After the one-year HDB defects period, the repair is yours to book

HDB’s page on rectification work for new flats is short and specific. Newly completed HDB flats are covered by a 1-year Defects Liability Period from the date of key collection. During that time HDB follows up on items that need rectification. The page asks you to report within 1 month of key collection and before renovation begins, so nobody has to investigate whether the mark was from construction or from the renovator. HDB says it usually takes less than 2 weeks to complete the repair. If renovation cannot wait, HDB says it can rectify during the renovation if that does not hinder the work, or after, and that some minor items can be done after you move in if living conditions are not affected. You can submit online or at the Building Service Centre named in the welcome kit. There is a joint inspection, and HDB says not to hand the flat keys to the contractor. A closing inspection follows.

After that year, the same page says you engage a repair contractor. It also says that under the Agreement for Lease the homeowner keeps fittings and fixtures in good condition. Homey Furnishing can do the permit-exempt rows already printed: a door hinge at S$60 to S$120, a mouldy silicone zone at S$80 to S$150, a small hole patch at S$150 to S$280, a hairline or a dried stain at S$150 to S$400, a small spalling patch at S$150 to S$300. Those are maintenance. They are not a second defects period and they are not an inspection report. If you already hold a punch-list PDF, the defect-rectification page prices a half day at S$480 to S$780, a full day at S$880 to S$1,580, and two days at S$1,600 to S$2,400. This page does not invent a third package between them.

“How much does an SG defect scan cost?” and “is a defect check necessary?” show up beside these searches. A paid third-party scan is not a row on HomeySG. The fee is quote on inspection, and we are not the firm that writes that report. HDB’s own instruction, during the year, is to report to HDB. A private scan can be useful as a list of photos. It is not a requirement this site adds. We will not rank inspection companies. If the year has ended, the list becomes a repair list, and the PDF page is the place to price it.

Windows are the item that looks like a defect and is a different law. A failed stay or a missing rivet is not a silicone visit. BCA’s window safety page describes approved window contractors under workhead RW01. On an HDB flat the contractor also has to be the one HDB’s window rules name, with a permit before replacement. Interior reseal of a sound window is S$180 to S$380. A handle, when the stay is sound, is S$60 to S$120. Do not let a defects-year conversation become an unpermitted window swap. Condo defects are not this HDB year. The length in a condo sale contract is that contract’s number. Do not paste “one year from keys” onto a private stack unless the contract says it.

Homey Furnishing Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 202018148K), 27 Mandai Estate, #06-10 Innovation Place, Singapore 729931, invoices permit-exempt maintenance. V On Construction Pte. Ltd. (ACRA UEN 201611708H), on the HDB Directory of Renovation Contractors, invoices hacking, a new layout, and other work that needs an HDB renovation permit. Homey Furnishing is not a Council for Estate Agencies licensed estate agent and does not sell, rent or market flats. It is not a Ministry of Manpower licensed employment agency and does not place helpers.

Curtains, blinds and roller shades are not part of this booking. This page also does not sell or rent the home, and it does not place a domestic worker.

Sort the calendar before you sort the tools. A repair booked in month two can erase the evidence HDB asked to see.

1. Write down the key-collection date. The year runs from that day for a new HDB flat.
2. If you are still inside month one and have not renovated, report to HDB first.
3. Photograph each item. Do not silicone, paint or hack over it while the report is open.
4. After the year, match each photo to a published band or send the PDF to the rectification page.
5. Keep window replacement and bathroom hacking off the handyman list.

The building changes the permission. It does not invent a second price.

We are not the Building Service Centre, not a defects surveyor, and not the developer. We do not submit the rectification request for you and we do not attend HDB’s joint inspection as your representative. A handyman who fills a chip in week three can be the reason HDB says the mark appeared after the keys. If you want the chip painted after HDB has closed it, or after the year, that is the patch band.

We also do not tell you whether to accept a cash credit from a seller instead of a repair. That is a sale negotiation. A registered property agent is the person who does estate agency work. The defect calculator on this site only adds the repair bands you tick. It does not value the flat.

How you're charged

A job that already has a sentence on HomeySG uses that sentence. The hour is not added on top of a band unless the written scope says so. There is no fuel surcharge. A whole-flat repaint, a private defect-scan fee, and a litre of a named paint brand are not in the catalogue.

Who is allowed to do the work

HDB’s important information on renovation says renovation in a flat, including some work that does not need a permit, is carried out by a contractor from the Directory of Renovation Contractors. The same page says failing to use a listed contractor for renovations, or breaching the renovation rules, can lead to a fine of up to $5,000. That sentence is HDB’s. It is not a ruling on your flat. Read the page before you treat a handyman visit as a renovation.

• Permit-exempt maintenance that already has a band, such as a hinge, a silicone joint or a small hole patch, stays on the Homey Furnishing invoice.
• Hacking, a new layout, and replacement of toilet finishes inside HDB’s restriction period move to V On Construction Pte. Ltd. UEN 201611708H. The price of that permit scope is quote on inspection.
• A new cable or a consumer unit is an EMA licensed electrician. A new water point is a PUB licensed plumber. Piped gas is a licensed gas worker.
• Window installation and replacement on an HDB flat is a BCA approved window contractor on HDB’s directory, with a renovation permit first. BCA describes workhead RW01. Homey Furnishing is not that contractor.
• Selling, renting or marketing the flat is estate agency work. CEA registers property agents. We do not do that work.
• A weekly cleaner on this site is not a migrant domestic worker placement. We do not hire out helpers.
• Curtains, blinds and roller shades are not part of this booking.

Ways to keep the bill smaller

• Photograph every mark before you book a full repaint. A hole that matches the S$150 to S$280 sentence does not need a whole-flat price.
• Put several permit-exempt tasks on one visit. The S$55 call-out is one task. Further permit-exempt time is S$45 an hour, not a second trip.
• Report a new-flat defect to HDB, or the developer if the contract says so, before you pay anyone to cover it.
• Do not hack a bathroom floor to “save” a later leak. HDB’s three-year restriction exists so the flat below stays dry.
• If the year has not ended, send the defect to HDB before you pay us to hide it. Covering a developer item is how the closing inspection fails.

WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630.

Use these rows after the HDB year, or after HDB has said the item is not theirs. During the year, the right price is often zero because the item is still HDB’s.

Anything not in that table is quote on inspection.

WhatsApp the photos to +65 8561 0630. The reply uses a band already printed on HomeySG, or it says quote on inspection.

• BTO key-collection checklist
• Price a defect PDF
• Report before you renovate
• Hairline cracks
• Ceiling leaks