What are the most common reasons F&B fit-outs are delayed?
The usual causes are signing a lease before confirming the use is allowed, an exhaust route that cannot reach the roof or an acceptable discharge point, a grease trap location that cannot be reached for cleaning, SFA layout changes after construction has started, late landlord approval of kitchen drawings, and LPG or gas works that do not meet the Fire Code separation distances. Each is avoidable with early checks.
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?
- 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?