HDB Apologises After Single Mother’s FB Post About Her Rental Flat That Looks Like ‘a Horror Movie Scene’ Went Viral

Imagine this: you’re a single mother with a 16-month-old baby, and you recently lost your job.

Struggling to make ends meet, you empty out your savings to pay for a rental flat that you’ve waited more than a year for.

But when you finally get the key to your new home, you enter and see this: 

You’d be pretty unfortunate, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Felicia Ong.

Allocated Rental Flat Which Looked Liked a “Horror Movie Scene”

Ms Ong took to social media to air her grievances over the state of the rental flat she was allocated by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) recently.

In a Facebook post which is no longer available, Ms Ong said she applied for the flat when she was 7-month pregnant and had to wait 1.5 years to get it.

After losing her job in Jan this year, the single mother had to empty her savings to pay HDB S$438.50 on Thursday (15 Apr) so she could finally collect her keys.

“I have been appealing from HDB for a rental flat since i was 7 months pregnant and i waited for 1.5 years before I finally got my rental flat keys today. It was allocated to me so i am unable to choose which area whatsoever,” she said.

“Every single cent to me counts as i am currently unemployed and trying to make ends meet”.

But when she entered the flat, she was shocked at how dilapidated and poorly maintained it was.

In fact, Ms Ong said that the unit looked like a “horror movie scene”.

“Tiles on floor popping up and cracked, toilet door is broken, toilet bowl is broken and cracked. Basin is mouldy. Window grills are broken and rusty. The toilet has no lightbulb and there’s no space for me to even install a heater inside or shower my baby as its way too small. I can only go in and urine,” she said.

The Mandarin words mean “Not working; don’t use.”

She added that the wires were dangling from the ceiling and that the electrical power points were not functioning.

Understandably, she worried about her baby’s safety, and the fact that she had to fork out even more money for renovations.

“I am with a 16 months old baby my God. And HDB gave me a cracked and pop up floor tiles? What if the floor exploded and my baby gets injured? The wiring isn’t working at all, how can i shift in? Am i supposed to do renovations myself?” she said.

“Is this how the government is treating the less fortunate Singaporean now?” she added.

Fortunately for Ms Ong, her Facebook post went viral, and the authorities stood up and took notice.

HDB Apologises for Causing “Distress” to Single Mother

HDB responded in a Facebook post yesterday (16 Apr), saying it was aware of Ms Ong’s circulating post.

It said that it typically spruces up rental flats before allocating them to residents, repairing or replacing any spoilt items in the process.

“In this case, the keys to the rental flat were issued before HDB could arrange for the sprucing up of the flat,” it said.

“After we learnt about the tenant’s experience, we immediately contacted her and have apologised to her for the distress caused.”

“We have since also arranged a replacement flat for her, and she will be collecting the keys to the flat today. We will also be assisting her with the move to the replacement flat,” HDB added.

Yes, thankfully, this horror movie has a happy ending.

Featured Image: Facebook (Felicia Ong)