Increase in Water Seepage Issues in HDB Flats and Adequacy of Staff Assigned to Rectify These Issues

3 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many cases of complex water seepage cases has the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received on a weekly basis in the past 12 months; and (b) what is the current staff strength and number of engineers within HDB who are responsible for assisting with rectification of complex water seepage issues.

4 Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current expected operating timeline for Housing and Development Board (HDB) engineers to respond and conduct joint visits to residents' homes to get accurate diagnosis of complex water seepage cases; and (b) what measures or technological enhancements will HDB be adopting to enhance the capability and capacity of its engineers to work more effectively with Town Councils to resolve these cases.

5 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether there has been a surge in the number of reported external water seepage incidents that occur in HDB flats during the recent March monsoon raining season; and (b) whether HDB is monitoring and rendering assistance to the Town Councils that are attending to such cases.

6 Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether there is an update on the implementation of the improved diagnosis methods using better scanning technology to accurately pinpoint the root causes of external wall seepages; (b) if so, what are the results of the initial trials conducted by HDB; and (c) whether implementation of the improved methods can be expedited to help Town Councils rectify external wall seepage cases.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I have your permission to give a combined reply to Question Nos 3 through 6 in today’s Order Paper?

Mr Speaker: Go ahead.

Ms Sim Ann: In 2024, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) assisted Town Councils (TCs) and flat owners with a total of 859 complex water seepage cases. Such cases include water seepage from various sources, such as from the external wall or from the flat above.

TCs are responsible for the maintenance of the external walls of HDB flats as they are part of common property. Residents who encounter water seepage from external walls in their flat typically report it to the TC managing their estate. Where residents report such cases to HDB, HDB will refer these cases to the respective TC for follow-up. Based on the number of cases that HDB received, it did not observe a surge in March 2025. Notwithstanding, HDB has received feedback from some TCs that the number of external water seepage cases typically increases during the monsoon season. HDB will continue to support TCs in resolving these cases.

For complex cases involving external wall seepage, each HDB Zone’s dedicated team for handling repairs management will support TCs by conducting joint inspections and providing technical advice so that TCs can identify the root causes and carry out repairs expeditiously. This is typically within one week after the TC approaches HDB, subject to the availability of the flat owner and TC staff.

It is important for TCs to build up expertise in dealing with external wall seepage. To support this, HDB has been conducting regular training for TCs and has made available a training video on the diagnosis and repair of external wall seepage to further level up TC staff’s technical competency.

Flat owners are responsible for the maintenance of the interior of their flats, including the repair of leaks in the shared structure between units. HDB assists flat owners in resolving ceiling leaks through the Goodwill Repair Assistance scheme, where HDB pays 50% of the ceiling leak repair cost, while the remaining 50% is shared equally between the upper- and lower-floor flat owners.

HDB is constantly on the look-out for better and more effective maintenance methods and equipment. For example, HDB is working with industry partners and research institutes to develop better ways to address maintenance issues, especially those encountered in our older estates. This includes an ongoing trial at 70 flats island-wide on the use of better scanning technology which has the capability to scan through concrete to detect causes of seepage. Similar to an x-ray machine, this allows the inspection team to see beneath the surface and trace the root cause of the seepage. HDB will then monitor and assess if the technology can be scaled up for widespread use, including use by TCs to more effectively diagnose and resolve more complex water seepage cases upfront. If the trial is successful, HDB will share more details on the plans to scale up.

Mr Speaker: Ms Carrie Tan.

Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon): I would like to thank the Senior Minister of State for her reply. I would just like to check if there is any internal standard operating procedure and timeline for turnaround for the HDB engineers who are tasked to provide technical advice to TCs?

Also, while the delineation of duties between the TC in managing external wall seepages versus the inter-floor leakage where HDB steps in to facilitate in terms of resident arrangements, there are often difficulties to diagnose seepages that are not very clear – whether it is external wall or inside. What we have experienced in Nee Soon and to the frustration of many residents is that they often have to wait many months for a resolution. So, does the Ministry of National Development (MND) have any plans to invest further in the technical expertise or in the research and development technologies to find out and to have more accurate diagnosis of the sources of water seepages in a more timely manner to reduce the timeframe that it takes to have full resolution of the issues?

