+ PRACTICAL · HDB
HDB defect submission: a step-by-step walkthrough.
HDB BTO buyers file their defect list with the BSC through HDB’s online rectification request, or in person at the Building Service Centre in their project. Here is the complete walkthrough, from finding the Welcome Kit QR code to tracking rectification once submitted.
How HDB takes your defect list
HDB’s channel for reporting defects in a new flat is the QR code in your Welcome Kit (or the same code on the notice pasted on your kitchen wall), which opens HDB’s online rectification request for your unit. You can also submit the request in person at the Building Service Centre (BSC) located in your precinct.
Both routes produce the same outcome: a defect list lodged with HDB, which the BSC uses to schedule the joint inspection with the project contractor.
HDB separately publishes a free MyHDB app, covering your personalised flat dashboard, your correspondence and letters from HDB, and a search across HDB e-Services. Worth having, but HDB does not name it as the defect-submission channel. Work from the Welcome Kit QR code.
Why submit online rather than at the counter
- Photographs go up with the entry from your phone, so the evidence travels with the description instead of arriving separately.
- You keep a record of what you sent and when, which is useful every time you follow up with the BSC.
- You can file from inside the unit, logging each item as you find it rather than transcribing notes afterwards.
If you prefer to do it in person, the BSC counter in your project takes the same request. Functionally the same; less convenient.
The walkthrough
Find your Welcome Kit and the QR code
Your HDB Welcome Kit is the folder of documents you received at key collection. Inside it is a QR code that opens HDB’s rectification request for your unit.
If you have mislaid the kit, the same QR code is on the notice pasted on your kitchen wall. Failing both, ask at the BSC counter in your project. Bring your IC for verification.
Scan the code and check where it lands
Scan with your phone’s camera. Before you type anything in, check the address bar reads an hdb.gov.sg domain. QR codes are an easy thing to tamper with on a noticeboard, and a defect list is not something to hand to a look-alike site.
The code is specific to your flat, so verify the project, block, and unit number shown are correct before continuing. Mistakes here route your defects to the wrong unit.
Add your first defect
Each defect goes in as its own entry. Whatever the form calls the fields, give it four things:
• Location: the room or area (Living, Master Bedroom, Common Bathroom, Kitchen, Service Yard, Household Shelter, Balcony, and so on).
• System: the defect category, e.g. architectural, tiling, plumbing, electrical, doors and windows, household shelter.
• Description: free-text. Be specific. “Hairline crack on north wall above door frame, approximately 200mm long” is more useful than “crack on wall”.
• Photograph: upload one or more photos from your camera roll, or take a fresh one there and then. Include a coin, ruler, or other scale reference where useful.
Continue room by room
A thorough BTO defect list is long. You can add every item in one session or come back over a few sittings within your one-month window.
The recommended order is room by room, top to bottom of each wall, then floor, then fittings. This mirrors the order your contractor will inspect, which makes the joint inspection conversation smoother.
Review before submitting
Go through the full list before you send it. Review each entry: location correct? system correct? photo attached? description specific? Fix anything that looks off now. Changing an entry after submission means going back through the BSC.
You should also count items per room. If your Living Room has 0 entries but you noticed paint runs and a tile alignment issue at the walkthrough, those got missed. Add them.
Submit
Submit and confirm. Screenshot the confirmation screen and any reference HDB gives you, then email it to yourself. Keep it on file; it is what you quote every time you communicate with the BSC.
From here the list sits with HDB until the BSC schedules the joint inspection.
Wait for the joint inspection appointment
BSC contacts you to arrange the joint inspection after you submit, using the contact details you gave on the form. The appointment is between you, a BSC officer, and the project contractor.
If you have not heard back after a couple of weeks, contact the BSC directly. Scheduling can run slower during peak handover periods.
Adding defects after initial submission
Within the one-month window, you can add further defects through the same online request, or by contacting the BSC.
