SINGAPORE – Tengah resident Julie Tan had to delay renovating her new flat for more than half a month, as the centralised cooling system was not yet installed when she collected the keys to her five-room unit in November.
Ms Tan, 49, said she was shocked when SP Group, which manages the cooling system in Tengah town, told her that it was unable to complete the installation of the system in time.
She had approached the utilities firm at their customer service centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh on Nov 27, after collecting her keys that day, as she was wondering why she was not yet asked to pay for the installation.
“They said the installation would take another two to four weeks. We were hoping to move in before Chinese New Year, but it has to be delayed as we can start renovation only after it is installed,” the accounts executive told The Straits Times on Dec 13.
ST knows of at least seven Tengah households in one block in the Plantation Acres project that are affected.
In response to queries, SP and the Housing Board confirmed that the installation was incomplete for “a handful” of units, without specifying how many units or blocks were affected.
An SP spokesman said that HDB had an accelerated construction schedule to hand over units to residents following delays due to Covid-19. As a result, the company’s installation partner, Daikin, was unable to complete the installation of the fan coil units (FCUs) before the key collection date.
Plantation Acres, launched in May 2019, was initially slated for completion in the second half of 2022.
Asked why keys were given out before the installation was complete, an HDB spokeswoman said that although SP needed more time, HDB prioritised handing over keys to home owners by the committed completion date to allow them to move in as soon as possible. Therefore, it was unable to accommodate SP’s schedule, she added.
SP said an additional four weeks are needed for installation after key collection, for Daikin to install the units and work with SP to carry out testing and commissioning works to ensure the system performs according to operating standards. Usage charges will be waived during this time.
The SP spokesman added that affected customers were informed before their key collection.
“We understand this may impact customers’ plans and are working with Daikin to have the FCUs installed for these customers as soon as possible,” he said.
Although the installation of the cooling system in Ms Tan’s home was completed last week – about three weeks after she collected her keys – she has yet to receive the remote controls for them, she told ST on Dec 29.
Ms Tan said she was initially worried about the delay as she has to vacate her current home by March 8, having sold her flat earlier in December with a three months’ extension of stay. But she added that she is less anxious as renovation began last week.
“We should be able to move in after Chinese New Year. I just hope that the cooling system works well, because for now, we can only turn it on manually,” she said.