Checking a new BTO flat for defects

These are from HDB’s Rectification of Defects in New Flats. Some minor defects can also be put right after you have moved in, HDB says, if living conditions will not be affected.

HDB’s MyNiceHome guide, How to Move Into Your HDB Flat, says it is easy to check for defects on your own, and gives two tips:

• Go through each space systematically. Label each defect with painter’s tape or a sticky note, and write it down in your list of defects.
• Slight variations in the colour of floor tiles or timber flooring, or in the width of the tile grouting, are normal. They come from the materials and from work done by hand, and HDB does not consider them defects.

HDB does not publish an item-by-item list of what to inspect, so this page does not invent one. What it does describe is what a new flat comes with, which is a fair list of things to look at and try:

• Keys: they come in your Welcome Kit. Try each one.
• Floors: glazed porcelain tiles in the kitchen and bathrooms; vinyl strip flooring with uPVC skirting elsewhere, if you opted for floor finishes when you booked.
• Internal doors and frames: uPVC, with bi-fold doors at the toilets. Open and close each one.
• Internal partition walls: drywall. A set of sample anchors is left in the household shelter.
• Kitchen window: the top-hung window between kitchen and service yard has a restrictor that limits its swing.
• Home Fire Alarm Device: press the Test/Reset button. If it is working, the light blinks and the alarm sounds; press again to silence it.
• Sanitary fittings: taps and dual-flush cisterns. Run and flush each one.
• Household shelter door: steel, heavy, and stiffer to lock than other doors because of its airtight seal. That is how it is meant to be, and it must never be removed or tampered with.

1. Scan the QR code in your Welcome Kit, or on the notice pasted on your kitchen wall, and submit a rectification request.
2. Or go to the temporary Building Service Centre within walking distance of the block. Its details are in the Welcome Kit.
3. The Building Service Centre arranges a joint inspection with you to verify the items, then assigns contractors to put them right.
4. When the work is done, it arranges a closing inspection with you.

HDB does not recommend handing your flat keys to the contractor for the rectification work, for security. Bring a lock to secure the flat.

• Check and report first, renovate second. The report has to be in before renovation work begins.
• Tell the Building Service Centre your renovation dates early, so the repairs can be scheduled around them.
• Have your contractor cover the doors and their handles with corrugated cardboard or bubble wrap, and the fire alarm device with a plastic sheet, before work starts. Take the sheet off as soon as the work is done.
• The waiting is useful time: the renovation permit can be applied for and the layout settled while the repairs are made. The rest of the first weeks is in the key collection checklist.

Once the Defects Liability Period has passed, repairs are yours to arrange. Under the Agreement for Lease, HDB says, homeowners are responsible for keeping the fittings and fixtures in their flats in good condition. You may engage your own contractor, and can approach your HDB Branch if you need further help.

• HDB, Rectification of Defects in New Flats · read 12 October 2026
• MyNiceHome (HDB), How to Move Into Your HDB Flat, updated 27 July 2026 · read 12 October 2026

Rules and fees change. The linked page is the authority; if it differs from this one, go by it, and tell us.