An HDB renovation contractor has a lot of responsibility. Not only is that professional in charge of bringing your home vision to reality, they also have to make sure that the work meets all of the HDB guidelines and standards.
Choosing just any team for the job can have disastrous consequences. It’s always a better idea to prioritise a partnership with an experienced and HDB licensed renovation company like Home Guide. If you don’t know how such licensing makes a difference, keep on reading to find out.
Should Your Contractor Be HDB Licensed?
The short answer to that question is yes.
Choosing a home renovation contractor in Singapore that has all of the required licensing will result in a number of important benefits you cannot obtain otherwise.
HDB-licensed contractors have to undergo special trainings and certification procedures that acquaint them with the Housing and Development Board protocols that focus on property improvements. In other words, these are the only professionals out there who can guarantee 100 per cent compliance.
We have previously discussed HDB renovation guidelines and their complexity. As a flat owner, you can change certain things about your property and you cannot alter others. Also, some kinds of renovation work will necessitate the issuing of an HDB permit. You can’t just go ahead and make a serious structural change without getting approval from the HDB.
A failure to comply with HDB requirements can compromise the integrity of the construction. In addition, you’ll potentially have to handle some hefty fines due to the fact that you altered the property in ways considered non-permissible.
With all this being said, the lack of HDB licensing doesn’t mean poor quality. There are many contractors and interior design teams out there that can do an excellent job without being properly certified by the Housing on Development Board.
By partnering up with such a team, however, you’ll be taking on a certain level of risk. Structural damage to your unit and to neighbouring ones can occur if contractors don’t know what’s permissible and what isn’t. And if structural damage occurs, you’ll be jeopardising the integrity of the construction and you’ll also be making the renovation much more expensive than it needs to be. Fixing construction mistakes is always a costly endeavour and you’ll be the sole party responsible for covering such extra charges.
Finding the Right HDB Licensed Contractor
Now that you understand why HDB licensing is important, let’s check out the ways in which you can discover the right team for the job.
For a start, HDB maintains an extensive database of all the companies and service providers that have gone through the licensing process. You can access the information here.
A database, however, is quite impersonal. It doesn’t give you a lot of additional information about the background and experience of professionals. Also, you wouldn’t know anything about their stylistic strengths. These are additional considerations you will have to research on your own.
The HDB database is a good reference material if you already have a couple of recommendations and you want to find out whether the teams you’re interested in have the right credentials. Starting your research there will only get you confused, as the HDB list is quite extensive.
HDB has some additional resources you can check out to pick the right professionals for your renovation.
As renovation professionals who have decades of experience in the field, we believe that a few criteria matter a lot more than others. The first one is the number of years that a company has been in business. The second is the reputation of the team and the overall customer satisfaction (you can assess this factor by reading online reviews or asking for referrals). The third one is the company’s portfolio. A good portfolio should feature a sufficient number of executions that look stylistically similar to what you’re trying to accomplish.
Home Guide – The Best Choice for Your HDB Flat Renovation Needs
If you feel completely clueless on how to start the home interior design process and you don’t know how to pick renovation contractors, we recommend getting in touch with us.
Home Guide has been around for long enough to understand the needs of most Singaporean home owners. In addition, we offer personalised and tailored solutions every single time. If you’re looking for professionals who will listen to what you have to say, you’ve come to the right place.
To get to know us better, please check out our residential portfolio. You’ll find out that we feel equally comfortable executing modern urban projects, as well as more traditional interior design transformations.
Home Guide has been around since 1992 and over the decades, we have maintained our HDB licensing and a stellar reputation. Clients are always impressed by our punctuality, know-how and transparency. Communicating your ideas with the Home Guide is particularly easy and you’ll always be heard.
To address the needs of different clients, we offer various solutions. There are numerous promo packages that reduce the cost of renovation. We also offer a very specialised service called HomeAlive 360° that is the perfect choice for home owners who simply cannot envision the characteristics of their property after the renovation.
Contact Home Guide now to schedule a preliminary meeting and discuss all important aspects of the renovation. We’d be more than happy to guide you through the intricacies of the procedure.
