HDB renovation rules: permits, approved contractors and what’s not allowed

HDB controls renovation in its flats more closely than any other kind of home in Singapore. Three rules matter most: use a contractor from HDB’s directory, get a permit before the works that need one, and don’t touch what HDB doesn’t allow at all.

Use a contractor from HDB’s directory

The Housing & Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006 require you to hire contractors only from HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors (DRC). That applies to every job in the flat, including works that don’t need a permit. You can search the directory, and the list of BCA Approved Window Contractors, with HDB’s e-service.

Being on the directory isn’t a seal of quality: HDB says it doesn’t endorse or guarantee their work. It tells you who may work in your flat. How to judge the rest is in checking a contractor before you sign.

You remain responsible for the renovation. HDB says the owner has to make sure the contractor follows its guidelines, and the owner can be prosecuted for unauthorised work.

How the permit works

1. You authorise your contractor. They submit the application online through HDB’s APEX system, with an acknowledgement form you’ve signed. HDB sends you an SMS when it receives the application.
2. A floor plan goes in with it, marked with the proposed works. You can use the plan from your sales brochure.
3. For a new flat, open your utilities account first. HDB won’t grant a permit until the flat has a water and electricity account with SP Services.
4. Start only once you have the permit. You can check it with HDB’s Check Renovation Permit e-service.
5. Finish within the permit period. HDB gives 3 months from the permit date for flats in new blocks, 1 month in existing blocks, and 2 weeks for window works alone.
6. Any change needs a new application, whether you add works or change contractor.

Other trades have their own licensing. HDB lists a PUB Licensed Plumber for water and sanitary works, a Licensed Gas Service Worker (or City Energy) for gas pipes, and an EMA-licensed electrical worker for wiring. Who’s allowed to do electrical, gas, plumbing and window work has the details.

What needs a permit, and what doesn’t

These examples come from HDB’s renovation guidelines. Works that don’t need a permit must still follow HDB’s rules, or they count as unauthorised. Anything not covered in the guidelines, or with different measurements, needs HDB’s approval before it starts.

What HDB doesn’t allow at all

HDB lists works it won’t approve because they overload the structure, change the look of the block, create a nuisance or fire risk, or intrude into public space. They include:

• hacking or removing structural parts: reinforced concrete walls, columns, beams, slabs, and the staircase in an executive maisonette;
• loading the floor with more than 150kg per square metre;
• plastering ceilings;
• partitions made of combustible or toxic materials, such as plywood, plastics or asbestos;
• raising the floor with concrete by more than 50mm, including the finishes;
• painting outside the flat, such as common corridor walls and ceilings, or fixing awnings or other fixtures outside it;
• moving or enlarging the refuse chute opening;
• enclosing the aircon ledge or putting grilles on it, and enclosing open balconies or loft terraces;
• casement windows on a façade that faces the common corridor.

New flats: the 3-year bathroom rule

In a newly built flat, the bathroom and toilet floor and wall finishes HDB laid can’t be replaced for 3 years from the date the block was completed. Note that HDB counts from the block’s completion, not from your key collection. The rule protects the waterproofing membrane under the tiles. During those 3 years you can still lay new floor tiles over the old ones using adhesive.

After the 3 years, replacing bathroom floor finishes needs a permit, a waterproofing screed and a membrane turned up at least 150mm against the walls, and you and your contractor must do a water test when it’s done. More in the bathroom guide.

If the rules are broken

• Hiring a contractor who isn’t on the directory, or breaking the renovation rules, can lead to a fine of up to S$5,000 on conviction, for owners and contractors alike.
• Work done without a required permit is unauthorised. HDB can tell you to reinstate the flat to its original condition, and if it lets the work stay, you pay an administrative fee.
• HDB can revoke a permit if its guidelines aren’t followed.

Before the works start, you also have to give your neighbours written notice and keep to HDB’s working hours: see renovation working hours and your neighbours.

SpaceToReno is run by the team behind Junk to Clear, which also handles renovations. Where a guide links to Junk to Clear or a sister site, it’s because that step calls for the service, and the sentence says so. Enquiries sent through the form go to the same team. How SpaceToReno works