Inspection Regime for HDB Facades

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for National Development while awaiting for the mandatory building facade inspection regime to be rolled out (a) whether interim inspections can be conducted on HDB facades with the same installation methods as those that fell off; and (b) whether the inspection regime can also be extended to newly built BTO HDB flats.

In the design and construction of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, HDB ensures that all its buildings, including the external facade features, are designed and installed in accordance with approved Codes of Practice, the Building Control Act and Regulations, as well as other statutory requirements. Inspections are carried out during construction to ensure that works are completed in compliance with the requirements. In the case of claddings and fixtures, these installations are usually designed and supervised by a Specialist Qualified Person, who is a Professional Engineer, and the plans must be approved by the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).

Once the buildings have obtained the Temporary Occupation Permit, building owners are required to ensure that the building exterior is maintained in a serviceable state under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act. For HDB estates, Town Councils conduct regular inspections on the building facades as they are responsible for the maintenance of common property. Where necessary, they will engage a Professional Engineer to follow up on the repairs required.

The Periodic Facade Inspection (PFI) regime aims to enable early detection of tell-tale signs of deteriorating facade elements. It adopts a risk-based approach to balance enhanced safety against increased costs for building owners. This is why the PFI regime is scoped to focus on buildings above 20 years old, and excludes private landed houses, temporary buildings and low-rise buildings.

Notwithstanding the PFI regime, should any facade be dislodged from buildings, BCA will carry out an independent investigation on the incident to verify the cause of dislodgement. For HDB projects, HDB will also appoint an independent consultant to carry out checks on the HDB blocks with similar facade features to ensure there are no safety concerns. This is done regardless of the age of the building.