The first year after collecting the keys to a new HDB flat is not an ordinary year.
The home has entered occupation, but the construction project has not completely disappeared from the responsibility map.
HDB gives every newly completed flat a one-year Defects Liability Period, or DLP, starting from the date of key collection.
During that period, HDB follows up on qualifying items in the flat that require rectification.
Official HDB guidance: Rectification of Defects in New Flats.
For the practical inspection-and-rectification owner, see How HDB Defects Inspection and Rectification Work After Key Collection. For the full housing system, return to How HDB Works in Singapore.
This article reflects HDB guidance available on 4 September 2026.
Quick Answer
The HDB DLP lasts one year from the date you collect the keys to a newly completed flat.
HDB advises homeowners to report defects within one month of key collection and before renovation begins, because renovation can make it harder to determine whether a problem came from the original construction or from later works.
During the DLP, defects can be reported online or through the temporary Building Service Centre, where the usual workflow is:
KEY COLLECTION → INSPECT → REPORT → JOINT INSPECTION → CONTRACTOR RECTIFIES → CLOSING INSPECTION → DLP ENDS
After the one-year DLP, homeowners are generally responsible for maintaining and repairing the fittings and fixtures in their flats and can engage their own repair contractor, with the HDB Branch available for further assistance.
Wait, What? The DLP Is Not One Year to Delay Looking
The one-year period can create the wrong intuition.
A homeowner may think:
I have twelve months. I can inspect later.
HDB’s own advice is much earlier.
Report the items within one month of key collection and before renovation starts.
The DLP is the outer liability period.
The best inspection window is near the beginning.
Why the Clock Starts at Key Collection
Key collection is when the flat changes operational state.
Before that day, the unit is part of a construction and handover process.
After that day, the household controls the home, can begin preparing to move in and becomes responsible for the ordinary conditions of ownership.
The DLP follows that handover.
It gives the homeowner time to discover items that may not have been obvious during construction but become visible when the finished flat is examined closely or used.
The First Month Is the Cleanest Evidence Window
A newly handed-over flat begins with a relatively simple history.
HDB and its contractors built it.
The owner has not yet changed much.
That makes attribution easier.
Once renovation begins, the evidence becomes more complicated.
- tiles may be removed;
- walls may be altered;
- pipes may be changed;
- doors may be replaced;
- electrical points may be moved;
- waterproofing may be disturbed;
- fixtures may be discarded.
That is why HDB specifically advises reporting defects before renovation.
The DLP Is an Attribution System as Much as a Repair System
A defect claim ultimately asks two questions.
- What is wrong?
- Where did the problem come from?
The second question becomes essential once private renovation begins.
A cracked tile present on Day 1 is a different state from a cracked tile discovered after contractors have hacked the adjoining floor.
The visible symptom may look similar.
The responsibility path is not.
The Building Service Centre Is the Local Defect Interface
For newly completed precincts, HDB establishes a temporary Building Service Centre, or BSC, within walking distance where residents can submit rectification requests and coordinate follow-up.
Homeowners can also submit requests online through the process stated in the Welcome Kit.
The BSC exists because the early post-handover period produces a concentration of inspection, verification and contractor activity.
Instead of treating each defect as a distant administrative case, the system creates a temporary local interface near the new estate.
The Joint Inspection Establishes the Defect State
After a homeowner reports an item, HDB states that the BSC will arrange a joint inspection to verify the reported defect.
This is an important step.
A photograph can show a crack.
An inspection can determine its location, extent and whether the item belongs inside the rectification process.
The joint inspection converts a resident observation into a verified work item.
Different Contractors May Own Different Items
A new flat is built by many trades.
Doors.
Tiles.
Sanitary fittings.
Windows.
Electrical work.
Finishes.
The BSC assigns the relevant contractor or contractors to carry out rectification after verification.
This is another reason a clear defects list helps: the system can route each item to the trade that can actually fix it.
Rectification Usually Comes Before Renovation
Where practical, defects should be rectified before renovation work begins.
HDB states that it usually takes less than two weeks to complete repair, although actual time depends on the defect and work required.
If renovation cannot wait, HDB can in some cases rectify the defects during renovation if the works do not hinder each other, or afterwards.
The key is coordination.
The rectification contractor and renovation contractor should not unknowingly destroy each other’s work.
Closing Inspection Ends the Individual Work Item
After rectification is completed, the BSC arranges a closing inspection with the homeowner.
This creates a clean end state.
The original defect was reported.
It was verified.
Work was carried out.
The result is checked.
