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Published on October 19, 2007

Only two months remain before the ministerial regulations on building examination are enforced on December 29, and by that time, tens of thousands of buildings throughout the country will need to have undergone a physical safety check and have been registered.

Although the need for the examination and registration process has been known for two years, there is currently a rush among owners of high-rise buildings and billboards to hire a limited number of building examiners to check their properties and send reports to the Interior Ministry's Public Works and Town and Country Planning Department.

Failure to comply is an expensive business. Ignoring the regulations can mean three months' jail, a fine of Bt60,000 and a daily additional fine of Bt10,000. Delays in compliance may cost a fine of Bt30,000 as well as a daily additional fine of Bt5,000.

The regulations set out to ensure that Thailand's buildings are safe, from an engineering standpoint as well as in terms of fire escapes, emergency exits and the like. Such building checks are mandatory in countries like Japan, the United States, and European countries, where laws set out specifically what parts of buildings must be checked for safety.

In Thailand, the department announced in 2005 that almost 30,000 buildings in nine categories would have to undergo checks at the cost of their owners to ensure that they complied with the law. The checks have to be completed, reported and the buildings registered by the end of this year.

Buildings and structures that must be examined include those that are more than 23 metres in height; those with a floor area of more than 10,000 square metres; those regularly housing more than 500 people or with a floor area over 1,000 square metres, theatres, hotels with more than 80 rooms, entertainment venues with a floor space of more than 200 square metres; industrial plants covering more than 5,000 square metres or more than one storey; and billboards with a height of more than 15 metres or a surface area of more than 50 square metres.

For some buildings, the checking period extends for another three to five years. Condominiums with a floor space of more than 2,000 but less than 5,000 square metres have until October 2012 to undergo the checks, and condominiums with floor space of more than 5,000 but less than 10,000 square metres have until October 2010.

With time running out for most categories, many building- and billboard-owners are complaining that they will be unable to complete the examination and registration processes because there is now a logjam of buildings around the country seeking registration before the deadline.

In addition, many building-owners still misunderstand the regulations and there are disputes about the level of examination fees. And owners say they have to set aside separate budgets for adjusting their buildings to comply with safety regulations, should they be instructed to do so.

Still, the department insists that nearly 30,000 structural examinations must be finished before the end of the year. It emphasises the fact that the examinations aim to check buildings for safety only, and not to detect inappropriate additional structures.

The department says that before the end of the year, there will be more than 1,000 individual and corporate building examiners working towards the deadline. It has already approved registration of more than 500 individual and 50 corporate examiners.

Speaking for Project Planning Service, one of the companies involved in checking, Prasong Tharachai says he believes there are sufficient building examiners to finish checking all 30,000 buildings, including their condition, their structures and all systems related to safety. Of the total, 10,000 of the buildings are in Bangkok, he says.

If there is something wrong with certain buildings that might significantly affect their stability, building examiners must instruct the owners to make adjustments and record the points of risk as special notices.

Prasong says one problem so far is that both building-owners and examiners have misunderstood the regulations. Building examiners believe they have to check the buildings in every detail, while in reality they only have to make sure that the owners have a regular regard for the safety of their buildings.

"Building examiners have duties similar to auditors, who have to review whether companies have correctly recorded their financial records. Auditors do not have to deal with all the recording processes," he explains.

Building examiners have to make sure that things like elevator systems work by testing them, rather than accepting information from building-owners.

However, although the department may be able to produce effective building examiners, problems may still arise in terms of practicality. Some buildings have been standing for a long time and may have undergone many structural adjustments that cannot be seen in a visual inspection. If these are vital, load-bearing parts of the structure, these factors could have a significant effect on stability and safety.

Lumpini Property Management's managing director Jaran Kesorn points out that there is still no clear framework for the checks required in different types of buildings. Therefore, there is no clear standard for fees charged by examiners. Currently, fees range from Bt3 to Bt20 per square metre, depending on negotiations between owners and examiners.

Jaran supports the notion that all owners should pay attention to safety laws, but he believes the department should set up a centre to help owners, examiners and local officers to correctly interpret the regulations. At the same time, he says, such a centre could help to build a wider awareness of the regulations and their requirements.

Lumpini Property Management provides management services to 100 buildings, and half of them fall into categories that must comply with the regulations. Jaran says his company is working on the examining process in all the buildings. Additional expenses from checking fees should not be high as the company sends technicians to check the buildings regularly.

"It's worth paying more in exchange for safety," he says.

However, whether the expense of checking is high or low depends on building structures and the checking processes. To an extent, the expense is compensated in many cases because passing through the checking process means lower insurance premiums.

On another level, the ministerial regulations have provided a business opportunity for property developers, property appraisal service providers and other property-related businesses. Many of them have established subsidiaries to provide building examinations. The demand is currently high and providing examining services prompts the claim that they are integrated service providers.

Plus Property, for instance, has established Touch Property, while Thai Property Appraisal Lynn Philips has formed Thai Building Surveyors Lynn Philips.

Touch Property's chief executive Metha Janjaemjaras says that since its formation in March, his firm has been contracted to check nine buildings and it is chasing another 90 such jobs.

Property Reporter

The Nation