External Wall Seepages and Ceiling Leakages in HDB Flats

9 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is HDB’s approach to assist flat dwellers who experience persistent external wall seepages and ceiling leakages; and (b) whether HDB invests in new capabilities and technologies to tackle long-standing and recurring cases where the HDB maintenance contractors are unable or incapable of rectifying.

10 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB will consider rolling out a national programme of facade repair for ageing HDB blocks in view of the recent spates of external wall seepage.

The Minister of State for National Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, may I have your permission to take Question Nos 9 and 10 together.

Mr Speaker: Yes, please.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Mr Liang Eng Hwa and Mr Muhamad Faisal Abdul Manap have raised questions about external water seepages and ceiling leakages. I will address the Members' questions together. Mr Desmond Choo also had a question about how MND can support Town Councils with water seepages and wear and tear problems at common areas, which my colleague, Senior Minister of State Sim Ann will address separately.

The external walls of HDB blocks are common property under the Town Councils' management and maintenance. As they are subject to wear and tear over time, Town Councils are advised to keep them in good condition by carrying out regular maintenance and repairs where needed. Residents who encounter water seepage through their walls typically report such cases to their Town Council. As such, HDB does not have information on the total number of external wall seepage cases.

There are currently no plans to roll out a programme for façade repairs to address external wall seepage specifically, as such issues can be prevented today through regular maintenance by Town Councils. HDB provides assistance to Town Councils by co-sharing 50% of the costs of façade repairs, under the Façade Repairs Co-payment scheme.

From the second half of this year, BCA will require a Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) to be carried out for all buildings above 20 years old and above 13 metres in height. The objective is to improve public safety, by facilitating the early detection of potential issues and the timely repair of façades.

Ceiling leaks that occur in HDB flats are generally a result of wear and tear over time. In such cases, the responsibility for repairs is shared jointly between the upper and lower floor flat owners. Both upper and lower floor flat owners would need to jointly investigate and carry out the repairs. In most cases, leakages can be amicably resolved when flat owners exercise mutual understanding and cooperate with one another.

HDB also offers assistance to help upper and lower floor owners resolve ceiling leak issues. In cases where the leak is caused by wear and tear, HDB may offer assistance with repairs and co-share the cost of repairs under the Goodwill Repair Assistance (GRA) scheme. Under this scheme, HDB will pay 50% of the ceiling leak repair cost. The remaining 50% is then shared equally between the upper and lower floor flat owners. However, if the cause of the leak at the lower floor flat is due to renovations carried out at the upper floor flat, the upper floor flat owner would be fully responsible for rectifying the leak and bearing the full repair cost.

HDB has been exploring new technologies to improve on current repair methods for ceiling leaks and has identified two new repair methods. Firstly, nanotechnology waterproofing system and secondly, overlaying waterproofing membrane system. These technologies provide alternative repair options for residents who do not wish to hack their toilet tiles or who prefer to keep the existing finishes in their toilets. For complex and recurring issues which contractors are unable to rectify, HDB will also assist in the investigation and provide advice where possible.

Lastly, ceiling leaks can also occur for units that are on the top floor, as water seeps into the flat through the roof. As the roof is part of common property, the Town Council is responsible for addressing the leak. Where necessary, HDB can provide technical advice to the Town Council on the root cause of the leak and on the appropriate repair methods.

Mr Speaker: Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang): Thank you, Sir. Sir, the Minister of State mentioned about not having data other than from HDB sources. Just to let him know that I have received more than hundred feedback over the last two, three months. And some very serious cases where water flows out like a tap from the wall. So, here is the frustrating situation. The Town Council contractors will always be called upon to do the repair and they will use a trial-and-error method because they cannot really identify where the source of the seepage is. And it may not be fixed in one day, they will come another day; and sometimes, it takes multiple sessions to get it done. It causes a lot of frustrations to residents and also the resources of the contractors as well.

Can I ask and appeal to MND and HDB to intervene in this situation because this is really a basic liveability issue, especially first thing for those that are perennial cases, where HDB should step in? Because some of these are due to certain batches of HDB flats that were built using a particular technique, prefabrication techniques and so on. Therefore, the water seepage has been there for many years.

I hope the HDB can come in for those cases to help identify the root cause of the problem, use technology like the Minister of State mentioned, use the research that HDB has. It does help to assist the contractors to tackle the problem as well. This is actually for the good of construction productivity because the contractors will then know how to tackle this problem as well. I hope that HDB sees some ownership in this problem as well.

Secondly, can I also request when the flats go through the Home Improvement Programme, can HDB also incorporate the repair of the seepages and rectifications as part of the suite of offering? Because these 30-year-old flats are going to be around for another 30 years, the next 30-year life cycle. We need to help fix those problems so that they do not face this problem the next 30 years.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Sir, I thank the Member for the supplementary questions. Certainly, we will look at how we can improve rectifying; and also help other organisations, even the contractors. We are looking at the building industry, how we can use research and technology to repair and to produce materials and products which are long-lasting and able to rectify such seepages and other kind of defects. So, this is something that we will take note of.

As the cases that the Member has raised may be specific to certain types of construction method, I will take it back and see how we can address the situation together.

Mr Speaker: Faisal Manap.

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap (Aljunied): Thank you, Sir. I thank the Minister of State for his reply. Sir, there are national programmes such as Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Home Improvement Programme (HIP) to repair and revitalise ageing HDB neighbourhoods and flats' interior respectively.

Basically, my proposal is to have a similar national programme for facade repair. One, so as to reap the economies of scale benefit; hence, resulting in the saving of public funds. Secondly, I feel that by having a national programme, it will give a more thorough repair work, which will result in better outcome as compared to patchwork, which is what we are doing currently.

As the Minister of State mentioned earlier, it is co-sharing between Town Council and HDB. But I believe that more thorough work to be done for the facade repairs under a national programme would be more beneficial in the long run.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Mr Speaker, I thank the Member for the suggestion. As I shared earlier, we feel that it is important to make sure the buildings or structures that we have are maintained and, at the same time, we look at it in terms of the long term how we can ensure the maintainability and the use of such facilities including the facade. That is why we have a periodic facade inspection regime which will ensure that there is regular and timely inspection. During the inspection, if we see there are things that need to be rectified, we can do so. At the same time, the Facade Repair Co-Payment Scheme will help to take care of such a situation.

So, essentially, we want to see how, as a whole, in Singapore, we can try to inspect and maintain over time. As such, this is something that we are committed to doing with the Town Council. We hope, as a whole, in the whole building industry and construction industry, we want to see how we can enhance, not only the maintainability of the building but, in particular, also the facade.