Number of Complaints of Defects and Design Flaws for New Executive Condominiums

21 Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of feedback and complaints which the Ministry has received from residents of newly-built executive condominiums (ECs) on defects and design flaws in the past five years; and (b) what is the role of HDB in helping to resolve such matters since ECs are part of the stable of public flats offered by HDB.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme (ECHS) was introduced in 1995 to meet the aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing in an affordable way. This is done by imposing on EC buyers certain initial eligibility and ownership restrictions. But after the 10th year, all restrictions are lifted and the EC will be no different from other private condominiums.

MND does not track feedback received on ECs. This is because buyers purchase their ECs directly from the private developers and, under the Sale and Purchase (S&P) Agreement signed between the EC developer and home buyers, the EC developer is responsible for all defects during the 12-month Defects Liability Period. The EC developer is also contractually obliged to attend to all feedback from buyers on the design, finishing, workmanship or other concerns pertaining to the development and respond to the buyers accordingly.

Mr Png Eng Huat (Hougang): Mdm Speaker, a supplementary question for the Senior Minister of State. A lot of the public housing rules and regulations apply to EC, such as the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and even the resale levy. Would the Ministry consider assisting these residents to address all these defects, some of which are actually design flaws, in the official capacity as the housing authority? Because some of these residents would have done their homework − they would have gone to BCA, they would have gone to a lot of places. They felt that because the EC is part of the housing options offered by HDB, HDB is the authority to help them. Not to help them resolve it, but at least help them to initiate a meeting to set the framework on how these developers can help them. I have personally experienced, that in Hougang and it helps when HDB is involved; but that does not involve ECs, it involves a new BTO.

Mr Desmond Lee: Both in the supplementary question and in the Parliamentary Question, the Member has alluded to ECs as public housing. If you look at the 1995 debate during which the EC scheme was developed, it was to make private housing an option for middle class Singaporean households to be able to enter private housing in an affordable way.

There are Government Land Sales and then there are EC land sales. For EC land sales, unlike private housing land sales, we put in place restrictions, as the Member has mentioned − the MOP, the eligibility criteria to provide for middle income households the option to buy ECs. Whilst these policies are in place, they make ECs an affordable way for people to enter into private housing.

But that said, I think the Member's concern is about residents who face issues with ECs. While the contractual obligations are on the developer to address all the concerns the buyers have raised, when EC buyers raise concerns about EC units to HDB, HDB will certainly convey these concerns to the EC developers for them to take appropriate action.