Ceiling leaks in HDB flats are not unique to this Hougang resident, whose ceiling grew ‘stalactites’.
Since the story was published, several other residents in different estates have also reported similar issues in their own homes.
Unfortunately, even after years, their problems haven’t been resolved.
One resident in Yishun apparently inherited his leaking issue from a previous owner, while another who stays in Tampines has written to the MP and HDB but received no replies.
Mr Cole, 57, told MS News that he first started experiencing ceiling leaks in 2019.
The water even spreads across his floor and outside his flat at Block 825 Yishun Street 81.
Image courtesy of Cole
According to Mr Cole, the previous owner had engaged HDB to fix the issue.
However, the issue recurred again and he took the case to Nee Soon Town Council, followed by the MP.
It seemed that every time the engineers would come to carry out the checks, it would be on a day when it was not raining.
Image courtesy of Cole
Mr Cole said this did not help because the leaks only occur after a downpour.
After the town council pinpointed the cause as his pipe leaking, he changed the pipe according to their requirements.
Image courtesy of Cole
To clean up the leaking, he had to use tissues.
“To my knowledge, the manager handling my issue has changed several times,” he told MS News. “This is already the third one.”
He has also tried to reach out to the MP in the area but without any success in rectifying the issue.
Ms Tan, 49, also told MS News that her house at Block 540 Hougang Avenue 8 has been experiencing ceiling and window leakages.
She has stayed in her flat for over 30 years.
Image courtesy of Ms Tan
According to Ms Tan, water would start seeping through her window during a heavy downpour.
She contacted Ang Mo Kio Town Council, but the matter was allegedly under HDB’s jurisdiction.
Ms Tan said the HDB contractors then only fixed the features outside the wall but not the ceiling inside her flat.
Image courtesy of Ms Tan
Since then, the ceiling leaks have persisted, damaging her toilet ceiling as well as causing the paint to peel.
According to Mr Thomas, 67, the void deck at his Tampines block also has a ceiling leak issue, purportedly from the kitchen of a unit on the second floor.
Though there are no leakage or seepage issues in his own flat, Mr Thomas is concerned that there might be a mishap if the leaks continue.
Image courtesy of Mr Thomas
In photos, the ceiling appears patchy with some water retention.
Despite numerous emails to different agencies like HDB, the town council, and the MP, the issue appears unresolved.
That said, Mr Thomas said his own flat has no ceiling leak issues.
According to the Ministry of National Development on 1 Feb 2021, there was an average of 350 water leakage cases reported per month over the past three months. This is out of about 1 million flats.
“This is slightly lower than the average received in the same period the year before, which was about 360 cases per month,” the ministry noted.
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.
MS News has reached out to HDB for comment.
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Featured image courtesy of Mr Cole and Ms Tan.
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