RESTAURANT SUBMISSION IN SINGAPORE

Every now and then a restaurant or cafe client knocks on my door with an intense urgency to get their place fixed up and right with the authorities. What they always didn't know is that certain things can be done ahead of time.

You can apply for your change of use with the URA and the Fire Waiver and Fire Submission to FSSD before tenancy agreement as long as you have an agreement with the landlord of this arrangement.

As always, these submission should be handled by only a Registered Architect  in Singapore who is conversant with Food and Beverage issues. Your architect should address the restaurant in terms of Fire Fighting issues at the inception. If your restaurant involves conservation building then your Architect needs to address conservation issues usually involving Kitchen flue, LPG gas bay and air conditioning compressor locations. For conservation buildings, your change of use submission usually involves fire submission to the FSSD if it involves LPG installation. The URA is concerned about not having LPG gas cylinder encroaching into the state land. This then involves the LPG gas cylinders to flushed within the property boundary at the same time being well ventilated. This becomes a fire issue if not handled well. The URA also demands that kitchen flue run along the designed path of the rear facade and be painted the same colours as the background wall of the flue.

Authority submission that usually takes 4 weeks per process per department. This means just getting change of use and fire approval sometimes stretches to periods as long as 3-4 months !

You can reduce the waiting time if you proceed your submission even before the existing tenant moves out.

NOTES:

URA = Urban Redevelopment Authority
FSSD = FIre Safety and Shelter Department, Singapore Civil Defence Force.
LPG = Liquid Petroleum Gas