Do I need URA approval to open a restaurant?
It depends on the premises. URA says no planning permission is needed to convert between shop, showroom and restaurant in approved commercial premises such as shopping centres and commercial podiums, subject to conditions. Shophouses usually need a change-of-use application (S$500, about 10 working days) or, for qualifying first-storey shophouse units, a lodgment. URA is unlikely to approve new restaurants on certain listed road sections, such as Joo Chiat Road and East Coast Road.
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
- Can I start renovating my restaurant before SFA approves the layout?
- 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?