Land ministry tightens apartment oversight after natural disasters

The land ministry is requiring construction supervisors to work with architectural structural engineers under new Housing Act rules when natural disasters uncover problems that could affect the structure of housing under construction.

The change was made through a partial revision to the enforcement rules of the Housing Act. It follows an amendment to the act that requires a supervisor to obtain an architectural structural engineer's cooperation when structural concerns are found after a natural disaster.

The measure covers housing projects under construction where an earthquake or another natural disaster has brought to light a matter affecting a building's structure, a condition cited in the revised Housing Act. It makes the supervisor responsible for seeking professional cooperation in those circumstances.

The rule also applies when a defect in a load-bearing structural element creates, or could create, a serious threat to structural safety at an apartment building under construction.

Reinforced-concrete cracks are among the specific examples cited by the ministry. Under the revision, such cracks fall within the requirement when they occur in load-bearing parts and reach, or may reach, the serious-risk threshold.

A new provision defines the matters subject to the obligation as load-bearing structural defects. The enforcement rules now use that definition to state which defects require a supervisor to seek an engineer's cooperation.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued the rule as the revised Housing Act took effect. The underlying act amendment was published Feb. 3 before the new requirement began to apply.