No permit needed
Making good is priced work, not a courtesy
S$650
One documented project paid about this to make good after two wall hackings. If it is not a named line in the package, it was not priced.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Packages, Singapore
BTO renovation package: what is actually included, and what is not
A headline package figure is an entry price for a defined scope, not a cost for your flat. Whole-project bands for the same flats run S$4,000 upwards once everything is counted.
The short answer
A BTO renovation package is a bundled scope sold at a headline price, usually tiered by carpentry run length. What decides your real cost is the exclusion list: hacking and making good, appliances, lighting, curtains and air-conditioning are normally outside it, and making good alone has been documented at around S$650.
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01 PERMIT
Hacking always
needs oneAll demolition and hacking of walls, partial or complete, needs HDB’s prior written approval before anything starts.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
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02 HOURS
Mon to Fri
9am to 5pmRestricted works only. General works such as painting and screed run Monday to Saturday until 6pm.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
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03 DEADLINE
3 months for
a new blockFrom the date the permit is granted. Existing blocks get 1 month.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Definition
What a BTO renovation package actually is
A bundled set of work packages sold at one headline figure for a defined scope. The figure is an entry price for that scope, not a fixed cost for a specific flat, and the difference between those two things is where most disappointment lives.
Tiers are usually built on quantity rather than quality: how many feet of carpentry, in which carcass material. The finish you can see is rarely what separates one tier from the next.
Inclusions
What a package includes, line by line
A full fit-out contains eight work packages. A package price normally covers the core of them at a stated quantity, and naming them is the only way to see which.
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Scope and measure
We walk the flat after key collection, measure every run, and write down what you want changed and what HDB will let you change.
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Permit and drawings
Your contractor files the electronic application. Wall demolition needs the flat’s floor plan submitted with it.
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Hacking and wet works
Demolition, tiling and anything touching the bathroom happen first, inside the restricted-hours window.
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Carpentry and finish
Kitchen and wardrobe carpentry is fabricated to a fixed specification, then installed, then painted.
A firm that will not put quantities beside these headings is asking you to buy a category rather than a scope. That is fine for a shortlist and useless for a comparison.
Ask for the quantity beside each heading, not just the heading. “Carpentry included” without a run length is a category, not a commitment.
Exclusions
What a package almost never includes
The exclusion list decides the real cost more often than the inclusion list does, and it is the part competitors leave off the page entirely.
- Hacking and making good, especially after an Optional Component Scheme opt-out.
- Appliances, lighting, curtains and air-conditioning.
- Anything found once a wall is opened, which is what a provisional sum is for.
- Scope you did not describe before the quote was written.
Ask for each exclusion to be priced as an option rather than left off the page. A firm that can price it can also schedule it, and one that cannot has not thought about your flat yet.
Anchors
Published package prices, and what they are anchored to
Two different sets of numbers get quoted in this market and they do not measure the same thing. Entry prices advertised by firms describe a bundled scope. The bands below describe whole projects.
| Item | Reported range |
|---|---|
| 3-room BTO | S$25k to 50k |
| 4-room BTO | S$51k to 62k |
| 5-room BTO | S$40k to 115k |
Published whole-project ranges, each with its source and date. A package entry price is not comparable to these without normalising the scope first.
Sources interiordiary.com.sg 2026-08-31qanvast.com 2026-08-31moneysmart.sg 2026-08-31
Read a package figure against the band for your flat type. If it sits far below, the difference is scope rather than a discount, and the scope is what you should be asking about.
That comparison is the single most useful thing you can do with a published number. It will not tell you what your flat costs, and it will tell you very quickly whether a quote is unusual.
Method
Why we do not publish a package price
Because a price given before a site measure is a guess, and a guess printed as a price is misleading. Nobody has seen your flat, your layout or what you kept from the Optional Component Scheme.
What this site publishes instead is sourced, dated ranges as editorial content, plus the method for comparing whatever you are quoted. A number for your flat comes from a scope discussion, not from a web page.
