Water is Leaking From My Ceiling – How Do I Get it Fixed?

This article discusses processes in resolving ceiling leaks in HDB flats, and private non-landed properties such as apartments and condominiums

A ceiling leak can go on for months or even years when you have an uncooperative upstairs neighbour who won’t let anyone inside to fix it. This has become such a big problem in Singapore that Khaw Boon Wan, the then Minister of National Development, has been asking that the Housing Development Board (HDB) be given more power to enter flats to make repairs.

So, what are your options if you’re living with a ceiling leak? They differ depending on where you live:

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HDB Flats

If you live in an HDB flat, you and your upstairs neighbour are responsible for maintaining your flats and seeing that leaks are repaired. After telling HDB and/or the Town Council, HDB typically helps investigate where the leak is coming from to ensure that the needed repairs are carried out.

According to the lease and the HDB Residents’ Handbook, when a ceiling is leaking between floors the owners of the upper and lower floor flats are equally responsible for having repairs made of the party structure, which is the slab between the units. They need to hire a contractor to do the repairs and are to split the costs 50/50.

For residents occupying the uppermost floor of a building, a ceiling leak would be emanating from the roof. Since the roof is considered common property, the Town Council is responsible for maintaining it. Therefore, you should reach out to the Town Council to arrange for repairs.

HDB’s Goodwill Repair Assistance scheme provides help to HDB flat owners when their estate’s Grassroots Advisers refer them over. Under this scheme HDB will help by co-paying 50% of the repair bill, with the balance evenly split between the two flat owners. Therefore, each owner will only be required to pay 25% of the bill, not to exceed $300 per location of the repair job.

Should you have uncooperative neighbours, you may need to involve Grassroots leaders to mediate the situation. If that doesn’t work, HDB will have no choice but to take legal action.

Several months may pass before the situation is completely resolved since the leak will have to be investigated and repairs made. This depends on how complicated the problem turns out to be and whether the other flat owners cooperate.

Private Non-Landed Estates

If you live in a private non-landed estate, the law regarding building leaks is overseen by the Building Maintenance & Strata Management Act, which is under the purview of the Strata Titles Board.

This Act states that the owner of the upper floor flat is considered liable for the leak and therefore the repairs needed to fix it unless he/she can prove otherwise. So, the owners of the upper and lower units are required to investigate the situation together to figure out what’s causing the leak and get it repaired. Your condo’s Management Corporation should also be involved if needed.

If you cannot come to a satisfactory resolution, you can apply to the Strata Titles Board to get the problem resolved once and for all.

The STB is like a tribunal. Their job is to evaluate the situation objectively based on all the evidence and to mediate fairly between both parties. In the end, the STB will make their determination in the form of an order that the State Courts will enforce.

The application fee is $500, and this covers two sessions of mediation plus hearings carried out by industry professionals. In your application you can ask that the $500 fee be paid by the opposing party.

For further details, we recommend that you read the Strata Living in Singapore guide published by the Building & Construction Authority of Singapore.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you get the specific legal advice you need from an experienced attorney prior to taking any legal action. While we try our best to make sure that the information provided on our website is accurate, you take a risk by relying on it.

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