[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/delayed-disrupted-dispirited-homeowners-in-an-age-of-uncertainty\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/delayed-disrupted-dispirited-homeowners-in-an-age-of-uncertainty\/","headline":"Delayed, disrupted, dispirited: Homeowners in an age of uncertainty","name":"Delayed, disrupted, dispirited: Homeowners in an age of uncertainty","description":"Since border control measures between Singapore and Malaysia were relaxed in April, over a million people have crossed the Causeway, particularly Malaysians making the long anticipated trip home to be with family.\u00a0 But to the consternation of many homeowners and buyers in Singapore, these Malaysian workers and tradesmen, who make up an essential part of […]","datePublished":"2022-04-30","dateModified":"2022-09-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/chester-tan\/#Person","name":"Chester Tan","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/chester-tan\/","identifier":325,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0dbcddee20fd5fe45477ebee46c048512a4d730227c828def18726d4651688b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c0dbcddee20fd5fe45477ebee46c048512a4d730227c828def18726d4651688b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cover-Image-1280x626px.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Cover-Image-1280x626px.jpeg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/delayed-disrupted-dispirited-homeowners-in-an-age-of-uncertainty\/","commentCount":"4","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/delayed-disrupted-dispirited-homeowners-in-an-age-of-uncertainty\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-06-10 19:16:23","description":"Can you be more specific about the content of your article? 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These hold-ups have disrupted lives and derailed renovation plans, so it is no wonder many of the homebuyers are incensed.\u00a0Speaking to the media, the homebuyers of the three delayed housing projects say their biggest concern is that no assurance can be made that there will not be future delays.Despite the couple\u2019s disappointment with the delay, account manager and new Woodleigh Hillside homeowner Rachel Lee, 30, says she is more upset that the HDB only informed them of the delay months before the stipulated completion date.\u201cWe feel that HDB could have notified us earlier, especially since construction delays can be foreseen with reasonable project management. It feels like we have no choice but to accept it now,\u201d Ms Lee says.A photo of the Woodleigh Hillside BTO project taken by a netizen, uploaded onto btohq.com on 11 April 2022. (Photo source: BTOHQ.com)\u201cThere had been a lot of excitement around our renovation planning. But with the timeline pushed back, we have had to put everything on hold. My kid\u2019s preschool enrolment plans have also been affected,\u201d she adds.While Ms Lee and her husband are helplessly stuck in a limbo, she points out that it could have been worse.\u00a0\u201cSome of my neighbours\u2019 flats have been delayed for an even longer period. They were enraged when they heard it. They felt it was incredibly unfair, and HDB\u2019s responses left much to be desired,\u201d she says.\u00a0Another new Woodleigh Hillside homeowner Joelle Lo, who has had her move-in delayed until next year, says she wishes HDB \u201cwould take more responsibility\u201d.\u201cAll they did was send us an email informing us about the delay and apologising. How does that help people like us who now have to drastically change our lives,\u201d Ms Lo asks.Ms Lee shares her sentiments. \u201cAll they said was that it was due to supply chain disruptions and that they will monitor the situation closely,\u201d she adds.\u201cAnd when I responded with a request for compensation, I was told by HDB that that would only be possible if the project was still incomplete by the end of the lease agreement in June 2023,\u201d Ms Lo says.\u201cI\u2019ve told all my friends not to get a BTO. With all these uncertainties and no accountability, it is simply not worth it anymore. We would give up our flat if the resale market wasn\u2019t at an all-time high right now,\u201d she adds.\u201cWe feel that HDB could have notified us earlier, especially since construction delays can be foreseen with reasonable project management. …\u00a0There had been a lot of excitement around our renovation planning. But with the timeline pushed back, we have had to put everything on hold. My kid\u2019s preschool enrollment plans have also been affected.” \u2014 RACHEL LEE, 30, WOODLEIGH HILLSIDE HOMEOWNER\u00a0 \u00a0 While both Ms Lo and Ms Lee may have been given the short end of the stick,\u00a0 the experiences of home buyers dealing with delays vary.\u00a0One new homeowner, who wants to be known only as Ms Tan, says she actually anticipated delays to her projects and was given 15 months\u2019 notice to make alternative plans. She is currently waiting for her flat in Punggol Point Woods.\u201cIt was reasonable. Foreign workers were in lockdown, the borders were shut,\u201d she says, adding that she would not want HDB to rush the completion of the project and “end up with excessive structural defects\u201d. \u201cI think we are just unfortunate to live in these times,\u201d Ms Tan says.