Tiers
How package tiers are usually built
Entry, mid and premium usually differ by carpentry run length and carcass material rather than by anything visible on the day of handover.
- Run length is the quantity of built carpentry, in feet.
- Carcass material is what sits behind the laminate you can see.
- Appliance and fitting allowances are often a provisional sum, not a product.
A longer run in a cheaper carcass can cost more over ten years than a shorter run in a better one. That trade is the actual decision, and it is rarely presented as one.
The biggest line
Carpentry: the line that decides the tier
Carpentry is priced per foot run, so run length drives the number more than the rate does. Two packages at the same rate can differ by thousands because one measured more.
Ask what the carcass is and get it in writing. Plywood, moisture-resistant plywood, blockboard and MDF all take the same laminate and behave very differently once water reaches them.
Floors
Flooring and the Optional Component Scheme
If you kept the Optional Component Scheme flooring, a package should not be pricing new floors. If you opted out, removal and making good belong in the quote as named lines.
No permit needed
OCS pricing is set per BTO project, not fixed across the scheme
So any OCS figure you read belongs to that project and that year. Tell the firm which choice you made before asking for a package price.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Say which way you went before asking anyone for a number. It changes the flooring line, it changes whether hacking appears at all, and it changes the schedule.
Wet areas
Kitchen and bathroom inside a package
Package scope usually stops at replacing like for like. Moving a plumbing point means opening the floor and re-waterproofing, and that is a variation rather than an inclusion.
New flats also carry a three-year restriction on bathroom floor finishes, so a package that promises a full bathroom transformation in year one is promising something the rules may not allow.
Get a free quote
Tell us the flat type and when you collect keys. You get a scope discussion and an indicative cost band within one working day.
Get a free quote
or email hello@btorenovation.sg
Services
Electrical and plumbing: what the package must cover
Points and relocations are decided before first fix, because after that the walls are closed. A package that lists “electrical works” without a point count has not priced your layout.
Permit required
Electrical work requires a worker holding an Energy Market Authority licence
Separate from the firm's own registration. Ask which named worker holds it and confirm it is inside the package rather than subcontracted at your cost.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
The same applies to plumbing where the work touches the common supply. Neither is something to discover on the day the walls are being closed.
Paint
Painting, and the two things that change its price
Coverage and preparation, not the brand on the tin. A package that quotes one coat over developer paint is not comparable to one that quotes preparation and two coats.
Ask how many coats and what surface preparation is included. Those two answers explain most of the spread between painting lines in otherwise similar packages.
Paperwork
The permit the package price must assume
The HDB renovation permit is filed by the contractor before anything starts. A package schedule that ignores the window it opens is not a schedule.
What has to happen before day one
- Contractor files it Before anything starts, and before the package schedule means anything.
- Window opens on grant Three months in a newly completed block, one month in an existing one.
- Neighbours noticed Written notice at least five days before works begin, within a two-unit radius.
Ask to see the permit once granted and check its dates against the schedule you were sold. A programme that runs past the window is a plan to request an extension nobody has agreed to yet.
Hours
Permitted working hours the schedule must fit
General renovation works run Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm. Restricted renovation works, meaning demolition, removing finishes and cutting tiles, run Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm only.
Permitted renovation hours, as HDB publishes them
Sources MyNiceHome by HDB 2026-08-31
They are additionally banned on the eves of New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa and Christmas Day. A package promising a fixed completion date has to absorb all of that.
Who
Who may deliver the package at all
Only a firm listed in the Housing & Development Board’s Directory of Renovation Contractors, under the Housing and Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006. Check the register before paying any deposit.
Permit required
Only a registered contractor may renovate an HDB flat
S$1,500
A deposit paid to an unregistered firm buys you a legal problem as well as a renovation, because the liability attaches to the flat owner too.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Comparing
How to compare two packages honestly
Put both on the same scope before you compare a single number. Most of what looks like a price difference is a scope difference nobody wrote down.