Past the one-month mark, additions become harder. The joint inspection works from the items in your submission; defects you flag late are handled separately, and you fall back on your remaining 12-month Defect Liability Period (DLP) rather than the joint inspection.
Track rectification
After the joint inspection, BSC and the contractor work through each accepted defect, and you can follow progress with the BSC as items are completed.
Once all items are marked rectified, BSC schedules the closing inspection. This is your final chance to verify each fix is adequate before signing off.
• Submit in batches by room, not in one go. If your phone crashes or session times out, you lose only one room’s entries, not the whole submission.
• Use the “Description” field to anchor location precisely. “Living, north wall, 1.2m from corner, 1.5m from floor” is unambiguous; “Living wall crack” can land in the wrong place during rectification.
• Photograph each defect with two angles where possible: one wide showing context, one close showing the issue.
• Some defects only make sense on video (water flow on a drainage gradient, RCD trip behaviour). Put a still photo in the submission and bring the video to the joint inspection on your phone.
What to do if the online route will not work
- QR code will not scan: try the same code on the notice pasted on your kitchen wall, or ask the BSC counter in your project for help.
- Upload keeps failing: compress the photos before uploading, switch to a stronger Wi-Fi network, or close the page and start again.
- Submission button will not activate: usually a required field is missing on at least one defect entry. Work back through the list and find the incomplete one.
- Nothing is working: go to the BSC in your precinct. They take the same rectification request over the counter. Bring your IC and ask the BSC officer.
What the one-month window actually is
HDB’s guidance is to report items within one month of key collection and before your renovation works begin. That month is not the limit of your cover. Your full Defect Liability Period is 12 months from key collection, and you can still raise defects within that window. But the joint inspection is your strongest point to get everything rectified in one coordinated round, and it works from your initial submission. Defects raised after the one-month window get added to a slower, separate process.
If you are about to start renovation and your defect submission is still incomplete, our advice is firm: do not start renovation until your defect list is filed and the joint inspection has happened. Once renovation begins, the contractor can credibly attribute pre-existing defects to your renovator. See BTO key collection day for the broader timing playbook.
What if I’ve passed the 30-day mark? Can I still report defects?
Yes. The one-month window is HDB’s recommended timeframe, designed so defects are filed before renovation starts. It is not a legal cut-off, and missing it does not void your cover. That cover comes from the Defect Liability Period, which runs for 12 months from key collection; a defect reported in month three or month nine is still the project contractor’s to rectify.
What changes after the first month is the process, not the entitlement. Defects filed early feed into one coordinated joint inspection with the BSC and contractor; defects raised later are handled as separate rectification items, which is slower but still covered. For the full picture (what changes, what stays covered, and what to do before renovation starts), see our guide to what actually happens when you miss the 30-day defect window.
The real caution is renovation, not the calendar. Once hacking and reworks begin, distinguishing an original construction defect from renovation damage becomes much harder to document. If you are past the 30-day mark but have not renovated yet, file what you have found now. And if you would rather have the documentation produced professionally, our HDB defect inspection delivers a submission-ready report within 24 hours.
Can I add defects after my first submission?
Yes. A submission is not a one-shot exercise. Within the one-month window, you can add further defects through the same online rectification request or by contacting the BSC, so the joint inspection works from your fullest possible list.
After that, the 12-month DLP still lets you report newly discovered defects to the BSC as they surface — seepage that only shows in a wet month, a window seal that fails later. These are handled separately from the original joint inspection round rather than folded back into it.
Whichever route an added defect takes, the documentation discipline is the same as your first submission: dated photos, a precise location, a specific description. Well-documented additions are assessed on their evidence; vague ones invite back-and-forth.
What this article does not cover
The defect categories themselves (what to look for in each room, how to detect hollow tiles, how to test drainage gradient, what RCD trip failure looks like) are covered in the Toolkit and the common defects catalogue. This article is the submission mechanics; those are the inspection mechanics.
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