Demand for defect inspection rising as more housing projects being completed after Covid-19 delays

SINGAPORE – Defect inspection firms say they are experiencing a surge in demand for their services as many Housing Board projects have been completed over the past year after Covid-19 pandemic-related delays.

There is also greater awareness among home owners of the need for professional checks.

Demand is up by around 20 per cent in 2023 from the same period the previous year, said Mr Jay Ng of Uncle Defect.

“On average, we now perform inspections on four homes each day, two to three times a week,” he said.

“We are definitely getting more requests, but there are also more firms in the market, so that demand is being spread around.”

Ark Interior Defects Inspection technical director Gary Koh said demand for his firm’s services has increased 15 to 20 per cent over the first half of 2023 from the same period in 2022.

Mr Koh said: “More informed home owners are finding it normal to engage defect inspectors to inspect their home.”

Absolute Inspection director Tan Wee Kwang said: “This rise in demand is largely fuelled by a surge in project completions post-pandemic, as well as greater awareness among new home owners for defect inspection services.”

According to Mr Tan, the frequency and type of defects found in Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, condominiums and landed houses are largely similar.

“I reckon that this is because the workforce behind the construction of BTO flats is similar to that of other property types, which all follow the same regulations and codes of practice,” he said.

Mr Koh said there are at least nine firms in Singapore offering defect inspection services for homes.

Mr Kishen Raj, who came to know about defect inspection services after reading about them online, paid around $300 for an inspection, which took place on Wednesday, a week after he had collected his keys on May 30.

Mr Kishen, an engineer, and his wife, Ms Michelle Lee, both 31, told The Straits Times that they were worried that the developer might have rushed to meet the completion deadline as their five-room unit in Tampines had already been delayed for nine months.

He said: “We had helped my wife’s cousin inspect the home and during that process, I realised that our checks were not thorough and we were relying on what our naked eye was able to spot.

“(The inspectors) were using proper equipment to test the power points and check for hollow tiles. They also had the experience to look out for defects in hidden areas and they knew what to look out for.”

The checks focus on workmanship defects, which can range from minor issues, such as a missing screw or misaligned door, to more serious problems, such as water seepage or choked pipes, said Mr Tan, who has been in the industry for 10 years.

Mr Ng has noticed more defects in units but these were mostly cosmetic, such as stains on the wall or small chips on fixtures.

“These minor defects are normally caused by workers who are rushing and bump their equipment into a wall corner or who applied paint too quickly near a light switch.”

He added: “I’ve encountered serious defects such as a cracked window pane, but these are very rare.”

Defect inspection service providers told ST that the five most common issues found in BTO flats are painting defects, shrinkage cracks, misalignment of door or window panels, misaligned and loose electrical points, and debris in floor traps and floor wastes.

Mr Ng said: “Even if they are going to do extensive renovations, home owners will still be interested in performing an inspection so that they can have added peace of mind when dealing with an interior designer or contractor they engage later on.”

In response to queries from ST, HDB said that in the three-year period from 2020 till 2022, its projects received a Building and Construction Authority Construction Quality Assessment System score of 95, an improvement over the score of 92 from the previous three-year period of 2017 to 2019.

“HDB provides new flat owners with a one-year defects liability period, during which imperfections or flaws and defects can be reported for the contractor to carry out the necessary repairs.

“More than 90 per cent of all imperfections and defects reported were successfully rectified within 14 working days,” a spokesman for HDB said.

Another home owner, who wanted to be identified only as Mr Liu, said that engaging inspectors was about being safe rather than sorry later.

Mr Liu paid around $400 for an inspection service, which took between 2½ and three hours to complete.

He said: “I’ve seen terrible work in some of my neighbours’ homes... It is better to get it (the home) inspected carefully and rectify any issue that might surface and cause a bigger problem in the future.”