Home owners lodged 807 complaints against renovation contractors in the first half of 2022, a 28 per cent increase from the same period last year.

Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) revealed that more than half of the complaints were due to poor workmanship and renovation contractors who fail to complete the projects on time.

The delays in project completion typically range between two and seven months.

The sudden closure of renovation companies caused customers to lose about S$57,940 in deposits.

According to the consumer watchdog, the manpower labour crunch involving foreign workers adversely affect the timeline of projects completions. The Malaysians workers in particular could not travel to Singapore for work due to Malaysia movement control order (MCO).

In addition to the global supply chain disruptions resulted in the shipment delay of raw materials used by construction contractors.

CASE advised customers to make progressive payments as each stage of the renovation is completed. 

Home owners can consider engaging CaseTrust accredited renovation contractors, in the worst scenario, the consumers’ deposits are safeguarded via a deposit performance bond.

Moreover, these renovation firms have to adhere to cost transparency and accountability for listed project deliverables.

It is important to read independent reviews and compare at least 3 quotations before you decide which renovation firm to hire for your BTO flat or resale house.