\u00a0A perpetual crunchIn the related home renovation industry, while homeowners had initially assumed that with the relaxing of border control measures, there would be an influx of tradesmen and contractors, interior designers are witnessing the opposite happen.\u00a0Interior designer at MET Interior Shawn Ng sees \u201chelp wanted\u201d signs whenever he makes regular trips to his contractors\u2019 workshops and factories \u2014 something he has not seen in his years with the company.\u00a0\u201cThe borders opening up has meant less workers, not more. And with the backlog of jobs due to the pent-up demand resulting from the lockdowns and border closures coming together, it is no wonder prices, even taxes, have shot up,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u00a0A street in Defu Industrial Park (Photo courtesy of Chester Tan)As a result of the industry\u2019s dire supply issues, firms such as MET Interior, where Mr Ng works, have had to adapt quickly and find workarounds to provide the same quality of service their clients are used to. He says that while the company has long stuck to its \u201cverified lists\u201d of reliable contractors, it had to \u201cbe more flexible\u201d.\u201cFor cases where the client set a strict deadline and cannot accept delays, we have had to source for contractors beyond our verified list,\u201d he says. \u201cBut in doing so, we have also become more meticulous in our assessment of workmanship. And so far, there were no complaints.\u201d\u00a0While Mr Ng and his team managed to keep their clients happy, other homebuyers have not been as lucky. According to the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE), the industry received the second highest number of complaints in the first half of 2021, just a few grievances behind the beauty industry.Almost half were from consumers dissatisfied with the quality of the renovation works, while a third of the complaints were about contractors failing to complete projects on time.CASE says that the increase in the number of complaints is likely due to a prolonged shortage of manpower and raw materials arising from the Covid-19 pandemic restrictions.Having waited for the renovation of his flat to be completed since October last year, Mr Chris Lim believes his renovation journey, marred by missteps and disappointments, has opened his eyes to the cracks within the industry.Mr Lim says his October 2021 contract with local interior design firm Interior Times initially promised a completion date of December 2021.\u201cThe interior designer I signed with subcontracted my job to another interior design firm as soon as he closed the deal. This second firm then split the work among a group of freelance tradesmen and contractors. Because the handover process was so terrible, nothing went according to plan, and I still haven\u2019t moved into my home,\u201d he says.Mr Lim adds that it is not uncommon these days for a single interior designer to have over 50 projects under his purview at any one time.\u00a0No light at the end of the tunnelApart from issues faced by eager new homebuyers, the challenges have also affected a group of people who have not received any attention from the media: Homeowners in older apartments and flats that are in need of repairs. Some have even taken to social media to vent their frustrations.Facebook posts of two HDB homeowners chronicling their experience seeking help from HDB for repair works c. (Photo source: Facebook)Having waited two years for the HDB to fix a ceiling leak, Ms Jocelyn Tan has seen that leaking area turn into spalling concrete. Initially put on a \u201cmonths-long\u201d waiting list, Ms Tan tried WhatsApp, emails, and phone calls to HDB but to no avail. She has since turned to social media platform Facebook to air her grievances.Another Facebook user who calls herself La Vi Ra writes that her aged parents have had a leak in the ceiling of their Hougang flat, and they had been put on a waiting list for five months since August 2021. During that period, the leak spread across the ceiling and damaged the elderly couple\u2019s kitchen cabinets, which she says was precisely what they had told HDB would happen. The damage, she claims, amounted to $3,000.Having reached out to the Member of Parliament of the area, La Vi Ra says that it was disappointing to receive a \u201cdevil may care\u201d reply that showed that the MP does not share her concerns.\u201cWe have absolutely no idea how to proceed from this point,\u201d her Facebook post reads.\u00a0\u00a0From the interviews and posts, homeowners and homebuyers share a single sentiment \u2014 that there is nothing they can do when dealing with the uncertainties of the renovation and construction sector and it has left them high and dry.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s just the way the industry is at the moment. It\u2019s not good, but it is what it is, and we just have to soldier on,\u201d Mr Ng sums.RELATED: How can local construction sector cope with the coming accelerated building boomJoin the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Delayed, disrupted, dispirited: Homeowners in an age of uncertainty","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/delayed-disrupted-dispirited-homeowners-in-an-age-of-uncertainty\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]