Definition of ‘residence’ to follow fire safety law

If the Urban Construction Legal Regime passes the Legislative Assembly, the definition of residential use under this regime will align with the Fire Safety Law, a parliamentary committee confirmed yesterday.
In the bill’s original text, the proposed definition of a residence was much wider and included hotel rooms and office units used for residential purposes. In response to underlying concerns, the government updated the text to align with definitions within other laws. In the future, only units legally registered for residential use will be considered residences for the purposes of the regime.
The update is crucial, according to the committee. Pursuant to the bill, in the future, when the Land, Public Works and Transport Bureau wants to conduct inspections on a residential unit but is refused entry by the owner or tenant, the bureau will require a court order to enter.
The committee pointed out that this change in definition will allow the authority to promptly inspect units such as rooftop constructions that may jeopardize the general structure of the building.
In contrast to units legally registered as residences, the government will have the authority to enter non-residential units such as office units and hotel rooms for inspections that are deemed necessary by the bureau.
Under normal circumstances, according to the parliamentary committee, the administration will not require a court order to inspect non-residential units. AL