Can I start renovating my restaurant before SFA approves the layout?
It is risky and SFA's process does not envisage it. SFA reviews the application and layout plan within 7 working days of a complete application and then notifies you of the approved layout. Its published steps say that once SFA has approved the application, you may proceed with renovation and set-up according to the submitted layout. Building first and submitting later invites rework if SFA requires changes to sinks, wash hand basins, exhaust or storage.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in F&B and Commercial Kitchen Fit-Out Approvals in Singapore: SFA, NEA, PUB, SCDF, EMA and the Landlord. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
A Singapore F&B fit-out needs the use cleared first (URA, HDB or JTC), then SFA's approval of the kitchen layout before renovation, an NEA-compliant exhaust with air cleaning, a PUB-compliant grease trap, SCDF approval for fire safety works such as exhaust ducts, hood suppression and LPG, gas work by EMA-licensed gas service workers, and the landlord's fit-out approval.
More questions on this topic
- Do I need URA approval to open a restaurant?
- Does every F&B outlet need a grease trap?
- Is a wet chemical fire suppression system mandatory for a kitchen hood?
- Can I keep LPG cylinders inside my kitchen?
- Who can install gas piping and appliances in a commercial kitchen?
- How often must kitchen exhaust ducts be cleaned?
- What are the most common reasons F&B fit-outs are delayed?