Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on external facade structural integrity of HDB flats

Nov 7, 2016

Mr Christopher de Souza: To ask the Minister for National Development whether there are periodical inspections of HDB buildings to ensure structural integrity especially in mature estates. 

Miss Cheng Li Hui: To ask the Minister for National Development: 
(a) what are the findings on the concrete sunbreaker in Tampines which gave way; 
(b) how many of such sunbreakers are there in Tampines and islandwide; 
(c) how many have been built by the same contractor and are of similar age; 
(d) what is the method of inspection to ensure their structural integrity over the years; and 
(e) what will be the safety action to be taken by the Ministry going forward. 

Dr Tan Wu Meng: To ask the Minister for National Development in light of the collapsed sun shield in Tampines: 
(a) whether HDB buildings in mature estates are monitored for structural integrity; 
(b) whether the designs and materials of older HDB buildings are routinely re-evaluated in light of contemporary data so as to provide an updated risk assessment for (i) internal structural failure and (ii) external facade structural failure; and 
(c) what other measures will HDB put in place to ensure safety of residents against similar incidents. 

Ms Tin Pei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development: 
(a) whether the Ministry will conduct an assessment on facade features and external structures of HDB blocks such as those in Circuit Road that were built in the 1960s and were part of the first batch of blocks under the Main Upgrading Programme implemented two decades ago; 
(b) how does the Ministry ascertain if the structural integrity of a housing block remains good and safe for residents; 
(c) how frequent are such checks done; and 
(d) whether the Ministry will offer upgrading for the blocks in Circuit Road. 

Combined Answer:

Madam Speaker, with your permission, I will take Questions 10 to 13 together. 

I understand and share the concerns raised by Members over the safety of residents in light of the Tampines sunbreaker and the Circuit Road cladding incidents. Investigations into these incidents are ongoing, and we await the appointed Professional Engineers’ full investigation reports, which would be ready in due course. I will not comment on the specifics of these cases. 

But more generally, the safety of buildings is of paramount importance. This includes not just structural safety, but also other building features such as façade fittings. 

Under the Building Control Act, we have the Periodic Structural Inspection, or PSI. This PSI regime is in place to check on buildings’ structural safety, covering elements such as beams and columns. The PSI regime ensures that buildings are regularly checked for structural defects, so that these can be rectified early to keep the buildings structurally safe for continued occupation. 

Building owners have to engage Professional Engineers (PEs) to conduct the PSI, every 10 years for residential buildings and every 5 years for other building types. During these inspections, the PEs are required to carry out checks and assessments on the building condition, and recommend rectifications if there are any structural defects detected. 

For HDB buildings, the maintenance of building facades come under the responsibility and purview of the Town Councils. What Town Councils do is to conduct regular visual inspections on the building facades. For example, they can do this at the same time as when they do their repainting works every seven years or so, and where necessary, the Town Councils should engage a Qualified Person to follow up on the repairs. For older blocks, HDB will also step in to support and supplement the work of the Town Councils. HDB will step in on its own to do more stringent inspections and checks of structural integrity and also audit inspections of external building facades. I must emphasise that this is on top of the regulatory requirements that are imposed on the Town Councils. HDB will do additional checks for the older HDB buildings. 

MND will continue to review and update our policies on building safety, especially in the area of building façade and inspection checks on external building facades. In our review, we will benchmark ourselves against other high-rise high-density cities to identify areas for improvement. Even as we do this, we would like to highlight that everyone has a role to play in ensuring a safe living environment. In this regard, we encourage residents to report any defects or potential issues to the relevant authorities. 

Ms Tin Pei Ling separately asked if MND would offer upgrading for the blocks at Circuit Road, where the falling cladding incident happened. The blocks in this precinct have already benefitted from the Main Upgrading Programme (MUP). 

HDB has, aside from upgrading schemes, implemented a co-payment scheme for Facade Finishes Repair with Town Councils. Under this co-payment scheme, HDB will pay 50% of the repair cost incurred by Town Councils to repair external facade finishes of HDB buildings. All Town Councils can make use of this scheme for their façade works.