| ACCESSORY USE | means any use subordinate to the major use which is normally incidental to the major use. |
| ALTERATION | means any change, addition or modification in construction such as structural, dimensional, or any removal of any part of a building or any change to or closing of any required means of ingress or egress or a change to the fixtures or equipment or any change in land use or occupancy or use. |
| APPLICANT | means a person, a firm, a company, a corporation, or a government, semi-government or non-government agency who intends to undertake any work regulated by this Code and who has filed an application to the Building Official for this purpose in a form prescribed in the Code. |
| APPROVED | means approved by the Authority. |
| APPROVED PLAN | means the set of plans, designs and specifications of building submitted to the Authority as per provision of this Code and duly approved and sanctioned by the Authority. |
| ARCHITECT | means a person who has a Bachelor Degree in Architecture and is a member of the Institute of Architects, Bangladesh (IAB). |
| AUTHORITY | means the Bangladesh Building Regulatory Authority. |
| AUTHORIZED OFFICER | means BUILDING OFFICIAL. |
| BASEMENT | means a floor of a building more than 50 percent of which is situated at a depth of 1 m or more below crown of the main entry road. |
| BUILDING | means any permanent or semi-permanent structure which is constructed or erected for human habitation or for any other purpose and includes but not limited to the foundation, plinth, walls, floors, roofs, stairs, chimneys, fixed platform, verandah, balcony, cornice, projections, extensions, annexes etc. The term building will also include the sanitary, plumbing, electrical, HVAC, appurtenances and all other building service installations which are constructed or erected as an integral part of a building. |
| BUILDING LINE | means the line up to which the plinth of a building may lawfully extend. Also known as SETBACK LINE. |
| BUILDING OFFICIAL | means a person who is the jurisdictional administrator of this Code appointed by the Authority. |
| COMMITTEE | means a Building Construction Committee constituted for any area in the prescribed manner, if necessary. |
| CONSTRUCT | means ERECT. |
| CONVERSION | means the change in occupancy or premises to any occupancy or use requiring new occupancy permit. |
| COVERED AREA | means the ground area above the plinth level which is covered by a building structure. The covered area of a building shall exclude gardens, wells, cornice, sunshade, pergola, septic tank, soak well, unpaved uncovered water body, fountains, drainage structures, boundary wall, gates, porch, uncovered staircase, watchman’s cabin, detached pump house, garbage chutes and other uncovered utility structures. |
| DEVELOPMENT | means carrying out construction of buildings, engineering, mining or other operations in, or over or under land or water. Includes re-development and layout and subdivision of any land. ‘To develop’ and other grammatical variations shall be interpreted accordingly. |
| DIPLOMA ARCHITECT | means a person who has a Diploma in Architecture from any recognized Polytechnic or Technical Institute and is a member of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB). |
| DIPLOMA ENGINEER | means a person who has a Diploma in Engineering from any recognized Polytechnic or Technical Institute and is a member of the Institution of Diploma Engineers, Bangladesh (IDEB). |
| DRAIN | means a conduit or channel for conveying water, sewage, or other waste liquid for subsequent disposal. |
| DRAINAGE | means the disposal of any liquid with a system meant for this purpose. |
| ENGINEER | means a person who has a Bachelor Degree in Engineering and is a member of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB). |
| ERECT | means to erect a new building or re-erect an existing building or to convert a building from one occupancy to another. Also known as CONSTRUCT. |
| FORMATION LEVEL | means finished ground level of a plot. For hilly areas formation levels shall be the gradient of the plot surface. |
| GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER | means engineer with Masters degree in geotechnical engineering having at least 2 (two) years of experience in geotechnical design/construction or graduate in civil engineering/engineering geology having 10 (ten) years of experience in geotechnical design/construction. |
| ENGINEERING GEOLOGIST | means a person having a postgraduate degree in engineering geology and having 2 years of experience in geotechnical exploration and interpretation. |
| GOVERNMENT | means the government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. |
| GRADE | means the lowest point of elevation of the finished surface of the ground, pavement or footpath within the area between the building and the property line or a line 1.5 m from the building whichever is nearer the building. |
