Simply put, a mini apartment is a building built on a small area and divided into many small apartments. In general, the operation of a mini apartment is quite similar to a normal apartment, but with a smaller scale and lower quality of life.
The apartments of the mini apartment building are designed and built in a closed style, including private rooms, toilets, bathrooms, private kitchens… and have a minimum floor area of 30m2. This type has a reasonable rental price, suitable for many people’s finances, and is located in an area near the city center, so it is often chosen by many people.
A major fire broke out at a mini apartment building in Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi on the evening of September 12, causing many casualties.
Do mini apartments need a fire safety permit?
According to Appendix V of Decree 136/2020/ND-CP “Detailing a number of articles and measures to implement the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting and the Law on amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Fire Prevention and Fighting”, cases requiring procedures to apply for a Fire Prevention and Fighting License include:
- Headquarters of state agencies at all levels from 7 floors or more or with a total volume of 5,000 m3 or more.
- Apartment buildings, collective houses, dormitories with 7 floors or more or total volume of 5,000 m3 or more; mixed-use buildings with 7 floors or more or total volume of 5,000 m3 or more;…
Therefore, if a mini apartment for rent has 7 floors or more or has a total volume of 5,000 m3 or more, the owner of that building must apply for a fire prevention and fighting license.
Conditions for implementing fire prevention and fighting procedures for mini apartments
According to Article 5 of Decree 136/2020/ND-CP on fire prevention and fighting safety conditions, fire prevention and fighting requirements for mini apartments are stipulated as follows:
- There are regulations, prohibition signs, signs, diagrams or signs on fire prevention and fighting and escape routes in accordance with fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards or according to regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;
- There is a basic and specialized fire prevention and fighting force according to the type of facility, trained in fire prevention and fighting techniques and organized to be ready to fight to meet on-site fire fighting requirements according to regulations;
- Have a fire prevention plan approved by the competent authority;
- Electrical systems, lightning protection systems, anti-static systems, electrical equipment, fire-generating and heat-generating equipment, the use of fire and heat sources must ensure fire prevention and fighting safety according to fire prevention and fighting regulations and standards or according to regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;
- There is a traffic system, water supply, communication system for fire fighting, a database management system on fire prevention and fighting and incident reporting, a fire alarm system, fire fighting, fire prevention, smoke prevention, escape, other fire prevention and fighting equipment, and rescue equipment that ensures quantity and quality according to fire prevention and fighting standards or regulations of the Ministry of Public Security;
- Have a Certificate of design approval and design approval documents (if any) and documents approving fire safety inspection results of the Fire Prevention and Fighting Police for projects and works in the prescribed list.
Penalties for violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations
Violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations may result in administrative fines or criminal prosecution.
Pursuant to the provisions of Article 313 of the 2015 Penal Code (This Article is amended by Clause 115, Article 1 of the Law amending the 2017 Penal Code), the crime of violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting is specifically regulated as follows:
- Anyone who violates fire prevention and fighting regulations and causes damage to others in one of the following cases shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to 03 years or imprisonment from 02 to 05 years:
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- lethal
- Causing injury or damage to health of 01 person with a disability rate of 61% or more;
- Causing injury or damage to health of 02 or more people, with the total disability rate of these people from 61% to 121%;
- Causing property damage from 100,000,000 VND to under 500,000,000 VND.
- Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 05 to 08 years:
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- Caused 02 deaths;
- Causing injury or damage to health of 02 or more people, with the total disability rate of these people from 122% to 200%;
- Causing property damage from 500,000,000 VND to under 1,500,000,000 VND.
- Committing a crime in one of the following cases shall be punishable by imprisonment from 07 to 12 years:
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- Causing death to 3 or more people;
- Causing injury or damage to health of 03 or more people, with the total disability rate of these people being 201% or more;
- Causing property damage from 1,500,000,000 VND or more.
- Violations of fire prevention and fighting regulations in cases that are likely to lead to consequences specified in one of points a, b and c, Clause 3 of this Article, if not prevented in time, will be subject to warning, non-custodial reform for up to 01 year or imprisonment from 03 months to 01 year.
In addition, the offender may also be fined from VND 10,000,000 to VND 50,000,000, banned from holding positions, practicing a profession or doing certain jobs from 01 to 05 years.
Therefore, the crime of violating fire prevention and fighting regulations has the highest penalty of up to 12 years in prison.
Regarding the form of administrative sanctions for violations in the field of fire prevention and fighting and explosion, Article 51 of Decree 144/2021/ND-CP specifically stipulates as follows:
- Warning or fine from 100,000 VND to 300,000 VND for violations of fire prevention and fighting safety regulations, causing fire or explosion causing property damage of less than 20,000,000 VND.
- Fines from VND 1,000,000 to VND 3,000,000 for violations of fire prevention and fighting safety regulations, causing fire or explosion, causing property damage from VND 20,000,000 to under VND 50,000,000.
- Fines from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 for violations of fire prevention and fighting safety regulations, causing fire or explosion, causing property damage from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 100,000,000.
- A fine of between VND 5,000,000 and VND 10,000,000 shall be imposed for one of the following acts:
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- Violating regulations on fire prevention and fighting safety, causing fire or explosion, causing property damage of over 100,000,000 VND;
- Violation of fire prevention and fighting regulations causing injury or damage to health of 01 person with disability rate of less than 61%;
- Violation of fire prevention and fighting regulations causing injury or damage to health of 02 or more people, with the total disability rate of these people being less than 61%.
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