About 200 defects reported by flat owners in the Woodlands Glen Build-To-Order (BTO) project are being rectified by the building contractor and the Housing Board, said Second Minister for National Development Indranee Rajah.
The defects in the 888-unit project completed in 2017 include cracked toilet seat covers, rusty gates and problems involving weather seals in windows and timber toilet doors.
Responding to Mr Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) yesterday, Ms Indranee said there are no plans to extend the defects liability period (DLP) for newly completed BTO flats.
Currently, new BTO flats have a one-year liability period, during which building contractors will repair defects reported by flat owners.
HDB also provides all new flat owners with a five-year warranty for external wall seepage or inter-floor seepage, and a 10-year warranty for spalling concrete - the flaking of concrete from the ceiling due to the corrosion of steel reinforcement bars in the floor slab.
Ms Indranee said about 90 per cent of defects are reported within the first year of the block's completion, with the remaining 10 per cent reported in the second to fifth year.
Therefore, the one-year period is "sufficient for the majority of new flat owners, and is in line with the industry practice for private development", she added.
The average number of reported defects per BTO flat was 2.6 in the first year, she said, dropping to 0.2 after the first year, 0.1 after the second year and 0.05 after the third year.
The vast majority of reported defects involved issues such as scratches or cracks on timber surfaces, walls, tiles and sanitary fittings, added Ms Indranee, who is also Second Finance Minister and Minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
"These are rectified easily by the contractors and do not affect the structural integrity or safety of the building," she said.
Responding to Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) on whether HDB will consider co-paying for residents who encounter defects after the liability period, she said HDB will first investigate the cause and then decide on the best course of action.
Ms Indranee said she cannot give a definitive answer that everything after the DLP will be attended to by HDB as it depends on the nature of the defect.
"But the assurance we can give is this: If there's a problem after the DLP, HDB will look into it and do its best to resolve it with the contractor."
Ms Mariam Jaafar (Sembawang GRC) asked whether expired liability periods for both BTO and Home Improvement Programme projects will be extended, given the halt in works during the circuit breaker period. Ms Indranee said the Government will look into it.
Correction note: An earlier version of the story stated that the average number of reported defects per BTO flat was 2.5 in the first year. This is incorrect. It should be 2.6. We are sorry for the error.
