Recourse for Defects in BTO HDB Flats

1 Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for National Development in view of complaints by owners of HDB BTO projects, how does HDB ensure the quality of its flats and what recourse do owners have when defects have not been rectified to their satisfaction.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee) (for the Minister for National Development): Mdm Speaker, HDB adopts a comprehensive management system to track the construction process of all BTO projects.

First, HDB engages consultants with full-time staff onsite to supervise the construction works. The consultants will set up a supervision system at the site at the beginning of the building project.

Second, HDB keeps a list of recommended building materials and equipment suppliers to prevent the use of sub-standard materials or equipment.

Third, HDB takes a systematic approach to deliver buildings of high structural quality, such as checking that the building piles are constructed to the correct depth.

Fourth, HDB requires the contractor to provide timber mock-ups for the toilets, kitchens, air-con ledges and service yards to be constructed. This will help HDB identify potential design, safety and maintenance issues, and get the contractor to resolve these issues upfront before construction begins.

Fifth, HDB requires samples of actual units to be constructed for each different flat type in the project. Once these sample units are approved, they serve as the benchmark of quality for the entire project.

Sixth, HDB conducts regular audits and deploys its Central Audit Team to perform focused process checks at different stages of construction.

Seventh, HDB's Project Directors also make regular checks on the works for compliance with approved drawings, specifications and work methods.

Eighth, all flats, when completed, will have to pass the handover inspection by HDB. Finishes and fittings are inspected for proper installation and compliance with the required standard. All visible defects found by the inspection team will be rectified before handover.

Ninth, HDB conducts functional tests to check on the mechanical and electrical services installed as well as the water-tightness of bathrooms, windows and external walls.

Finally, HDB conducts a final inspection before the keys are handed over to the buyers.

After the keys are handed over, a one-year Defects Liability Period (DLP) will kick in. During this period, the contractor will be obliged to rectify any other defects that are detected. During the DLP, a Building Service Centre (BSC) is set up in every new precinct to attend to feedback from residents promptly. The BSC will operate for a year on site so that residents have sufficient time to submit their feedback. All feedback to the BSC are monitored closely to ensure defects are rectified in a timely manner and to an acceptable quality standard.

The rectification works will be inspected and certified by HDB's supervising consultant before a joint inspection with the owners is arranged to hand over the unit. For cases where owners are not fully satisfied with the rectification works, they can approach HDB, who will look into very case and take all reasonable efforts to address the owner's concerns. HDB will get the contractor to rectify the defects in accordance with acceptable industry norms.

An objective assessment of the quality of HDB flats is the BCA's Construction Quality Assessment System (CONQUAS) score. This is the industry standard to measure the quality of building projects. Over the years, the quality of BTO flats has improved from a score of 79 in 2003 to 89 in 2014. This is comparable to that of private developments. This reflects HDB's push to secure high quality and workmanship standards for its flats.

While the situation has improved, HDB is continually looking at ways to do better. It will continue to seek improvement in its design, choice of material and construction to improve the quality of its flats.

Ms Joan Pereira (Tanjong Pagar): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I would like to ask would the Ministry consider making public on HDB website for each BTO project the nature of complaints and the progress and schedule of rectification works so that it becomes transparent. When this happens, such information not just helps educate the owners on industry norms and standards, but would also better manage expectations.

Mr Desmond Lee: Mdm Speaker, I thank the Member for her suggestion. The CONQUAS score reflects three components: architectural merit, which is what the Member is concerned about, quality of finish and the build quality; as well as two other components, such as structure and M&E. CONQUAS score for each development, each BTO already reflects the standard, albeit in a numerical nature.

Each BSC will typically receive one-third of the residents approaching them for various issues: complaints, defects as well as requests for information. About 25% of them relate, for example, to water flow. This is because there are water management and flow requirements at the input. The remainder relate to a variety of issues that reflect build quality and other areas. Many of these can be solved and HDB's BSC staff continue to work on this.

Ms Sun Xueling (Pasir Ris-Punggol): I thank the Senior Minister of State for the clarification. Can I just check and clarify what recourse does a resident have if the defects were reported within the DLP period, but rectified not to the satisfaction of the resident and the defects continue to persist? Will HDB then consider extending DLP?

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, each case will turn on the facts. For specific cases, let us have a look at them. HDB will do what is appropriate and right in the circumstances.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Holland-Bukit Timah): Madam, I would like to ask the Senior Minister of State what can the owners do if the contractors or the BSC are reluctant or are dragging their feet in responding to the defect complaints, knowing very well that time is not on the side of the new owners because they have a short window within which they must move in? They know that if they can drag further, the likelihood is that the owners will just accept the defects. So, what can the new owners do? How can we help them?

Secondly, my sense on the ground is that in some of the projects that I have encountered, there are really quite a number of defects. The HDB officers are just not able to cope with them. Manpower resource is a problem and they may not be empowered to do some of the things to rectify certain defects. It always comes upon the contractor. The contractor will again try to use the default response and push back and say, "No, it could be due to some other things". How do we help the new owners so that they have a positive experience moving into the new flats?

Mr Desmond Lee: Madam, HDB sets a 14-day period as a standard for contractors to rectify defects that are reported. Of course, if the defect needs more work, on exceptional basis, these would take more time. Based on the statistics that we have, some 95% of these defects reported through BSCs are rectified within 14 days. Some take longer.

If the Member or his residents are aware of these incidences where they feel that the contractors are dragging their feet, alert the BSC and HDB, and he can alert us.

As for the capacity of HDB branch offices and BSCs to cope with the number of issues that are raised, let us know which areas are of concern. We will look to enhancing them. Already, HDB has increased the number of staffing at BSCs to deal with the issues that are surfaced by residents.