Normalise, then compare
- Match the carpentry Same run length, same carcass material, stated in feet.
- Match the flooring assumption Both quoting on the same OCS decision, with removal priced if it applies.
- List both exclusion sets side by side The gap between them is usually the real gap.
- Check both had a site measure An unmeasured quote is not comparable to a measured one.
Only after all four does the total mean anything. A firm that will not give you the detail at this stage will not give it to you at variation stage either.
Before signing
The questions to ask before signing a package
Three questions separate a package you can hold somebody to from a brochure with a number on it.
- What happens when the measured scope exceeds the package quantity?
- Is making good included, and at what rate if it is not?
- What is the variation rate, agreed now rather than later?
Get the answers in writing before the deposit. Afterwards they become a negotiation you are conducting from a weaker position.
Money
Payment milestones inside a package deal
A bundled price does not change how the money should be staged. Tie payments to stages you can inspect, never to dates.
What each payment should be tied to
- Deposit on signing Tied to the contract. No work has happened yet and the sum should say so.
- After hacking and wet works A stage you can stand in and inspect, rather than a date in a calendar.
- After carpentry installation Fitted and operating. Not delivered and stacked against a wall.
- Final balance Held until the defects list is closed. It is the only leverage you have left.
Write the staging into the contract rather than agreeing it on a call. A firm wanting most of the money before wet works are done is telling you about its cash position, and you would be funding it.
Changes
Variation orders: how a fixed price stops being fixed
A variation order is a priced change to the agreed scope after works start, triggered by a scope change or by what the site turns out to be.
No permit needed
Agree the variation rate before work starts, not after the wall is open
A fixed package price with no agreed variation rate is fixed only until the first surprise, and the surprise is priced by the party holding your deposit.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
A reasonable variation clause names a rate and a method for measuring the change. An unreasonable one leaves both to be decided when you have the least leverage.
Get a free quote
Tell us the flat type and when you collect keys. You get a scope discussion and an indicative cost band within one working day.
Get a free quote
or email hello@btorenovation.sg
Limits
What a package cannot protect you from
Site conditions found after hacking are nobody’s fault and belong in a contingency. Scope you never described is yours. Neither is covered by a bundled figure.
That is not an argument against packages. It is an argument for reading one as a scope document rather than as an insurance policy.
Which
Package or itemised quote: which to ask for
A package saves time when your scope is genuinely standard and you have confirmed the quantities. An itemised quote is better when anything about your flat or your plan is unusual.
An interior design firm will usually push the bundled route because it simplifies coordination. That is a real benefit, and it is still worth seeing the line items behind it.
Timeline
Timeline a package should commit to
Tie the commitment to the permit window rather than to a marketing promise, and ask for lead time and install time as two separate numbers.
Carpentry is fabricated off site after the site measure, so the weeks before anything appears in the flat are real weeks that a headline duration usually hides.
After
Warranty and defects after a package job
Ask for the defects liability period and any workmanship warranty in writing, with what each covers and for how long.
No permit needed
A package price with no stated defects terms is incomplete
Put the defects walk in the contract as a named step with a date, and keep the list in writing rather than agreeing it verbally on handover day.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Snagging agreed verbally is how small defects become disputes. It is also how the final balance gets released before the work is genuinely finished.
Method
How every figure on this page is sourced and dated
Competitor entry prices quoted anywhere on this site are observations with a date attached, not endorsements and not benchmarks. Cost bands name their publisher and publication date.
Qanvast and the other publishers are cited rather than summarised, so you can check what they actually said. Where two disagree, both figures appear.
Honesty
What we do not claim
No licence number, no accreditation, no review, no star rating and no photograph captioned as our own completed project. None of those exist for BTO Renovation SG.
Every interior image here is a generated illustration and says so. These are the checks we are telling you to run on any firm selling you a package, including us.
