The government has demolished a dilapidated building that had been classified as posing a danger to public safety on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida (荷蘭園大馬路), the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) said in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, the bureau had ordered the property owner to demolish the building with its roof having already collapsed, but the owner did not take any action, because of which the bureau carried out the demolition and will order the owner to bear the cost.
The statement underlined that property owners are statutorily required to carry out regular maintenance and repairs to their buildings in order to keep them in good condition.
The statement said that after the roof of the building, located on the avenue’s southernmost section, collapsed, the bureau had officially classified it as dilapidated after carrying out an on-site inspection.
Consequently, the statement said, the bureau issued a notice ordering the building’s owner to demolish it “but the bureau did not receive any response from the owner”. Considering the building’s roof had collapsed and that it was posing a “serious” threat to public safety, the bureau has carried out the demolition, the statement said.
The statement pointed out that the bureau carries out inspections of buildings across the city to assess their conditions, through its routine inspections or after receiving complaints from residents or case transfers from other public entities.
The statement noted that if a building shows signs of poor maintenance, the bureau will notify the owner to hire qualified professionals within a specified period to inspect the building and prepare a report that documents the parts on the building in poor condition and proposes solutions.
The respective property owners failing to submit the report within the specified period will face a fine of between 2,500 patacas and 50,000 patacas for individuals, or a fine of between 5,000 patacas and 100,000 patacas for companies or organisations, the statement said.
The statement noted that if a building is “obviously” in poor condition or even dilapidated, the bureau will carry out an inspection of the building and notify its owner of the inspection findings, after which the owner must hire qualified professionals within a specified period to draw up a plan for a project to repair, consolidate, or partially or completely demolish the building.
If a building is on the brink of collapse thereby posing a danger to public health or safety, the bureau will order the owner to immediately carry out the necessary works, the statement noted, adding that if the owner fails to address the issue promptly, the bureau will carry out the demolition itself “in the public interest”, after which the owner will be required to bear the cost.
The respective property owners failing to carry out the necessary works within the specified period such as repairs or demolition will face a fine of between 5,000 patacas and 200,000 patacas for individuals, or a fine of between 15,000 patacas and 500,000 patacas for companies or organisations, the statement said.
This undated handout photo released by the Lands and Urban Construction Bureau (DSSCU) yesterday shows the building with its roof having collapsed on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida.
