WATER SEEPAGE IN HDB FLATS

Mr Yeo Toon Chia asked the Minister for National Development, in view of the many complaints from residents regarding water seepage from external walls of Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, resulting in damage to household furnishings and fixtures, whether the HDB will take measures to rectify the construction and design defects.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: In general, water seepage from the external wall of HDB apartment blocks occurs when the facing brick walls are subject to a free fall of rainwater from the roof. The facing brick walls are built with bricks bonded together with cement mortar at the joints. Over time, the cement mortar joints will deteriorate. Water will seep through these joints if they are not repaired.

It is the Town Councils_ building maintenance function to carry out repairs to the cement mortar joints of external walls of apartment blocks. Besides cyclical maintenance, Town Councils need to carry out ad-hoc repairs to external wall seepage when the need arises. To minimise ad-hoc repairs, Town Councils can carry out more thorough repairs or special treatment during their Repairs and Redecoration (R&R) programme, depending on the condition and age of the buildings.

HDB has implemented measures to reduce the incidence of water seepage from external walls of its apartment blocks. For new projects tendered from June 1995 onwards, HDB has installed rainwater downpipes to discharge the rainwater from the roof direct to the apron drains. HDB will also increasingly introduce cast-in-situ reinforced concrete walls and precast panels in lieu of facing brick walls, especially for the gable-end walls.

If water seepage through the external walls occurs in newer buildings that are less than three years old, HDB is prepared to arrange with the original contractors to repair the water seepage.