A maintenance system becomes much more reliable when it closes cases rather than merely dispatching contractors.
Minor Defects Can Sometimes Wait Until After Move-In
Not every defect makes a flat uninhabitable.
HDB states that some minor items can be rectified after the household moves in if living conditions are not affected.
This is a practical priority rule.
The system does not need to delay occupation for every cosmetic item if repair can be completed safely later.
The DLP Does Not Mean Every Imperfection Is a Construction Defect
New homes are built objects, not manufactured phone screens.
Some variations may reflect ordinary material tolerances, appearance or workmanship standards rather than a failure requiring rectification.
The purpose of the joint inspection is therefore verification, not automatic acceptance of every complaint as a defect.
The DLP Also Does Not Freeze the Flat Against Wear
Once the household takes possession, it begins using the flat.
Doors are opened.
Floors are loaded.
Fixtures are used.
Renovation may begin.
The DLP is not a one-year promise that nothing can wear, be damaged or be altered by the owner.
Responsibility still follows cause.
After One Year, the Ownership State Becomes More Ordinary
After the DLP, HDB states that homeowners can engage their own repair contractors to rectify issues and approach the HDB Branch if further assistance is needed.
Under the Agreement for Lease, homeowners are responsible for keeping the fittings and fixtures in the flat in good condition.
The responsibility path has shifted:
NEW-FLAT HANDOVER SUPPORT → ONE-YEAR DLP → ORDINARY HOMEOWNER MAINTENANCE
Common Property Follows a Different Route
The DLP article is about items inside the newly completed flat.
Corridors, lifts, void decks, water tanks, public lighting and open spaces are common property managed by the Town Council.
The next article owns that boundary directly.
Existing maintenance owner: How HDB, Town Councils and Homeowners Divide Maintenance.
Failure Mode: Renovating Before Recording the Original Condition
The renovation team arrives immediately after key collection.
Tiles are covered.
Walls are painted.
Doors are replaced.
Then the owner discovers a problem and tries to prove it existed before the renovation.
This is precisely the ambiguity HDB’s early-reporting advice is designed to avoid.
Failure Mode: Treating the DLP End Date as the Inspection Date
A defect may require verification, access and contractor scheduling before rectification can be completed.
Waiting until the final days of the DLP removes useful buffer.
The better approach is to inspect early, live in the flat attentively and report new qualifying issues promptly.
Failure Mode: Confusing Renovation Damage With Handover Defect
A contractor drills through a concealed pipe.
A tile cracks during hacking.
A waterproofing membrane is damaged during replacement works.
Those are different causal states from defects present at handover.
The final article in this batch owns how renovation changes the responsibility boundary.
The Better First-Month Sequence
- Collect the keys.
- Inspect the flat systematically before renovation starts.
- Photograph and record reported items clearly.
- Submit defects promptly, ideally within HDB’s advised first month.
- Attend the joint inspection.
- Allow rectification before renovation where practical.
- Complete the closing inspection.
- Begin renovation with a much cleaner responsibility baseline.
Forward Play: Follow One Defect
The owner sees a defective fitting after key collection.
The item is reported before renovation.
The BSC verifies it.
The relevant contractor rectifies it.
The closing inspection confirms completion.
The defect disappears before it can become mixed with years of owner use and alteration.
Reverse Play: Start From a Homeowner Repair After Year Three
Why is the homeowner now arranging the contractor?
Because the one-year DLP ended long ago.
Why did HDB have a different role immediately after key collection?
Because the flat had just moved out of the construction and handover state.
The DLP is the bridge between those two responsibility worlds.
The Deeper Housing Principle
Every complex built product needs a handover boundary.
If construction responsibility ended the instant the key touched the owner’s hand, genuine latent handover defects would have nowhere sensible to go.
If construction responsibility lasted indefinitely, ordinary wear and homeowner alteration could be pushed backwards forever.
The DLP creates a bounded transition.
The Deepest Answer
The HDB Defects Liability Period works because a new home does not become an old home in one instant.
Key collection transfers possession.
The first-year DLP keeps a rectification path open for qualifying construction items.
Early reporting protects the evidence.
Joint inspection verifies the problem.
Closing inspection verifies the repair.
Then the one-year bridge ends and ordinary homeowner maintenance takes over.
Continue Through the HDB System
Return to How HDB Works in Singapore.
Practical inspection owner: How HDB Defects Inspection and Rectification Work After Key Collection.
Next: Unit Defect or Common-Property Defect? | How to Route an HDB Problem to the Right Responsible Party.