'At least 40 holes': Woman complains about 'unacceptable' workmanship and defects in new Sengkang BTO flat

She and her family were eagerly awaiting the day they could collect their keys to their flat at Rivervale Shores in Sengkang.

However, what greeted them when they first stepped into their brand new Build-to-Order (BTO) unit wasn't what they expected.

In a video posted to the Complaint Singapore Facebook page on June 28, user Jess Choo wrote about the "unacceptable" condition of the four-room unit.

"HDB you should send someone to check before key collection. How can I accept this. This is unacceptable," wrote Choo in her post, which has since garnered over 75 comments.

Highlighting the poor workmanship and finishing such as dented doors, holes in walls and imbalanced tiles, Choo pointed that the condition of the balcony was the worst.

In the video, she showed paint that was either mottled or flaking, holes in the wall and between the tiles, and the poor design of the drainage outlet.

Several netizens agreed that the unit did not appear to be ready for handover.

Inviting reporters from 8world into the flat, Choo shared that she and her two younger daughters are staying in a rental flat, while her oldest daughter stays with a relative.

As the rental flat is too small to fit all of them, her oldest daughter applied for the BTO seven years ago in hopes of "upgrading" to a bigger unit, 8world reported.

However, Choo shared that they were disappointed by the multiple defects found in the new flat.

"The walls and joints between the walls have many little holes, at least 40 of them. Ants can easily get into the house this way," said Choo.

She pointed out that there are cracks on the bedroom door as well as the front gate. Choo also discovered that one of the window hinges is rusty and is worried that she would be held responsible if the entire window pane were to fall from the unit.

Choo added, upon receiving their feedback, two HDB inspectors, a contractor and two foreign workers inspected the unit on July 3 and informed that the problems would be resolved within two weeks.

As a result, however, the family's renovation plans have had to be put on hold.

Choo shared that renovations will only begin in October, so as to avoid the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar which is traditionally seen as inauspicious.

Choo told 8world that the family will continue to stay in the rental flat for the time being.

"We can only continue to bear with the tight squeeze for now in the rental flat, we'll see if the situation improves in two weeks."

In response to 8world's queries, HDB stated that they have verified with the owner on the areas that need to be repaired.

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"We observed that the paint on the balcony had peeled off and the floor of the balcony had paint stains. This could be due to rain washing off paint which had not fully dried following the contractor's last round of inspections," they explained.

The spokesperson stated the other defects highlighted were relatively minor and that the homeowner has been assured that they would be fixed within two weeks. They added that as a general rule, all new HDB flat-owners will enjoy a one-year defect liability period, where contractors will be responsible for repairing defects in the unit.

According to a CNA report last year, a supervisor was jailed for taking $50,500 in bribes from subcontractors involved in the Rivervale Shores project.

However, CNA stated that investigations "did not disclose any defect or compromise in the quality of the work performed by the bribe-giving subcontractors in the Rivervale project", which was still underway when the case made the headlines in Dec 2022.

The court also heard that "none of the involved subcontractors' work pertained to safety-related issues in the project". 

ALSO READ: Couple finds numerous cracks and defects in their 4-room BTO

candicecai@asiaone.com