, surveyors and town

nners, can work without being governed or at least taking consideration of or making

erences to the Acts and Regulations of the land.

e Acts that have been referred herein so far are:

ct 56 - National Land Code, 1965

ct 117 Architects Act, 1967 / A1287 Amendments 2007

ct 118 Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act, 1966 / Act A1289 Amendment 2007

ct 127 Environmental Quality Act, 1974

ct 133 - Street, Dr ainage & Building Act, 1974 / Act A1286 Amendment 2007

ection 133 . By-Laws of Act 133 - Uniform Building By-Laws, 1984 / Amendment 2007

ct 138 Registration of Engineers Act, 1976 / A1288 Amendments 2007

ct 139 - Factories and Machinery Act, 1967

ct 171 Local Government Act, 1976

Act 172 - Town and Country Planning Act, 1976


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osted by badrulhisham at 3:45 PM

abels: UBBL 1984

Act 318 Strata Titles Act, 1985 / Act A1290 Amendments 2007

Act 341 - Fire Services Act, 1988

Act 418 - Waters Act, 1920

Act 447 - Electricity Supply Act, 1990

Act 486 Land Acquisition Act,1960

Act 508 - Sewerage Services Act, 1993

Act 514 - Occupational Safety and Health Act, 1994

Act 520 - Construction Industry Development Board Act, 1994

Act 588 - Communications and Multimedia Act, 1988

Replies

Reply

comments:

Anonymous June 21, 2013 at 2:19 PM

there is a developer building a condo near my housing estate. Can you tell me when they must

stop working in the evening? This developer has its highrise crane (lighted) working till late at

night and it is disturbing the area. Last night it was still noisily working till midnight.Please

enlighten us .

Reply

badrulhisham June 21, 2013 at 4:12 PM

Work Sites working hours are normally between 800am and 0600pm. However,

upon application to the relevant local councils, contractors are normally allowed to

apply for extended working hours if the local councils deem the extended working

hours will not inconvenient the neighbourhood.

Neighbours may check with the relevant local council whether

1. the contractor [working for the developer] has the necessary approval to work

beyond the normal working hours , and if it has,

2. the conditions of the approval for extended working hours. Normally, the conditions

given by the local council would include that the work done during these hours

should not inconvenient or excessively disturb the neighbourhood especially late at

night.

Hope this reply helps.
http://badrulhishamarchitect.blogspot.com/2011/03/overview-of-uniform-building-by-laws.html?showComment=1371802353862#c3560350793381411090http://www.blogger.com/profile/15912366082617347931http://badrulhishamarchitect.blogspot.com/2011/03/overview-of-uniform-building-by-laws.html?showComment=1371795579589#c8098694092697925290http://badrulhishamarchitect.blogspot.com/search/label/UBBL%201984http://www.blogger.com/email-post.g?blogID=3733163952375408329&postID=1126954525560056200http://badrulhishamarchitect.blogspot.com/2011/03/overview-of-uniform-building-by-laws.htmlhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15912366082617347931

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