Councillor Joseph Chieng
SIBU (Aug 20): A permit from Sibu Municipal Council (SMC) is required for owners of residential houses and shophouses prior to commencement of renovation works, says Councillor Joseph Chieng.
Chieng, chairman of SMC Building Control and Town Beautification Standing Committee, said the requirement was made based on the amended renovation permit policy, which comes with immediate effect.
“For building renovation that fails to apply for the permit and has been found to be depositing building materials on roadsides or carparks, shall be compounded with a minimum RM500 under the Anti-Littering Compound.
“In cases where the permit period has expired but renovation is still on-going, the applicant is required to renew the permit,” Chieng told a press conference via Zoom platform yesterday.
He, however, said this was not a new policy but one that had been amended to strengthen to make it more comprehensive.
“The Building Control and Town Beautification (BCTB) Standing Committee has decided to do some amendments and come up with an amended policy, to cover from the stage of application for permit, right down to the end of renovation.
“We want to make sure building wastes are dumped into Kemuyang landfill. This is the purpose of the amended renovation permit policy,” he said.
He said there were cases of certain irresponsible contractors who simply disposed construction/renovation wastes at roadsides, council’s bin centre, or even at carparks, creating many problems.
Chieng gave an assurance that the council was always ready to assist those who want to carry out renovation works.
The application forms for the permit can be obtained at UTC Sibu, council’s building control section at level 21, Wisma Sanyan and also can be downloaded from SMC website.
Chieng said applicants have to pay for the renovation permit fee to deposit building materials, which shall be calculated based on RM50 per square meter per month.
Applicants are also required to place a security deposit of RM1,000 with the council, which is refundable.
Among other things, Chieng said applicants must choose one of the council’s contractors for bin rental and to pay rental fees on three-day usage and RORO bins size used from each contractor’s bins supplied.
The fees must be paid to the contractors.