Neighbour’s Renovation Allegedly So Loud, a Mirror Dropped from the Wall

About 80 percent of Singapore’s population live in a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat.

While it is a great place to mingle with your neighbours from the various ethnicity groups and simply talk about everything under the sun, it is not the ideal place to live in when a construction or renovation project is taking place.

Recently, a 54-year-old woman who goes by the name of Ms Chen lodged a complain against her neighbours who have been renovating their house for the past two months.

Drilling Happened Daily

According to her interview with Shin Min Daily News, Ms Chen, who lives with her mother and niece in an HDB flat located around the Whompoa area, mentioned that her neighbour’s renovation works involved drilling every day ever since it started on 29 Sept 2022.

For those who understand the feeling of being awakened by the sound of drilling, just imagine that it is happening to you every day for two months. Yeah, you would probably go on a rampage.

Ms Chen described the experience as “unbearable” and “a nightmare”.

Disaster on the First Day

When the renovation start on the first day, Ms Chen said that it was a “Disaster” because it felt like an earthquake that was happening in her house.

She goes on to add that after she arrived home at around 3pm that day, she realised that the mirrors and various glass items around her house began to fell and was shattering everywhere, causing her to feel afraid and annoyed at the same time.

Ms Chen also mentions that she had to spend hours cleaning up the mess due to the shaking of her flat caused by the renovation work.

While cleaning up her house, Ms Chen cut herself due to the multiple glass shards that were present. This caused her to go past her breaking point and led to her lodging a complaint to the relevant authorities.

Notice Stated that Renovation Would Take about a Month

Upon checking with the relevant authorities, Ms Chen found out that the notice placed up by her upstairs neighbours indicated that the renovation would last about a month.

This would mean that the renovation work was due to end on 28 Oct.

In the interview with Shin Min Daily News, she says that because her neighbour’s renovation was legal, she could only endure the torment.

However, she goes on to mention that despite the workers usually ending work on time at 6 pm, there were days when they would extend their working hours to 8 pm, which is not beyond the permitted working hours.

Renovation Works Extended

Thinking that she would be free of her agony, Ms Chen soon realised that that was not going to be the case.

This is because even after 28 Oct, she realised that the renovation work was still going on.

Curious, Ms Chen went on to the OneService app and found out that the renovation work has been extended by a month and that it would only end on 27 Nov.

She goes on to mention that their air-conditioning unit has yet to be installed and wonders how long more she has to put up with this situation.

In response to queries by Shin Min Daily News, the contractor in charge of the renovation says that they have not received any feedback from the relevant authorities.

The spokesperson goes on to mention that the company is properly registered and has kept within the rules and regulations imposed on them.

HDB Renovation Rules and Construction Sites

If you are unsure of the rules regarding an HDB flat renovation, you can read this section to find out more.

In general, renovation work should only be carried out between the time of 9 am to 6 pm on weekdays and Saturdays only.

Under no circumstances should renovations occur on Sundays and public holidays.

To ensure that heavy renovation work such as demolishing of walls and excessive drilling does not disturb the other residents, the government has imposed a rule whereby “Noisy” renovations are only allowed to be carried out from 9 am to 5 pm on weekdays.

“Noisy” renovation work is not allowed on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays and the eve of major public holidays such as Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Puasa and Deepavali.

To report on incidences where the rules are breached, you can call HDB at 1800 225 5432. The line is open daily on weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm.

In addition to renovation work, many people face difficulties when a construction site is near them.

Do note that rules apply to those sites as well.

For construction sites, no work is allowed between 10 pm on Saturdays and 7 am on the following Monday for construction sites within 150 m of residences and other noise-sensitive places such as offices and educational institutions.

On public holidays, no construction work is allowed between 10.00 pm on the eve, and 7.00 am on the day after the holiday.

If one were to notice a breach of these rules, they can contact the National Environment Agency (NEA) via their call centre at 1800 225 5632 or their mobile application called myENV, which is available for both Apple and Android.

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Featured Image: Shin Min Daily News