BTO renovation planner

How to use this BTO renovation timeline planner

Enter the date you collected your keys and the planner works out the deadlines that follow from it. Add your permit date and planned start date to see two more. It is not a full renovation schedule planner: it gives the fixed dates you and your contractor plan around.

Inputs: key date and permit date

Only the key collection date is required.

• Key collection date. Choose it in the date picker.
• Renovation permit date (optional). The date HDB grants your renovation permit. The planner then shows your completion deadline.
• Planned start date of works (optional). The planner then shows the latest date to notify your neighbours.

Result: your key dates and HDB hours

You get a dated list, reminders without dates and a box with HDB's work hours.

Dated deadlines

Report defects by. Your key collection date plus 1 calendar month. HDB asks you to report items "within 1 month of key collection and before your renovation works begin", which saves investigating whether a defect came from construction or from renovation. If your works start sooner, report before they begin.

To check your flat, MyNiceHome suggests checking each space systematically and labelling defects with painter's tape or sticky notes. It says slight colour variations in tiles or grout width are not defects.

DLP ends. Your key collection date plus 1 calendar year. HDB covers all newly completed flats with a 1-year DLP from key collection. Read more about the defects liability period.

Notify neighbours by. Your planned start date minus 5 days. HDB asks you to inform neighbours within a radius of 2 units with a written notice at least 5 days before renovations begin.

Complete approved works by. Your permit date plus 3 calendar months. HDB says approved renovations in newly completed blocks must be completed within 3 months of the permit date.

Aircon installation report. HDB's aircon guidelines ask you to submit an installation report to the HDB Branch within 14 days after installation. Count the 14 days from your installation day.

Reminders before you start

• Open a utilities account. For a new flat, HDB requires a utilities account with SP Services before it grants a renovation permit. SP Group asks you to allow 7 business days lead time after opening the account.
• Engage a DRC contractor. For all renovations, HDB requires a contractor from its Directory of Renovation Contractors (DRC), who submits the permit application for you.
• Wait for the permit. Works that need a permit start only after it is granted.

HDB work hours

The hours box repeats HDB's renovation hours:

• General renovation: 9am to 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays.
• Noisy works, such as demolishing walls, cutting tiles and heavy and excessive drilling: 9am to 5pm on weekdays only, and not on the eves of New Year's Day, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa and Christmas Day.
• No renovation on Sundays or public holidays.
• DIY works: 7am to 10.30pm.

How the calculation works (method and sources)

The planner does date arithmetic only. It adds 1 calendar month and 1 calendar year to your key collection date, subtracts 5 days from your planned start date and adds 3 calendar months to your permit date. Each rule is quoted from HDB's pages on defects in new flats and renovations. Our guides to HDB renovation permits and HDB renovation hours go into more detail.

There is no week-by-week schedule. No official source gives how long each trade takes, so the planner shows deadlines rather than guessing at durations. Ask your contractor how long each stage will take.

Limits of this planner

• Rules for your block may differ. Project-specific guidelines are shown on MyHDBPage.
• It stores nothing. The planner does not book anything, store your dates or check permits.
• The completion window depends on the works. The 3-month window is for newly completed blocks. HDB gives existing blocks 1 month and window works only 2 weeks.

After the dates: plan the trades

The planner ends with a common order of trades, labelled "common order, agree with your contractor", with who must do each regulated part. Settle the sequence with your contractor. HDB's permit page lists the licensed person needed for water and sanitary, gas, window and electrical works.

New wiring in an HDB flat runs in surface trunking, above a false ceiling or behind carpentry, so read about planning electrical points while the layout is still open. For aircon installation in a flat with a 30 amp main switch, HDB's aircon guidelines say a new 15A power point or 20A isolator for the aircon needs an electrical permit. When the works are done, book post-renovation cleaning.

Questions