The Executive Yuan yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Condominium Administration Act (公寓大廈管理條例) that would require more than 10,000 buildings to establish management committees by a deadline.
The changes were prompted by a fire at a 13-story older building in Kaohsiung in October last year that killed 46 people.
The proposed revision in Paragraph 1 of Article 29 would require that condominiums built around June 29, 1995, when the act was promulgated, set up a management committee or appoint a building manager if the building has been deemed a safety hazard.
Photo: CNA
The Ministry of the Interior said that 8,506 buildings built before the date have been deemed too old or a safety hazard, while more than 1,000 buildings constructed afterward would be affected.
The buildings affected could apply for an extension, but the period to set up a committee or appoint a manager should not exceed one year, the ministry said.
Other changes to the act would require local governments to stipulate a procedure or contractors to assist in managing the buildings, accelerate building maintenance and repairs, and regularly update fire safety equipment.
Each building’s committee or manager must register with the local authorities, the amendments say.
While the central government would soon issue a definition of “safety hazard,” local governments could expand the definition, the ministry said.
If a building cannot establish a committee or nominate a manager, local authorities should appoint one building resident to be the manager, the amendments say, adding that the resident would remain the manager until a committee is established or another resident is appointed.
Buildings that exceed the deadline would face a fine of NT$300,000, although the amendments say that the fine could be increased to NT$200,000 per resident per offense, Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) said.
The amendments are to be forwarded to the Legislative Yuan for review.
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