Ms Sim Ann: In response to Ms Carrie Tan's question, there are two parts to the issue that we are trying to resolve here, when it comes to wall seepage. The first is the accurate diagnosis. Secondly, because HDB, as well as the TC responsible for the estate would have different areas of jurisdiction. So, sometimes when the diagnosis moves from one possible cause to another, there would be a need to hand over the case from the TC to HDB, or from HDB back to the TC. And we have found from experience that this process can take time, because the diagnosis process would not only require the personnel associated with either the TC or HDB to be available and present, but the presence and consent of the homeowner are also necessary.

So, first, there is the technical issue of diagnosis, but then there is also the human coordination involved. We will try to move things along as quickly as possible every time a TC approaches us for help.

Mr Speaker: Mr Liang Eng Hwa.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang): Sir, often, in a prolonged rainy season, such as as the last month or so, we will receive a large number of reports on cases of seepages, especially for the older, vintage flats. I hope that MND and HDB understand this is really a frustrating experience for residents having to deal with water seepage coming into their homes.

So, I want to ask the Senior Minister of State two questions. Firstly, I am glad that there is this technology, that works by x-ray, to look at where the root cause of the seepage is coming from. That should help because one of the pain points is not being able to know where the seepages are coming from, where is the source of the leaks. So, can I ask the Senior Minister of State whether our current seepage contractors that the TCs hire, do they have the expertise to deal with this in a way that will resolve the problem in a lasting way and not to keep having this recurring situation.

And secondly, for those more complex long-standing cases, can I also ask if HDB follows up continuously? As long as there is no resolution, does HDB follow through until we see a resolution to this seepage problem?

Ms Sim Ann: Sir, in our experience, contractors are generally equipped with the capability to resolve wall seepage cases. But if the TC is in doubt about the capability of any particular contractor, we welcome the TC to also consult with HDB. What HDB has been doing aside from leaning forward to assist TCs where there are long-standing or difficult-to-resolve cases, is we have also been introducing methods that have been tested and proven to be effective in dealing with wall seepage cases, such as the Corrosion Resistant Repair method.

We understand the frustration of residents that Mr Liang and also Ms Carrie Tan have alluded to, and this is why we are committed to continue working together with TCs and to lean forward to help, especially for the difficult-to-resolve cases.

Mr Speaker: Mr Gerald Giam.

Mr Gerald Giam Yean Song (Aljunied): I have two supplementary questions for the Senior Minister of State. Given that TCs rely primarily on waterproofing contractors to identify and resolve water seepage issues, what is the Ministry doing to uplift the baseline industry capabilities so that more contractors possess the diagnostic expertise needed to accurately detect seepage sources, without repeated trial and error?

And secondly, can HDB look into providing more funding to TCs to engage contractors to conduct re-roofing programmes more frequently than is currently prescribed, so that water seepage problems can be pre-empted or resolved more comprehensively?

Ms Sim Ann: In terms of the methods or the initiatives that HDB is doing to help TCs resolve wall seepage, first of all, there are regular meetings between TC representatives as well as HDB. And I do believe that technical issues, such as wall seepage can be discussed and have been discussed at these settings.

I also mentioned earlier that we have a training video. This is to help TC staff better understand what are some of the possible causes of water seepage and we also hope that this would equip them with more information when making a decision on which contractors to engage.

And as for the issue of re-roofing, to date, our experience with TCs across the board is that they have been able to continue to do re-roofing based on the funding support that they have received from the Government, but also from the service and conservancy charges (S&CCs) that they have been collecting from residents. And Mr Giam will also recall that, not that long ago, all TCs underwent a revision of S&CCs and there has also been Government support for that. So, if there is a need to further increase funding, this is something that we can take up separately, if the TCs have a specific request.

Mr Speaker: Ms Sylvia Lim.

Ms Sylvia Lim (Aljunied): Sir, I have one clarification for the Senior Minister of State and it is about roof seepage cases. Some of the recent cases that we have encountered appear to be linked to HDB's project to install solar panels on the roofs. So, I wonder whether the Senior Minister of State is aware of this and whether she can comment on what HDB is doing, going forward, to try to minimise this sort of problems.

Ms Sim Ann: If the TCs are of the view that solar panels deployed on the rooftops of HDB blocks could possibly affect insulation and therefore, affect seepage, then this is something which, in our experience, the contractors that have been responsible for installing the solar panels would work very closely with TC and also with HDB, if necessary, to resolve the issue.