Bathroom Ceiling Seepage & Cracks

[kang 0]

I recently went for a viewing of a flat and one disturbing factor was the condition of the bathroom. The seiling has black seepage marks and cracked tiles. Anyone has any idea if it will be expensive to fix this?

I am considering buying the unit but I am not sure if the condition of the bathroom/wc should be an area of concern.

The agent said that hdb will send an officer down and that they will probably get the current owner to fix this before handing over the flat. Any idea if this is true and how can I make sure that they have done a good job fixing the leakage problems?

Appreciate all the help that I can get ! Thanks!

[yokine9a 1]

Are you referring to the ceiling of the bathroom? If yes, then the upstairs owner got to fix this problem. Don't recommend you to go for this unit. If this is an easily done job, why didn't the current owner fix this problem before putting his flat in the market for sale? Btw, HDB doesn't really care about the water seepage problem between upstairs and downstairs units. You cannot rely on HDB to help you. It is up to the owners to fix it.

[GoalHome 1]

Remembered at one of my previous place, the bathroom ceiling was leaking and we got the HDB officer to investigate. In the end, the unit above repaired and solved the problem.

[gumbokins 5]

when i bought this flat, for some reason, nobody looked up at the ceiling of the toilet. the tenants/seller also did not point this out to us so imagine our HORROR when we got the keys, went into the toilet then looked up...to see these massive stalactites growing out from the pipe above the sink. it was years worth of dripping and deposition.

at first my ID said the pipe was leaking, and to call Town Council. TC sent their plumber down but said that if the pipe leaked it would normally be blackish crud and that leakage normally happens at the joints and not at the U-tube there. So I called HDB, officer came down, confirmed that it was seepage from upstairs due to wear-and-tear and we got round to fixing it. 50% subsidy after meeting MP, in the end each unit had to fork out $220.

we appealed to the MP twice to waiver the payment as it was not our fault. As my mum put it, 'no chance to wear, tear already!' even the HDB officer who did the valuation did not notice/inform us about this. the ex-owner just said that when she got the flat 'it was like that already'. so in the end we had to foot the bill.

i believe if it is not due to wear-and-tear then it is up to the upstairs and downstairs owners to fix it themselves.

the problem is not hard to fix, if you like the flat, i don't see why you shouldnt go for it. but do try to get it fixed or at least come to an agreement about who will foot the cost of the repairs. you can even schedule the HDB officer/TC officer to come down and check, their response time quite fast one.

[kang 0]

It is so confusing, cos when we went down to hdb to enquire about this, the officer said that all they will do is send letter to both units to ask them to fix this. But the officers will not really step in to ensure that the job is done properly. It is up to us to negotiate. We hear already a bit scared. The officer said they usually only check for illegal renovation, will not check for these ceiling seepage when they do valuation.

We scared pay deposit already, then take long time to fix this problem, largey worse, owner want to push the cost to us!

[gumbokins 5]

i guess the officer who does the valuation and checking for seepage are different people.

or maybe not, coz i thought i saw the same name on both the valuation report and the ceiling leak letter.

correct me if i'm wrong but if the leakage is due to upstairs shoddy workmanship, then HDB won't step in and the two owners have to negotiate.

if it's due to wear and tear, then the cost is split b/w the two units.

you will only get the subsidy if you use the HDB contractor. if upstairs wants to use their own, then no subsidy + owners have to come to an agreement how much to pay.

if i was you, i would 'urge' the sellers to quickly get this rectified before settling the sale.

[hposnm 0]

In my opinion, this is a common problem faced with alot of old units. In all likelihood, your best bet is to use the appointed contractor by HDB to rectify the problem and split the cost 50-50 with the guy above you.

In considering a flat, there are plenty of other more important issues to consider. The seepage may cause you alot of grief if not rectified but in the greater scheme of things, is an easy thing to resolve.

[MaCe 3]

It is so confusing, cos when we went down to hdb to enquire about this, the officer said that all they will do is send letter to both units to ask them to fix this. But the officers will not really step in to ensure that the job is done properly. It is up to us to negotiate. We hear already a bit scared. The officer said they usually only check for illegal renovation, will not check for these ceiling seepage when they do valuation.

We scared pay deposit already, then take long time to fix this problem, largey worse, owner want to push the cost to us!

you got to understand this - as long as you are NOT buying from hdb directly, hdb has got NO OBLIGATION to solve the seepage issue.

btw, anyone can confirm the rules already changed regarding 50-50 cost sharing? cos i "heard" nowadays the owner of upper unit needs to BEAR everything.

frankly, to me 50-50 is outright unfair if i am the one staying below.

edited.

Edited April 8, 2008 by MaCe

[GoalHome 1]

according to the HDB website, both owners are to share the cost equally. yeah it does make more sense for the upper unit to be footing the cost since it's probably the waterproofing that's not done properly or has worn out with time.

[MaCe 3]

according to the HDB website, both owners are to share the cost equally. yeah it does make more sense for the upper unit to be footing the cost since it's probably the waterproofing that's not done properly or has worn out with time.

precisely, how would the unit below causes water seepage? poking the toilet ceiling with the showerhead?

you break you pay, i didnt break why should i pay??? !!

i remember i heard that from someone or somewhere.....there are new rules on the 50-50 or maybe some changes. or is it on private apartments???

[hihihi 0]

Just for the record.

My resale also had this problem, >25yrs old flat. The above HDB or TC will come down to inspect, the cost is 50/50. Some kitchen also have a pipe, mine that one also leaking, that one I also got it fixed, but FOC.

5 yrs had passed, my toilet ceiling has a little bit of spot coming back already. Kitchen side abit worst.

But seriously no use de. It's a problem with old flats that you have to live with for those super old flats.