No surge in seepage cases during monsoon season, says HDB (2025)

The Housing Board assisted with 859 cases of complex water seepage in 2024, including those from external walls or the flat above, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann.

During the monsoon season in March, HDB did not observe a surge in water seepage cases, she told Parliament on April 8.

However, she noted that "HDB has received feedback from some town councils that the number of external water seepage cases typically increases during the monsoon season".

Ms Sim was responding to questions from Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon GRC) and Mr Liang Eng Hwa (Bukit Panjang), who asked for the number of water seepage cases and how such cases would get resolved.

Pointing out that town councils are responsible for the maintenance of common property in HDB estates, Ms Sim said residents who encounter water seepage from external walls in their flat typically report it to their town council.

If residents report such cases to HDB, the board will refer these cases to the respective town council to follow up.

"HDB will continue to support town councils in resolving these cases," she added.

In complex cases where water seeps in from external walls, HDB's repair management team will help the town council with inspections and technical advice, so that the latter can identify root causes and carry out repairs, Ms Sim said.

This is typically done within one week after the town council approaches HDB, depending on the availability of the flat owner and town council staff.

Ms Sim said it is important for town councils to build up expertise in dealing with external wall seepage, and HDB has been conducting regular training for town councils.

While flat owners are responsible for the maintenance of the interior of their flats, HDB helps them to resolve ceiling leaks through the Goodwill Repair Assistance scheme, she added.

Under the scheme, HDB pays 50 per cent of the repair cost for a ceiling leak, and the remaining 50 per cent is shared equally between the upper- and lower-floor flat owners.

HDB is working with industry partners and research institutes to develop better ways to address maintenance issues, especially those in older estates, Ms Sim said.

For instance, scanning technology - similar to an X-ray machine - that can penetrate concrete to detect the causes of seepage is currently being trialled on 70 flats across Singapore.

This will allow inspection teams to trace the root cause of the seepage.

HDB will assess if the scanning technology can be scaled up for widespread use and will share more details on its plan to do so if the trial is successful, Ms Sim said.

Ms Tan also asked if HDB engineers, who provide advice to town councils, have a standard operating procedure and timeline for turnaround, noting that residents often have to wait many months for a resolution.

Ms Sim explained that diagnosing the cause of water seepage can take time, and the case may need to be transferred between the town council and HDB.

She added that HDB will try to move things along as quickly as possible.

Workers' Party MP Gerald Giam (Aljunied GRC) asked whether more funding could be provided to town councils to conduct re-roofing programmes more frequently, allowing water seepage issues to be pre-empted or resolved more comprehensively.

In response, Ms Sim said town councils have been able to conduct re-roofing work based on current government funding as well as service and conservancy charges.

"If there's a need to further increase funding, this is something we can take up separately, if the town councils have a specific request," she added.

WP chairwoman Sylvia Lim (Aljunied GRC) pointed out that some recent roof seepage cases that the town council has encountered appeared to be linked to HDB's solar panel installation. She asked if HDB will take action to minimise such issues.

Ms Sim said that in such cases, contractors that are responsible for installing the solar panels would work closely with the town council and HDB to resolve the issue.