This Act is enacted to implement building management to maintain the public security, traffic and health, and to improve the appearance of cities. For any affairs other than prescribed hereinto, other laws applied.

The competent authorities of building are the Ministry of the Interior at the central administration level, the municipal government at the municipal level, and the county (city) government at the county (city) level.
In the applicable areas as prescribed in Article 3, an administrative department specially established may act as the competent authority of construction with the approval of the Ministry of the Interior.

The areas where this Act is applicable are listed as follows:
1. Areas where city planning is implemented.
2. Areas where regional planning is implemented.
3. Areas designated by the Ministry of the Interior.
This Code is also applicable to the public-owned buildings used for the public in areas other than listed above.
Regulations on the applicable scope of Subparagraph 1 and 2, review and approval of application for construction, construction management, and usage management shall be prescribed by the central competent authority of construction.

The “buildings” mentioned in this Code refers to the structures or miscellaneous works fixed on the ground or under the ground surface, having top covers, beams, columns, or walls, and used for individuals or the public.

The “buildings used for the public” mentioned in this Code refers to the buildings used for the work, business, residence, visit, and amusement of the public as well as other buildings used for the public.

The “public-owned buildings” mentioned in this Code refers to the buildings of government departments, public-operated institutions and autonomous organizations as well as the monumental buildings.

The “miscellaneous works” mentioned in this Code refers to the industrial boilers houses, water towers, billboards, erected advertisement, bulk warehouses, broadcasting towers, chimney stacks, bounding walls, mechanical amusement facilities, swimming pools, underground storage sheds, supports and shelves required for construction, excavation and backfill of earth materials and other works, as well as central air conditioning equipments, elevating equipments, mechanicalparking facilities, air shelter facilities, and waste disposal facilities etc.

The “main structure of buildings” mentioned in this Code refers to the structure of foundation, main beams and columns, bearing walls, floor slab, and roof structures.

The “construction” mentioned in this Code refers to the following actions:
1. New construction: new construction of buildings, or total demolition existing buildings and construction of new buildings.
2. Extension: Increase of square footage or height on existing buildings. Where an aisle is used to connect the existing building, it shall be regarded as new construction.
3. Reconstruction: demolition of a part of an existing building and reconstruction within the boundary of the original base, without increase of height or enlargement of square footage.
4. Repair: repair or alteration by a half of any of the foundation, beams and columns, bearing walls, floor slabs, roof truss or roof structures.

The “building equipments” mentioned in this Code refers to the electrical power, telecom, gas, water supply, sewage, drainage, air conditioning, elevating, fire fighting, lightning absorption, air sheltering, waste disposal, and privacy right protection equipments installed on the buildings.

The “building base” mentioned in this Code refers to ground occupied by a building and the statutory vacant space preserved. Where the building base is in several lots, application shall be submitted to apply for merging them into a whole one.
The above-mentioned statutory vacant space of a building shall include the spaces between the building and the surrounding roads or other buildings, and the width will be prescribed in the building regulations.
The statutory vacant space may not be divided, transferred, or designated repeatedly unless otherwise prescribed. The necessary conditions for division and the procedure for application shall be determined by the central competent authority of construction.

The proprietor of a building mentioned in this Code refers to the applicant who applies for construction of the building. Where the applicant is a minor or is subject to the order of the commencement of guardianship, the application shall be made by the legal representative, and the obligations and liabilities prescribed in this Code shall also be assumed by the legal representative.
Where the proprietor is a government department, public-operated institution, organization or legal person, application shall be made by the principal, and the obligations and liabilities prescribed in this Code shall also be assumed by the principal.

The building designers and supervisors mentioned in this Code shall be the legally registered architects. Except for the buildings lower than 5 storeys and not used for the public, the architect shall have coordinated with registered structure and equipment engineers, and the architect shall assume the joint liabilities.
The designers and supervisors of public-owned buildings shall be assumed by the persons who have legally qualified architect or industrial technician certificates and work in the proprietor government departments, public-operated institutions, or autonomous organizations.
Where the registered architects and professional industrial technicians unable to the local requirements, the county (city) government may be freed from the restrictions of the above two paragraphs with the approval of the Ministry of the Interior.

The constructors of buildings mentioned in this Code refer to the construction enterprises legally registered to practise.

Construction enterprises shall set full-time engineering personnel to take the construction responsibility of the works contracted.
The regulations on management of the construction industry will be enacted by the Ministry of the Interior.
To establish a foreign construction enterprise, the approval of the central competent authority of construction shall be obtained, and application shall be submitted for permit under the Company Act or registration under the Commercial Registration Act, and the construction enterprise registration certificate and the projects contracting manual shall be received in accordance with the above-mentioned management regulations before practicing.

The buildings and miscellaneous works below a certain amount of construction cost or a certain scale standard may not require design by architects, and may not be constructed under supervision of the proprietor or contracted to a construction enterprise.
The above-mentioned construction cost or scale standard will be enacted by the municipal and county (city) governments in the regulations on construction management.

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The Ministry of the Interior and the municipal and county (city) governments may prepare various standard building drawings and specifications for the people to use. Where the people select standard drawings to apply for construction, design and signature of architects are not required.

The central competent authority of construction shall take the responsibility to direct and evaluate the construction management performed by the municipal and county (city) governments.