Measures for Owners of Older HDB Flats to Maintain and Ensure Their Air-conditioner Brackets are Securely Affixed
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns measures to ensure owners of older HDB flats maintain air-conditioner brackets to prevent safety risks from units dislodging. Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong inquired about flats without ledges, prompting Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee to clarify that owners must engage trained personnel for installation and regular servicing. The Minister noted that the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) can mandate rectifications, while HDB provides public education on maintenance. Furthermore, a Periodic Façade Inspection regime starting in 2022 will require buildings over 20 years old to be inspected every seven years. These inspections will allow Town Councils to work with owners on necessary measures to ensure brackets remain securely affixed to external walls.
Transcript
68 Mr Dennis Tan Lip Fong asked the Minister for National Development what measures are in place to ensure that owners of older HDB flats that are built without air-conditioner ledges maintain their air-conditioner brackets and ensure that both air-conditioners and brackets are always securely affixed to the external wall of their flats and pose no safety risk of dislodging.
Mr Desmond Lee: All home owners are required to ensure that their external air-conditioning units and brackets are installed and maintained properly. BCA requires any person who intends to install an air-conditioning unit on the exterior of a building to engage trained personnel to carry out the installation works and stipulates the specifications of the air conditioning unit bracket.
Home owners are advised to engage air-conditioner servicing companies to check their air-conditioning units and brackets during regular servicing every three to six months. They should also look out for possible signs of corrosion or rust on the brackets and engage trained personnel to replace corroded or rusty air-conditioning unit brackets.
BCA can direct home owners to carry out rectification works if the air-conditioning unit brackets are not well-maintained and are at risk of being dislodged. If HDB receives feedback on corroded air-conditioner brackets that may pose a danger to the general public, HDB will notify the flat owners to rectify the situation immediately and also alert BCA. Information on home maintenance, including air-conditioner maintenance is also published on HDB’s website and in the print media to educate home owners on the importance of keeping their air-conditioners and brackets well-maintained.
BCA will be introducing a Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) regime in early 2022. The regime will apply to buildings that are above 20 years old and 13 metres in height (or roughly four storeys). Under this regime, façade inspections, which include inspections on air-conditioning brackets, must be conducted by trained personnel every seven years. Following the façade inspections, Town Councils can work with home owners to carry out any works or measures necessary to prevent air-conditioning unit brackets from dislodging.