| HEIGHT OF BUILDING | means the vertical distance from a reference datum to the highest point of the building which includes all building appurtenances like overhead water tank, machine room, communication tower etc. The reference datum shall be the elevation of the nearest footpath or the elevation of the nearest road or street or public way at its centre line, whichever is higher. |
| HIGH RISE BUILDING | means any building which is more than 10-storey or 33 m high from reference datum. Building appurtenances like overhead water tank, machine room, communication tower etc. will not be considered in determining the height. |
| OCCUPANCY or USE GROUP | means the purpose for which a building or a part thereof is used or intended to be used. |
| OCCUPANCY, MAJOR | means the major or principal occupancy of a building or a part thereof which has attached to it subsidiary occupancy or occupancies contingent upon it. |
| OCCUPIER | means a person paying or liable to pay rent or any portion of rent of a building in respect of which the word is used, or compensation or premium on account of occupation of such building and also a rent-free tenant. Does not include a lodger and the words ‘occupancy’ and ‘occupation’ do not refer to the lodger. In such cases, the owner himself or herself is living in his or her own building, he or she shall be deemed to be the occupier thereof. |
| OWNER OF A BUILDING | means the person, organization or agency at whose expenses the building is constructed or who has the right to transfer the same and includes his or her heirs, assignees and legal representatives, and a mortgagee in possession. |
| PERMIT | means a written document or certificate issued by the Authority for carrying out a specific activity under the provisions of this Code. |
| PLANNER | means a person who has a Bachelor or a Postgraduate Degree in Planning and is a member of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners (BIP). |
| PLINTH AREA | means the elements from the building bases which are exposed above the formation level to form a covered floor area by joining the peripheral points of the elements which are intersected at finished floor plane at the height of plinth level. |
| PLINTH LEVEL | means height of a covered finished floor which is not more than 1 m above the formation level nor 1.85 m from the crown of adjacent road level. |
| PLOT | means SITE. |
| PLUMBING ENGINEER | means an Engineer (Civil/Mechanical) who has experience in the field of plumbing or sanitation. |
| PUBLIC WAY | means ROAD. |
| RELIABLE LITERATURE | means RELIABLE REFERENCE. |
| RELIABLE REFERENCE | means reference materials such as published article, codes, standards or other material judged to be reliable by the professional users and specialists in the subject concerned. This may also be referred to as RELIABLE LITERATURE. |
| ROAD | means a thoroughfare or public way which has been dedicated or deeded to the public for public use and also known as STREET. |
| ROAD LINE | means a line defining the side limits of a road. |
| ROOM HEIGHT | means the clear head room between the finished floor surface and the finished ceiling surface or the underside of the joists or beams, whichever is lower. |
| SANCTIONED PLAN | means the set of plans, design and specifications of a building submitted to the Authority as per provision of this Code and duly approved and sanctioned by the Authority. |
| SERVICE ROAD | means a road or lane provided at the rear or side of a plot for service purposes. |
| SETBACK LINE | means BUILDING LINE. |
| SITE | means a piece or parcel of land on which a building is intended to be or has already been constructed and also known as PLOT. |
| SPECIALIST | means a professional who by education, research, practice and experience specializes in a particular branch of a broader discipline and is generally judged to be so by the professional body in the relevant discipline. |
| STOREY | means the portion of a structure between tops of two successive finished floor surfaces and for the topmost storey, from surface of the finished floor of topmost floor to the top of the roof above. |
| STOREY, FIRST | means the lowest storey in a building which qualifies as a storey as defined herein; for a building with a basement, it is the storey just above the basements. |
| STREET | means ROAD. |
| STREET LEVEL | means the elevation of the centre line of any road or street which a plot fronts. |
| STREET LINE | means ROAD LINE. |
| SUPERVISOR, CONSTRUCTION | means an Architect or Engineer or Diploma Architect or Diploma Engineer having experience in supervision of construction works. |
| UNSAFE BUILDING | means a building which, in the opinion of the Building Official, is structurally unsafe, or insanitary, or lacks proper means of ingress or egress, or which constitutes a hazard to life or property. |
