Maintenance of Air-conditioner Ledges of HDB Blocks

Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the rationale for air-conditioner ledges of HDB blocks with a Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) issued on or before 30 April 2004 to be maintained by the common vendors and for those with TOP on or after 1 May 2004 to be maintained by the flat owner; (b) whether any study has been done to determine if flat owners have been maintaining these ledges as required; (c) whether the maintenance of these ledges can be standardised regardless of the year of TOP; and (d) if not, why not.

For the Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats launched for sale from May 2004, air-conditioner ledges are included as part of the strata area of the flats and belong to flat owners. This facilitates general cleaning and maintenance of the air-conditioner ledges by flat owners, as the ledges are accessible to them. It is not possible to retrospectively apply this treatment to flats launched for sale before May 2004.

HDB does not monitor how regular the flat owners have been maintaining their air-conditioner ledges. However, where necessary, HDB carries out enforcement checks on potential killer-litter objects that may be on these ledges.