Who Does What: Owner, Landlord, QP, PE, LEW and Specialist Roles
A practical Singapore responsibility map for laboratory, industrial office, workshop and warehouse projects. Separate business decisions, property consent, professional design, authority submissions, construction, testing and supplier inputs before the programme and equipment list are fixed.
Quick answer: appoint by decision and discipline.The owner, tenant or project sponsor defines the business need. The landlord or property owner controls property information and consent. A QP, PE, LEW or other specialist takes responsibility only for the work covered by the person’s appointment, practising status and discipline. The contractor and supplier then work to the verified brief and approved documents within their confirmed scopes.
- Business brief and budget
- Property records and consent
- Professional design and submissions
- Construction, testing and records
- Equipment inputs and handover
Start with four questions, not a list of job titles
Who decides?
Name the person who owns the business activity, requirements, budget, programme and acceptance criteria.
Who controls the property?
Identify the property owner, landlord, estate or building management party that supplies records and handles consent.
Who signs or submits?
Let the appointed professional team determine which QP, PE, LEW or other regulated role applies to each work package.
Who builds and proves?
Allocate construction, installation, inspection, testing, commissioning, as-built records, training and handover evidence.
Map each role to an output
Tenant, occupier, owner or project sponsor
- Defines the activity, products, processes, headcount, operating hours and growth case
- Owns business requirements, budget, programme, procurement and internal acceptance
- Appoints advisers and contractors as required by the agreement and project route
- Must not assume that landlord consent or a supplier quotation replaces professional or authority checks
Property owner, landlord, estate or building management
- Provides available approved plans, base-building, service, load, access and house-rule information
- Reviews fit-out proposals and gives property consent where the agreement or property regime requires it
- Clarifies common-area, delivery, work-permit, insurance, reinstatement and landlord-system interfaces
- Does not replace the tenant’s legal, professional or authority responsibilities
Qualified Person (QP)
- Is a registered architect or professional engineer with the practising status and discipline applicable to the work
- Advises on and prepares or submits the building, structural or fire-safety work within the actual appointment
- Coordinates required information, plans, declarations and responses for that submission scope
- Is not a generic label for every consultant, engineer or project manager
Professional Engineer (PE)
- Takes responsibility for professional engineering work within the registered branch and practising scope
- May act as a QP when the appointment and work fall within the applicable professional and submission rules
- Assesses project-specific engineering inputs such as structure, loads or mechanical and electrical interfaces when appointed
- Should not be asked to endorse a supplier assumption without the information and review needed for the decision
Licensed Electrical Worker (LEW)
- Handles electrical work, inspection, testing, operation, advice and licence submissions within the appropriate class and appointment
- Checks the installation and current single-line information for the actual site
- Coordinates the tenant and landlord electrical interface where each installation has a separate responsible LEW
- Does not replace the QP, PE or other specialist for non-electrical decisions
Relevant specialist
- May cover fire-safety inspection, ventilation, cleanroom, process, hazardous substances, drainage, trade effluent, lifting, racking, access, commissioning or another defined package
- Works to a written scope, inputs, interfaces, standards and acceptance evidence
- Escalates decisions outside the specialist’s competence or appointment
- Does not turn a high-level supplier proposal into authority approval or a complete regulated design
Builder, fit-out contractor and installers
- Plans and executes the works within the contract, approved documents and site rules
- Coordinates method statements, permits, inspections, testing, defects and as-built records
- Raises conflicts before deviating from approved or professional information
- Must not absorb undefined design, approval or property responsibilities by assumption
YKTOH and equipment suppliers
- Structure supplier enquiries around the task, load, dimensions, route, traffic, access, floor, environment, cleaning and utilities
- Provide product-family and model information within the confirmed supply scope
- Coordinate supplier drawings, delivery needs and installation inputs with the responsible project team
- Do not replace the landlord, lawyer, authority, QP, PE, LEW or specialist
Use one handoff sequence
Use the decision matrix before procurement
| Decision | Starting information owner | Who should decide or verify | Evidence to keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business activity and operating need | Tenant, occupier or project sponsor | Business owner with input from the appointed project team | Requirements brief, process description, equipment list, headcount, hours and growth case |
| Property consent and landlord conditions | Landlord, property owner, estate or building management | The parties named by the lease and property process, with legal advice where needed | Consent, fit-out guide, approved records, house rules, condition survey and lease correspondence |
