When one moves into a newly constructed home, it isn’t unreasonable to expect to find the place in pristine condition.
But that isn’t always the case because BTO defects are a reality for every new homeowner.
Last month, a woman took to the Complaint Singapore Facebook page to share a video showing the “poor workmanship” of her BTO.
Source: Facebook
Aside from a dent in the door and incomplete finishings, the woman told 8world News that she discovered “at least 40” small holes all over the unit’s walls.
HDB has since stated that contractors will fix the defects within the next two weeks.
On 28 June, Facebook user Jess Choo posted a video lamenting the state of her new BTO flat.
In her caption, she urged HDB to “send someone to check” on the unit before the owner collects their keys.
“This is unacceptable,” she wrote, adding that the place supposedly had a dent in the door, holes, a tile unbalance, incomplete finishings, and more.
The clip shows her zooming into some of the defects, which have been labelled with masking tape.
Source: Facebook
Replying to a comment, the OP said the flat is located in the Rivervale Shores estate on Sengkang East Drive.
Speaking to 8world News, Ms Choo shared that she lives in a rental flat with her two younger children. Her eldest daughter stays with relatives.
Due to the limited space in the rental flat, her eldest daughter decided to apply for a four-room BTO in Rivervale Shores seven years ago.
Naturally, the family was very excited to finally move into a bigger home after getting their keys to the unit on 27 June.
However, they found the space to be full of flaws.
Reporters from 8world News went down to check out the place for themselves and snapped photos of peeling walls and rusty window hinges.
Source: 8world News
According to Ms Choo, she counted “at least 40 small holes” in the walls of the entire unit, which have allowed ants to crawl inside.
Source: 8world News
In addition, there were scratches on the door and grille.
Shoddy quality aside, Ms Choo noted that she’s worried that the rusted hinges will cause the whole window to fall off, and she would have to bear responsibility for it.
After taking stock of all the faults, Ms Choo’s daughter reported the issue to HDB.
On 3 July, two HDB inspectors, a contractor, and two workers checked the unit. They then told Ms Choo that the problems would be resolved in two weeks.
Responding to enquiries from 8world News, an HDB representative stated that they had inspected the flat to confirm the areas that require repair.
For instance, they noticed the paint on the balcony walls had peeled off. There were also paint stains on the balcony floor.
HDB explained that this could be due to heavy rains washing away the paint before it dried completely.
As for the other defects, which the board noted were “relatively minor”, they have assured the homeowners that contractors will have them patched up within two weeks.
The spokesperson also brought up the one-year Defect Liability Period, during which the building contractor is responsible for any repairs in a new unit.
Unfortunately for Ms Choo, this means that she has had to postpone her renovation plans.
Since the seventh month of the lunar calendar is approaching and is considered an inauspicious time to carry out refurbishment work, everything can only be done from October.
In the meantime, she and her family will have to continue squeezing into their rental flat and see if the situation improves after two weeks.
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Featured image adapted from Complaint Singapore on Facebook and 8world News.
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