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Man Who Had 9 Air-Conditioners in HDB Flat Moves Out Due to ‘Unhappiness’

2022-09-22 , 12:37 pm

For the sake of having a comfortable living environment after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Mr Huang, a retiree in his sixties, spent $13,000 to install nine air-conditioners in his four-room flat.

He installed five units in his living room, two in his master bedroom, and two more in the two guest bedrooms.

The air-conditioners were constantly running on a temperature of 17 °C.

While it sounds shiok for him, it was a nuisance to the neighbours who were living above and below him, because water kept condensing on their floors and ceiling.

The Past Complaints

In late August, Liu Zhiyun, a 57-year-old foodstuff supplier who lived in a unit in Block 258A Compassvale Road with his family, complained that the neighbour who recently moved in would constantly blast his air-conditioners.

As a result, water droplets started to condense on his floors and his walls were starting to get moldy.

Even though his wife, a homemaker, would mop the floor three times a day, the floor would still be damp and cold.

Mr Liu has complained about and tried negotiating with Mr Huang numerous times, but it was to no avail.

Mr Huang Has Moved Out

According to the interviewed residents, Mr Huang moved out a week ago (15 Sep).

Last month, Mr Liu was informed by the authorities that Mr Huang would be moving out in September, so he tolerated the situation for another month.

After all, Mr Huang had only rented the four-room flat for $3,800 per month.

Based on Mrs Liu’s understanding, Mr Huang will be moving to another HDB flat in Sengkang.

Moving Eight Air-Conditioners To His New Home

Although Mr Huang has agreed to move, he is not without his grievances.

He lamented that the neighbours above and below him have colluded together to get rid of him, even going as far as looking for reporters and the authorities to complain about his living arrangements.

This has made him very unhappy, so he has decided to move.

He emphasised that the authorities did not chase him out; rather, he was the one who decided to move away because he was unhappy.

The retiree also revealed that he has moved to the highest floor of an apartment building, and the monthly rent is $4,000.

He will be moving eight air-conditioners from his Compassvale residence to his new flat in Sengkang.

The Complaints From The Neighbour Downstairs

As it turns out, Mr Liu was not the only one with complaints.

Well, he was the one who was the most vocal about it, we can say that much at least.

Mr Su, a 53-year-old engineer, told reporters that many parts of his home were damp and moldy.

At the start, it was just the master bedroom toilet that was affected. He would wipe down the ceiling and walls once every two days, and even re-painted it twice.

Afterwards, the mold spread to the ceilings of the living room and his daughter’s bedroom.

Mr Su mentioned that he had gone upstairs to complain about the water droplets that formed due to the cold air.

The neighbours living above Mr Huang (Mr Liu) confronted him about the air-conditioners too. Despite promising to increase the temperature of the air-conditioner, the situation did not turn for the better.

“Now that he has moved away, this matter can finally end,” Mr Su said, adding that he needs to spend $500 to $600 to paint his ceilings again.

Mr Su feels that the landlord of the flat should take up the responsibility too.

Just because they were collecting the rent does not mean that they can ignore the opinions of the neighbours.

Mr Huang: Expected Loss of $20,000

Mr Huang said that the relocation of his home is not completed yet.

Besides having to pay the deposit and intermediary fees, he also needs to find someone to dismantle and install the air-conditioning.

He estimates that he will be spending around $20,000, but he emphasised that he did not mind losing tens of thousands of dollars.

Furthermore, because he is suddenly moving out of the Compassvale flat, he can’t take back the two-month deposit and the intermediary fees. His monthly rent used to be $3,800.

Even though he has spent (and arguably wasted) a lot of money, Mr Huang shrugged it off, saying that all is good so long as he gets to live comfortably.

It’s his money, so more power to him, I guess.