Worn-out flat? Not anymore! To help keep HDB flats in good condition, the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) was launched by the Housing and Development Board in 2007. To read more about HIP – click here

To avoid having to upgrade your toilets, they must pass a water test for leaks to prevent ceiling leaks in the flat below. If your flat or apartment recently underwent renovations, you may want to consider signing up for a toilet upgrading package as it is standardised for the entire block and cannot be tailored to individual preferences.

Failing the water test

As long as water seepage can be seen on the ceiling of the downstairs neighbour’s apartment, you will need to renovate your toilet no matter how small the leak. You will be subjected to the terms and conditions of living in this apartment which include the renovation of our toilet to a HIP. The water test is designed to account for situations in which a water pipe leaks/bursts and the drainage pipe becomes clogged for an extended period, resulting in flooding in the toilet. As a result, you need to flood 2.5cm of water for 4 hours in your toilet. It is up to you to determine how much warranty your contractor offered you for the toilet renovation if you recently completed your renovation and the toilet test failed. From our understanding (please check with your area’s HIP contractor), the HIP contractors’ toilet work will be warrantied for 5 years against leaks.

The HIP contractors will flood your toilet and use those blue WC pills to colour the water so that any seepage (if any) can be seen clearly downstairs. If your toilet fails the first test, you have a few options.
1. Do the HIP renovation
2. Engage a contractor like Le Fong Building Services to waterproof your toilet and perform the water test again

With Le Fong, we will identify the source of the problem and find a solution to fix it without hacking or replacing the whole toilet.