| Planning, building and fire-safety submission path | Project sponsor plus available property records | Relevant appointed QP and authorities for the exact proposed activity and works | Appointment, submission scope, plans, authority correspondence, approvals and completion records |
| Structural loads, supports, fixings or changes | Supplier loads and landlord/base-building information | Appropriately appointed QP or PE for the project-specific structural scope | Verified loads, calculations, drawings, endorsements, approvals, inspection and as-built records |
| Electrical supply, alteration and turn-on | Equipment load list and landlord electrical information | Appropriate LEW and any required electrical PE/QP within their respective appointments | Single-line drawing, load schedule, licence or application records, inspection, test and turn-on documents |
| Cleanroom, ventilation, process, chemical, drainage or other specialist package | Activity, substances, equipment, environmental targets and landlord service information | Relevant QP, PE, LEW or specialist and applicable authorities for that exact scope | Basis of design, responsibility matrix, submissions, design records, test results and acceptance criteria |
| Equipment-family and model selection | User task, item/load data, site measurements and verified constraints | Buyer and supplier within the confirmed supply scope, using professional inputs where required | Supplier proposal, drawings, specifications, exclusions, interfaces, delivery plan and acceptance record |
Write the responsibility schedule before issuing purchase orders
- Named business decision owner
- Named property or landlord contact
- Lease and consent responsibilities
- Lead consultant and coordination role
- QP appointment and discipline, if applicable
- PE scope and practising branch, if applicable
- LEW class and installation boundary, if applicable
- Fire-safety, environmental, process and other specialist scopes
- Builder and contractor design portions
- Supplier information and drawing dates
- Submission and approval responsibility
- Inspection, testing and witnessing responsibility
- Authority, landlord and user hold points
- Change-control and escalation route
- As-built, manual and training deliverables
- Defect, warranty, maintenance and handover owner
Connect verified constraints to the right YKTOH equipment-family routes
Only compare a product family after the task, item, load, dimensions, route, traffic, access, floor or fixing condition, environment, cleaning and relevant document requirements are known. Exact model and configuration selection remains application-specific.
Bring SKU, pallet, load, floor, route, access, fire-strategy interface and future-capacity information.
Bring item, load, travel path, gradient, threshold, lift, loading, traffic and operator information.
Bring task, user, load, storage, utility, adjustment, environment and cleaning information.
Keep appointments and regulated decisions project-specific
This guide organises roles and handoffs; it does not decide whether a submission, approval, licence or specialist is required for a particular site. It is not legal advice, lease interpretation, architectural, fire-safety, structural, electrical, ventilation, cleanroom, environmental or process design advice. WAREHOUSE123 does not claim complete turnkey responsibility at this stage. Confirm the lease and property process, then appoint the relevant lawyer, QP, PE, LEW and specialists for the exact activity and works.
Frequently asked questions
Is every PE a QP?
No. A PE may act as a QP only when the person has the required practising status and the appointment and discipline match the relevant work and submission rules. Ask the lead consultant to identify the role required for each package.
Can the landlord approve the project instead of an authority?
Landlord or property consent and authority approval are separate matters. A project may need one, both or neither for a particular item, depending on the premises, agreement, activity and works. The appointed team should map each path.
What is the difference between the landlord’s LEW and the tenant’s LEW?
The responsibility follows the electrical-installation boundary and appointment. EMA identifies a specific landlord-LEW interface when electricity is turned on to a tenant installation. Confirm the exact boundary, current single-line drawings and responsible LEW before alteration or energisation.
When should suppliers join the project?
Early enough to provide loads, dimensions, routes, utilities and installation inputs, but not as a substitute for property records or professional decisions. Freeze purchase orders only after the responsible parties have resolved the constraints that affect the equipment package.
Related new-site routes
Setting Up a New Laboratory, Office and Warehouse Site in Singapore provides the parent planning sequence. The industrial lease checklist helps collect the property facts and responsibilities before commitment.
Turn the role map into a usable supplier brief
Complete the requirements brief with the activity, site, drawings, loads, utilities, routes, access, environment, programme, appointments and open decisions. YKTOH can help structure the relevant WAREHOUSE123 equipment and supplier-enquiry routes within its confirmed scope.
Official Singapore starting references
Source pages checked 8 September 2026. Recheck the current page, scope and effective status for the exact premises, activity, appointments and works.
- BCA: Building Plan submission — updated 6 July 2026.
- BCA: Guidelines for ST Plan Applications — updated 31 August 2026.
- SCDF: Plan Approval — updated 5 August 2026.
- PEB: Finding a Professional Engineer — updated 13 April 2026.
- EMA: Electrical installation licence roles and responsibilities — current page rechecked 8 September 2026.
- URA: Changing the Use of Your Property — updated 23 July 2026.