[Interior Decoration Fraud Prevention] Is your designer legitimate? Popular Science: The Ministry of the Interior’s Department of Land and Resources license inquiry, interior decoration industry registration, and red lines for handling illegal and unlicensed cases and issuing fines

The information black hole in the decoration market: Can your designer really do the construction legally?

In the greater Taipei area, the most anticipated step after purchasing a house is the interior decoration. However, in Taiwan's interior design and decoration engineering market, hundreds of serious "decoration disputes" and even "decoration cockroach" fraud cases occur every year. Many homeowners have signed contracts to pay millions of project fees to individuals who claim to be "senior interior designers" or "turnkey renovation project contractors" after seeing beautiful photo albums of their works on the Internet or being introduced by friends. When the demolition project was completed or the cement was halfway done, the other party suddenly disappeared, or maliciously increased the budget and forced a shutdown on the grounds of rising building materials. To make matters worse, if the designer does not obtain the legal "registration permit" from the government and privately builds walls to change the layout, and is reported by the neighbors downstairs, the owner will not only be directly ordered to stop work by the government's Works Bureau, but will also face a huge fine. The first step in choosing a designer is not to look at the renderings, but to "verify your identity."

Regulations and Regulations: Red Line of Certificates and Licenses for Interior Decoration Management Measures

According to the provisions of the "Regulations on Building Interior Decoration Management" and the "Construction Law" of the Republic of China, to carry out interior decoration design and construction in Taiwan, the undertaking units and professionals must have statutory national registration certificates:
1. Company qualifications: It must be a registered "interior decoration industry"
- Many interior design studios have only “interior design industry” as their company business registered with the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Commerce Division. In Taiwanese law, the "interior design industry" can only do simple drawing and consulting, In order to legally contract construction projects, the company must apply for a license from the Ministry of the Interior's Land Management Administration (formerly the Construction and Construction Administration) and obtain a "Building Interior Decoration Industry Registration Certificate", and the company must have compliant professional design and construction technicians.
2. Personal qualifications: Must hold a "Professional and Technical Personnel Registration Certificate"
- Legal technical personnel must pass national examinations and training and obtain the following two types of certificates:
1. Responsible for legal drawing, planning and safety visas.
2. Responsible for on-site construction supervision, fire safety protection and compliance declaration.

Online verification guide: How to use the Department of Land and Resources system to verify a design company

Before negotiating with a design company and preparing to sign a contract, homeowners must spend 3 minutes to conduct the following three-step online verification. This is the most direct anti-fraud guardrail:
Step 1: Enter the "National Building License and Renovation Information System" website: Search the official interior decoration inquiry system of the Department of Land Management of the Ministry of the Interior (Department of Land and Resources).
Step 2: Enter the company name or unified number: In the "Interior Decoration Industry Registration Information Inquiry" field of the system, enter the full name of the design company you are negotiating with. If no information is found, it means that the company is simply a shady company that "contracts construction illegally without a license" and should stop cooperation immediately.
Step 3: Check the "Technician's Name" on the registration certificate:After finding the company, the system will list the names of "professional design technicians" and "construction technicians" registered under the company's name. Please check whether the designer you are negotiating with and the subsequent supervisor responsible for the construction site are the legal technical personnel listed on the registration certificate. If it is an unlicensed assistant or a turnkey outsourcer, it means that the company is at risk of "borrowing a license to practice" or losing management.

Penalties for reporting unlicensed renovations in Shuangbei and legal visa budget trends

In the greater Taipei area, if neighbors report illegal renovations (without a construction permit or by unlicensed operators), the government’s penalties are extremely severe:
- According to Article 95-1 of the Construction Law According to the regulations, the Public Works Bureau of Shuangbei City Government (Lands Bureau/Building Management Department) will impose a fine of NT$ 60,000 to NT$ 300,000 on the house owner (owner), the unlicensed design company or the construction contractor, and they will be required to improve or restore the original condition within a time limit. The penalties may be consecutive, and the work may be directly ordered to stop.
- Entrust a legally registered decoration company to apply for a "Simple Interior Decoration Construction Permit (Simple Interior Decoration)" from the Architects Association. The reasonable agency fees and visa fees in Shuangbei are about NT$ 40,000 to NT$ 80,000, depending on whether there are changes to the fire protection zoning or structure.

Commercial acquisitions and businessmen’s long-term asset thinking: Legal company qualifications are a protective shield to avoid construction interruption and property lock-up

For real estate businessmen who specialize in buying old apartments in Shuangbei for renovation, resale (flip) or leasing and management, The most important aspect of commercial property renovation is "time to market". Once unlicensed "decoration cockroaches" or illegal work shifts are entrusted during the construction, neighbors report illegal renovations and are forced to "force to stop work" and impose continuous fines. The construction period will be instantly delayed by 2 to 4 months. This not only means that the millions of funds invested in the early stage are locked up indefinitely and overpaid interest, but also may face a devastating profit blow from the buyer's withdrawal claim. When evaluating design outsourcing, businessmen should insist on requiring the other party to produce a registration certificate from the Department of Land and Resources, and clearly include the "Declaration of Compliance Decoration Permit" in the contract. This kind of strict screening of legal qualifications is the basic business wisdom of mature businessmen to ensure smooth asset restructuring schedule and annualized rate of return (IRR).

The Ministry of Economic Affairs' latest "Regulations on Consumer Electrical Equipment Installation" and the key points of electricity safety in old houses

Due to the popularity of high-power household appliances (such as air fryers, microwave ovens, dishwashers, instantaneous electric water heaters, and IH furnaces) in recent years, the Energy Administration of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has revised the "Regulations on Consumer Electrical Equipment Installation" many times to strictly require the diversion and protection mechanisms of residential electricity circuits. Statistics show that more than 30% of building fires in Taiwan are caused by electrical factors, among which "old wire insulation deteriorates and short circuits", "socket contacts are oxidized and loose, poor contact" and "non-fuse switch (NFB) overloaded and failed to trip" are the three main fatal causes.

Old apartments in Shuangbei that are more than 30 years old have a total original designed power capacity of only 30A to 40A, and several rooms often share the same 1.6mm or 2.0mm circuit. In the modern standard safety configuration, kitchen electrical cabinets, bathroom equipment, and air-conditioning and heating machines must all be equipped with 5.5mm² dedicated circuits (single circuit and single socket). It is recommended that the main switch box be upgraded to a busbar (Busbar) integrated distribution board, and the total amperage is increased to 75A or 100A (a qualified electrical appliance contractor needs to be entrusted to Taipower to review the additional power capacity).

Residential electricity self-test and regular inspection checklist

• Appearance and temperature of the socket: Touch the outer cover of the commonly used socket lightly with the back of your hand. If it feels lukewarm or if you find that the plastic socket is yellowed and charred, or the plug is loose and shaking after being plugged in, it means that the internal copper plate clamping force is exhausted or the contact resistance is too high, and you should immediately cut off the power and replace it.
• Regular testing of leakage circuit breakers (ELCB): For leakage circuit breakers in humid places such as balconies, bathrooms, and kitchen sinks, regulations require that the "TEST button" on the switch be pressed once every 1 to 3 months to confirm that it can automatically trip and cut off the power supply instantly.
• Serial connection and overloading of extension cords are strictly prohibited: Extension cords should be purchased with 2.0mm thick wire diameter products that have CNS certification and automatic overload power-off protection. Do not share the same extension cord with high energy-consuming appliances to ensure zero hidden danger to life and property at home.