Next
What happens after you send the form
Tell us which BTO project, which flat type, when you collect keys and what you decided about the Optional Component Scheme. That last one changes the answer more than people expect.
You get a reply within one working day with a scope discussion and an indicative cost band. Read the HDB renovation guide first if you have not, and the renovation guides cover the permit and the schemes.
- Which BTO project, and which block if you know it.
- Flat type, because run length and therefore price follow from it.
- When you collect keys, since the permit window starts after that.
- Whether you kept or opted out of the Optional Component Scheme.
Those four answers are enough to give you a band rather than a shrug. Anything more detailed needs a site measure, and a site measure needs keys. See how the balance is usually financed.
Questions people ask about BTO renovation packages
What does a package include?
Typically the core fit-out packages: floor and wall finishes, kitchen and bathroom works, carpentry, electrical and plumbing works and painting, at a defined quantity. The quantity is the part that varies, and it is usually expressed as carpentry run length.
What is usually excluded from a renovation package?
Hacking and making good, appliances, lighting, curtains, air-conditioning and anything found after the site measure. The exclusions decide the real cost more often than the inclusions do.
Why do you not publish a package price?
Because a price given before a site measure is a guess, and a guess printed as a price is misleading. This site publishes sourced, dated cost ranges as editorial content instead, and gives a number for your flat only after a scope discussion.
How much does a package cost?
Entry prices advertised by other firms on the live SERP ranged from about S$5,988 to S$17,899 depending on tier and flat type when observed on 2026-09-01. Independently published whole-project bands for the same flats run S$25,000 to S$50,000 for a 3-room and S$30,000 to S$65,000 for a 4-room (InteriorDiary, published 2025-11-07). Those two sets of numbers are not measuring the same scope.
Is hacking and making good included?
Usually not. If you opted out of the Optional Component Scheme, removing the existing floor and making good the cut surfaces is real work that belongs in the quote as a named line, not an assumption.
What is a provisional sum?
An allowance rather than a price: a placeholder for work whose quantity is not known until the site measure or until something is opened up. It is legitimate, but it must be labelled, and you should know the rate that will be applied when it is resolved.
What is a variation order?
A priced change to the agreed scope after works start, triggered by a scope change or by site conditions. Agree the variation rate before signing, not after the wall is open.
How do I compare two packages fairly?
Put both on the same scope first. Match carpentry run length and carcass material, confirm hacking and making good are treated the same way, list every exclusion side by side, and only then compare the totals. A quote with no site measure behind it is not comparable to one that has one.
What changes between package tiers?
Usually carpentry run length and carcass material rather than the finish you can see. A longer run in a cheaper carcass can cost more over ten years than a shorter run in a better one.
Who is allowed to deliver a renovation package on an HDB flat?
Only a firm listed in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors, under the Housing and Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006. Check the register before paying any deposit.
Does the package include the HDB renovation permit?
The contractor files the permit before works start. Confirm that filing it, and working inside the permitted window, is treated as their responsibility in writing.
What warranty comes with a package?
Ask for the defects liability period and any workmanship warranty in writing, and confirm what making good covers after handover. A package price with no stated defects terms is incomplete.
What is in a package?
It varies by provider, which is the problem. One documented kitchen package at under S$4,000 covered a 10ft bottom cabinet run, a 10ft basic quartz countertop, 10ft of top cabinets, drawers and a drying rack with a lift.
What is normally excluded?
The backsplash, the countertop upgrade, and installation of the hob, hood, sink and tap. Two independent documented projects name the same exclusions.
Sources
- Important Information on Renovations
- Directory of Renovation Contractors (DRC)
- Renovation Guidelines for Building Works
- Renovation Guidelines for Electrical Works
- Permitted timings for HDB renovation works
- 4-Room BTO Flat Renovations in Singapore: From $27K to $145K
- BTO Renovation Singapore: Complete Cost, Timeline
Related on this site
Checked against primary sources · updated 2026-09-01