Nearly 150,000 Condo Homes Are in the Years When Defect Claims Get Hard. For 11,700, the Window Is Closing Now

Foresque Residences is a 99-year leasehold condo on Petir Road in Bukit Panjang: five blocks, 496 units, temporary occupation permit in June 2014.

On 15 February 2025, according to court documents reported by The Straits Times, a "cementitious patch" came off the underside of a third-floor balcony at Block 105 and landed in a first-floor unit. The Building and Construction Authority inspected the same day and issued a Notice to Maintain, requiring the management corporation (MCST) to make the area safe and carry out permanent repairs.

The MCST appointed an engineer to investigate. He reported that part of a balcony slab had not been built as designed: a 70mm section of concrete was missing, and the gap had been filled with cement mortar. Hammer-tapping tests found hollow sounds along about 60 per cent of the balcony slab edges in the block. In all, he identified 88 balconies in Block 105 as affected. The other four blocks did not show the same condition.

The MCST has sued the developer, the architect, the structural engineer, the railing engineer and a subcontractor. All five deny liability, each for different reasons. The developer, Wincheer Investment, says it did not build the condo itself and appointed competent contractors, and that the patch is a maintenance issue, not a structural defect. It also argues the claim is time-barred, because a six-year limitation period expired in 2021. The main contractor, Tiong Aik Construction, is in creditors' voluntary winding-up.

None of these claims has been decided by a court.

The Straits Times' explainer set Foresque beside two other estates. Together they show the main ways a defect claim can fail even when owners believe they are right.

Foresque Residences (completed 2014): time. The alleged defect surfaced about ten years after completion. The developer argues the claim is out of time, and the main contractor is being wound up.

Canberra Residences, Sembawang (completed 2013): a settlement that did not settle it. Residents reported problems in 2013, soon after moving in. A settlement agreement to carry out repairs was reached in 2020. The MCST is now back in court, saying problems remain, including water seepage, ponding at lift lobbies and in the basement, defective paintwork and shattered balcony glass panels. The main contractor, MCC Engineering, disputes this.

Waterwoods EC, Punggol (completed 2015): nobody left to sue. Residents began finding defects, including seepage and cracks in external walls, from about 2019. By then the developer, a single-project company called Coral Edge Development, was being wound up. It was dissolved in 2020, and the main contractor, Greatearth Corporation, became insolvent in 2021. The MCST asked the High Court to declare the dissolution void so it could pursue about $3.9 million for repairs. The court refused, saying in 2022 that it was "pointless" to restore a developer with no assets to pay the claim.

Time, a dispute that drags on, and a defendant that no longer exists. Any one of them can leave the bill with the owners.

The explainer set out the time limits, with lawyer Daniel Chen of Lee & Lee, who specialises in MCST disputes:

1. The defects liability period: one year. It starts when buyers take possession. Defects reported in this period are rectified by the developer. This is the first and simplest line of protection.
2. The limitation period: generally six years. Claims in contract or tort generally have to be brought within six years of when the right to sue arises.
3. Latent defects: three years from discovery, up to 15 years. For defects that existed but were not discovered earlier, an MCST may still bring a claim in tort within three years of discovering the defect, but only up to a long-stop of 15 years from completion of the condo.

After 15 years, Chen said, the latent-defect exception can no longer be used against the developer, main contractor or subcontractors. Some contractor warranties assigned to the MCST may still be enforceable while they last.

The long-stop is the date that matters for an ageing condo. Before it, a hidden defect can still be pursued, if someone is left to pursue. After it, the latent-defect route is closed.

We explain the first stage in our guide to the defects liability period for new launches.

Here is how Singapore's private non-landed developments divide across those windows, by age as at 2026:

Age from completion (TOP) year, so each edge is approximate to a year. Includes executive condominiums. 3,033 developments with a recorded completion year.

The middle band is the one these three cases fall into. 740 developments, holding 147,595 homes, are old enough that the ordinary six-year limit has probably passed, but young enough that a newly discovered hidden defect may still be claimed.

It is also a large band because of when Singapore built. Developments completed between 2011 and 2017 make up most of it: 684 of the 740.

And it is worth repeating what the table does not say. Being in a band does not mean a development has defects. It only tells you which time limits would apply if one were found.

The long-stop moves forward one year at a time. Here is the cohort currently in the latent-defect window, by completion year:

95 developments with 11,723 homes were completed in 2011. For them, the 15-year long-stop falls around now. Any latent defect not yet acted on is close to the point where the latent-defect route closes.

The three estates in the reporting sit further back:

If you own in a condo completed between 2011 and 2014, this is the part of the window where waiting costs the most.

Because the company that developed the condo may be gone.

Lawyer Daniel Tay of BR Law Corporation, who acted for the Waterwoods MCST, told The Straits Times it is common for larger developers to set up a subsidiary for each project. Once the project is completed and its liabilities are settled, the subsidiary is wound up. As a separate legal entity, its debts do not pass to the parent company. Once it is gone, there is nobody to claim against.

