2018.2.21
Luke Hung
The Ministry of the Interior promulgated the Rules for Public Safety Inspection Certification and Reporting for Buildings (hereinafter, the “Rules”) as amended via the Tai-Nei-Ying-1070802652 Directive of February 21, 2018. The Rules consist of 16 articles and came into effect on the day of their promulgation. These amendments are highlighted below:
I. It is specifically stipulated that privately owned but publicly used buildings constructed before 1999 with a construction permit shall be subject to earthquake-resistant evaluation and inspection.
Under Article 7, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 1 of the Rules as amended, earthquake-resistant evaluation and inspection shall be conducted for privately owned but publicly used buildings constructed before 1999 with a construction permit such as schools, hospitals, hotels, social welfare institutions, movie theaters, department stores, shopping malls or sports and entertainment facilities if they are owned by the same owners or users and if their aggregate floor area is over 1,000 square meters. In addition, such evaluation and inspection shall be included as a public safety inspection certification and reporting item for buildings.
II. Implementation standards for earthquake-resistant evaluation and inspection are specifically stipulated.
Under Article 8 of the Rules as amended, the applicants shall conduct earthquake-resistant capability evaluation and inspection and submit the results every other year based on the earthquake-resistant capability evaluation and inspection period and implementation date for buildings as submitted. In addition, Article 10 of the Rules as amended provides that a professional institution that handles the earthquake-resistant capability evaluation and inspection shall send its inspectors to conduct the evaluation and inspection. If the results of the preliminary evaluation shows no concern, there is no need to conduct detailed evaluation. If the results of the preliminary evaluation indicate any concern, detailed evaluation shall be conducted. If the results of the preliminary evaluation confirm any concern when the building is not directly reinforced or demolished, detailed evaluation shall be conducted and the evaluation and inspection results should be included in an evaluation and inspection report for submission.
III. Handling of failure as reported is specifically stipulated.
Article 13 of the Rules as amended provides that the rectification period for failure as reported shall be basically thirty days and a re-evaluation application shall be filed. However, if an extension is deemed necessary by a local construction authority, the extension of up to ninety days may be granted.