According to the law, both high-rise and low-rise apartment buildings must comply with fire safety standards.
Recently, the fire and explosion at a mini apartment building on the night of September 12 at No. 37, Lane 29/70, Khuong Ha Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi City has attracted many people’s attention and raised questions about the licensing of fire prevention and fighting for mini apartments and specific regulations on this matter.
Lawyer Diep Nang Binh, Head of Tinh Thong Luat Law Office, Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association, shared his views on this issue. According to the 2014 Housing Law, apartments are defined as apartments with 2 floors or more, combining many apartments with common walkways and stairs, along with private and common ownership areas, as well as common infrastructure systems for families, individuals and organizations. This includes apartments built for residential purposes and apartments combining residential and business purposes.
Although there is no official definition for the term “mini apartment” in law, it can be understood as small buildings built by families or individuals, consisting of 2 floors or more, with 2 or more apartments on each floor and an area usually from 25m2 to 50m2, suitable for low-income people or small families.
According to Decree 136/2020/ND-CP, apartment buildings, collective buildings, or dormitories with 7 floors or more or a total volume of 5,000 m3 or more must comply with procedures and apply for a fire prevention and fighting (PCCC) license.
Therefore, if a mini apartment for rent has 7 floors or more or has a total volume of 5,000 m3 or more, its owner needs to apply for a fire prevention and fighting license according to regulations.
In addition to ensuring fire prevention and fighting permits, according to Lawyer Diep Nang Binh, Decree 136/2020/ND-CP also stipulates specific safety conditions related to fire prevention and fighting and requirements for mini apartments. For apartments with 5 floors or more and a volume of less than 5,000 m3, there must be regulations, signs, prohibition signs, diagrams/indicators on fire prevention and fighting, and escape according to standards. Electrical systems, lightning protection, static electricity, electrical equipment, fire generation, heat generation, the use of fire sources, and heat sources must also comply with fire prevention and fighting safety standards. Water supply, traffic, and communication systems must also ensure fire fighting. In addition, measures such as fire alarm systems, fire prevention, smoke prevention, and escape, as well as rescue vehicles must also comply with safety standards.
The lawyer also noted that it is necessary to assign and regulate fire prevention and fighting tasks. Those assigned these tasks need to be trained and professionally developed.
In the case of apartments with 7 floors or more or with a volume of 5,000 m3 or more, in addition to applying for a fire safety permit, a design approval certificate and a design approval document (if any) as well as a document approving the results of fire safety inspection are required. It is important that these fire safety requirements must be followed and maintained throughout the operation of the mini apartment building, regardless of whether it is 5 floors or 7 floors high.
According to Investor
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