Oral answer by Ministry of National Development on the implementation of HDB policy on conducting annual inspections of rental flats

Nov 9, 2022

Ms Denise Phua Lay Peng: To ask the Minister for National Development whether an update can be provided on the implementation of HDB’s policy on conducting periodic inspections on a yearly basis to proactively identify rental flats which require repairs or maintenance.

Answer:

          HDB visits occupied rental flats annually to proactively identify those that require repairs or maintenance. However, when COVID-19 Safe Management Measures (SMMs) were imposed, HDB had to suspend this practice, and physical inspections were conducted in response to tenants’ feedback.

2.       As the SMMs were progressively lifted, HDB has been working to resume periodic inspections, and is reviewing the approach to prioritise inspections based on the age of the flat and the profile of tenants. We will share more details on the revised approach when ready. Tenants can continue to alert HDB to repair or maintenance issues. HDB will attend to these requests promptly, and the cost of repairs is almost always borne fully by HDB.

3.       Besides regular maintenance, rental flats undergo upgrading similar to sold flats, as part of programmes such as the Lift Upgrading Programme and the Home Improvement Programme. In addition, there have been specific enhancement programmes for rental flats, such as the Lift Improvement and Facilities Enhancement for the elderly (Project LIFE).