That leaves an MCST with two options, Tay said: pay for the repairs itself, which means owners pay through their contributions, or pursue the subcontractors responsible.

Both routes have problems. Subcontractors may also have closed, been wound up or, as Foresque's railing subcontractor told the court, no longer hold most of their records from 14 years earlier. And as Foresque shows, even when every party still exists, each may point at another.

This is the most important thing to understand about a defect found late. The law may give you until year 15. The companies may not last that long.

The lawyers quoted in the explainer agreed on one thing: act early. Every year a dispute is left, the time limits get closer and the companies involved are more likely to be gone.

What that looks like in practice:

• Document everything as soon as it appears: photos, dates, residents' reports, any BCA notices.
• Get an independent engineer's report on the cause and extent, as Foresque's MCST did. It is the foundation of any claim.
• Check who still exists. The developer's project company, the main contractor and key subcontractors can be checked on ACRA's register. A company being wound up is a reason to move faster, not slower.
• Look for warranties. Some contractor warranties were assigned to the MCST at handover and may still be enforceable.
• Get legal advice on time limits early, especially if your condo was completed more than six years ago. Lee & Lee's Chen said defect claims usually take a year or two to resolve even by settlement, longer at trial.

For new-home buyers, the cheapest protection comes first: an inspection during the one-year defects liability period. But as the explainer noted, unit inspections do not cover common property, where many problems stay hidden for years.

Tay also suggested the insurance industry could offer cover for latent defects that appear years later, as a fallback if the responsible company is insolvent. No such retail product was mentioned as existing today.

Our guide to what an MCST is and does covers who makes these decisions.

Not about every condo. Most developments never have a serious structural defect, and the table above says nothing about which ones do.

But if you are buying a resale unit in a development completed roughly 7 to 15 years ago, the defect question is worth asking, because that is when hidden problems surface and when recovering the cost becomes hardest.

Practical checks before you buy:

• Read recent MCST minutes and AGM papers. Defect investigations, legal action against the developer and BCA notices usually appear there.
• Ask about the sinking fund and any planned special levies. If an MCST cannot recover repair costs, owners pay, often through a levy.
• Look at the common areas yourself: facades, balconies, car park ceilings and roof areas.

Owners who sell during a dispute may also find buyers asking the same questions. We wrote in July about a court ruling on what maintaining common property means for an MCST. Disputes of this kind sit in the background of many older condos.

This is general commentary, not legal advice.

Some limits worth stating clearly.

We have counted windows, not defects. Nothing in our data says which developments have defects. Most never will.

Ages are approximate. We use the completion (TOP) year, not an exact date, so a development close to a band edge may sit in the next band. The long-stop is counted from completion as it was reported; the precise legal starting point can differ case by case.

The law is summarised, not applied. Whether a particular claim is in time depends on its facts, and on when the right to sue arose or the defect was discovered. Get legal advice for your own case.

None of the three disputes has been decided. Every defendant in the Foresque case denies liability, and the Canberra Residences contractor disputes the claims. Nothing here suggests any party is at fault.

Our directory covers private non-landed developments, including ECs, and excludes 268 without a recorded completion year.

What we would not hedge on: about a quarter of Singapore's condos, holding nearly 150,000 homes, are in the years when hidden defects tend to surface and recovering the cost is hardest.

Two kinds of numbers, kept apart.

From the reporting: everything about Foresque Residences, Canberra Residences and Waterwoods (dates, findings, parties, claims, defences, the $3.9 million figure and the court's decision), the legal time limits, and the comments from Daniel Chen and Daniel Tay come from the two Straits Times reports linked below.

PropKaki's own data, as at 2026: the window counts band every private non-landed development in our directory with a recorded completion year (3,033 developments; 66 not yet completed and 268 without a recorded year are excluded) by age at 2026, against the time limits as reported. Homes are summed where unit counts are recorded. The cohort table counts developments completed in each year from 2011 to 2019. The three named estates' completion years, unit counts, tenure and districts come from the same directory.

The news:

• The Straits Times: Who pays for condo defects years after completion?, 20 September 2026, with comment from Daniel Chen (Lee & Lee) and Daniel Tay (BR Law Corporation).
• The Straits Times: MCST sues developer, four others over alleged defects after concrete piece from condo balcony fell 20m, 13 September 2026.

The data:

• PropKaki directory of private non-landed developments (completion year, unit count), banded by age as at 2026.

This is commentary by the PropKaki Editorial Desk on reporting by The Straits Times. The cases, the claims and defences, and the legal commentary belong to that reporting and to the parties; the count of developments by window, the framing and the opinions are ours.

It is opinion and general information, not legal, financial or property advice. The disputes described are before the courts or have been decided as reported, and nothing here suggests any party is liable. MCSTs and owners dealing with defects should get advice from a lawyer and a professional engineer.

Published 6 October 2026.