No permit needed
HDB registers renovation contractors. It does not endorse or rank them
Registration tells you a firm was permitted to be there. It gives you no route to HDB if the workmanship disappoints you.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
The register, Singapore
HDB renovation contractor: how to check one before you sign
Contravening the Renovation Control Rules carries a fine of up to S$5,000 on conviction, and the liability attaches to the flat owner as well as to the firm.
The short answer
An HDB renovation contractor is a firm listed in HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors. HDB registers those firms; it does not approve, endorse or rank them, so no firm is HDB approved. Contravening the rules carries a fine of up to S$5,000 on conviction, and it binds the flat owner too.
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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 an HDB renovation contractor is, in the register’s terms
A firm permitted to carry out renovation works inside an HDB flat, because it appears in one public register maintained by the Housing & Development Board.
- Listed in the Directory of Renovation Contractors.
- Bound by the Housing and Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006.
- Responsible for filing the renovation permit before works begin.
That is the whole of what the status means. Everything else a firm tells you about itself is marketing, and some of it may still be true. Who may work is the first of the five rules that bind every job.
The answer
Who are some approved HDB renovation contractors in Singapore
The authoritative answer is the register itself, and the honest answer is that no firm holds an approval. HDB registers; it does not approve.
How to check any firm, in under a minute
- Get the legal entity name The name on the invoice, not the brand on the shopfront.
- Search the register HDB publishes the directory as a public e-Service.
- Match it to the contract Registered firm, contracting firm and paid firm must be one firm.
- Do it before the deposit Afterwards you are negotiating from a weaker position.
Do the search yourself rather than accepting a screenshot. A screenshot proves somebody was listed on some day, and the register is the thing that is true right now.
Any site describing itself as approved is claiming a status the register does not issue. That is worth noticing about the site as well as about the firm.
Rankings
Who are the best BTO contractors in Singapore
This page names none. Every ranked list you will find is ordered by advertising spend, affiliate commission or editorial relationship.
- Is the firm on the register, checked by you rather than claimed by them?
- Does the quote itemise scope, materials and quantities?
- Are payments tied to stages you can inspect?
Those three separate firms in a way a list cannot, and all three are things you can verify in an afternoon without trusting anybody.
Rankings also age badly. A firm that was excellent two years ago may have lost the people who made it so, and a list has no way of telling you that.
Money
How much does it cost to renovate an HDB in Singapore
Published bands by flat type, each with its publisher and publication date. They are reported ranges rather than quotes.
| Item | Reported range |
|---|---|
| 3-room BTO | S$25k to 50k |
| 4-room BTO | S$51k to 62k |
| 5-room BTO | S$40k to 115k |
Ranges as published by each source, not averaged together. Use them to sanity-check a quote, not to price a flat.
Sources interiordiary.com.sg 2026-08-31qanvast.com 2026-08-31moneysmart.sg 2026-08-31
A firm quoting far below these bands is not necessarily cheaper. It is more often quoting a different scope, which is why the itemisation matters more than the total.
Ask too whether the quote assumes you kept the Optional Component Scheme flooring. That single assumption moves the flooring line and the hacking line at the same time.
Other trades
Who is an HDB-approved aircon contractor in Singapore
Air-conditioning installation is a different trade with its own requirements, and it is not what the renovation register covers.
Ask who is doing it, under what competence, and whether it sits inside your renovation contract or beside it. Work that falls between two contracts is work nobody has warranted.
- Aircon installation: its own trade, its own competence.
- Anything brought in late: named in the contract, or explicitly outside it.
The same question applies to any specialist trade brought in late. Get it named in the contract or get it excluded from it, and know which before the work starts.
Meaning
What the register actually certifies
One thing: that the firm may lawfully carry out renovation works in an HDB flat. It is not a quality mark, a workmanship guarantee or evidence that HDB has inspected anything.
Penalty
The penalty for using an unregistered firm
A fine of up to S$5,000 on conviction plus other penalties. The part most people miss is who it attaches to.
Not allowed
The penalty binds the flat owner, not only the contractor
S$5,000
Contravening the Housing and Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006 is an exposure you carry personally, which is why the one-minute check is worth doing.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Three registers
Registration, licence and accreditation are three different things
They get used interchangeably in marketing and they mean entirely different things. Only one of them governs work inside your flat.
- HDB registration in the Directory of Renovation Contractors: required.
- Building and Construction Authority registration: for main contractors on building works.
- Trade accreditation from a consumer body: voluntary, and not a licence.
A firm holding the second and third but not the first still may not renovate your flat. A firm holding only the first lawfully may.
Paperwork
What a contractor must file before work starts
The HDB renovation permit, filed by the firm rather than by you, before anything begins.
The window it opens
- Three months, or one Three in a newly completed block, one in an existing one.
- Counted from the grant date Not from the day anyone turns up on site.
- Neighbours noticed Five days written notice within a two-unit radius.
Ask to see it once granted and check the dates against the programme you were given. A programme that runs past the window is not yet a programme.
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
Hours
Permitted working hours a contractor must schedule around
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 five named festival eves. A firm that plans the noisy work without that constraint has already lost days it will try to recover later.
Structure
What a contractor may never do to the flat
Remove a structural wall, beam or column. There is no approval route and no engineer’s letter that changes it.
Not allowed
Structural walls, beams and columns may never be removed
Demolition of a permitted non-structural wall still needs written approval obtained before work begins, not applied for afterwards.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Roles
Interior designer, main contractor or renovation contractor
Three different jobs that get described with the same words. What separates them is who carries responsibility when something goes wrong.
- Interior design firm: designs and coordinates, subcontracts the trades.
- Renovation contractor: prices and delivers the trades directly.
- Main contractor: a BCA registration for building works, not flat interiors.
Whichever route you take, the firm touching your flat must be on the HDB register. The route changes the coordination, not the rule.
Coordination is a real service and it has a real price. What it does not do is change who is permitted to work in the flat or what the quote has to contain.
Comparing
What a quote from a contractor must itemise
A renovation quotation missing any of these cannot be compared to the one beside it.
What has to be on the page
- Scope per room Room by room, not one line for the flat.
- Materials by name The product, not an adjective.
- Carpentry by foot run With the carcass material stated.
- Provisional sums labelled With the rate that applies when they resolve.
Ask for it before you shortlist. A firm that will not itemise at quotation stage will not itemise at variation stage either.
Itemisation is also how you find out whether a firm has actually looked at your flat. Generic line items in the same order on every quote are a template, not a measure.
Spread
Why two honest quotes differ so much
Because no two firms scope the same job from the same brief. One assumes the flooring stays, another prices removing it.
Normalise the scope and the numbers converge. Most of what looks like a price difference is a scope difference nobody wrote down.
- One prices removing the existing floor; the other assumes it stays.
- One measures nine feet of carpentry; the other measures thirteen.
It also matters when a renovation loan is sized against the higher of two quotes. You may be borrowing against an assumption you never agreed to.
Money
Payment milestones, and the one worth holding
Tie payments to stages you can walk into and inspect, never to dates in a calendar.
What each payment should be tied to
- Deposit on signing Tied to the contract, before any work exists.
- After hacking and wet works A stage you can stand in and inspect.
- After carpentry installation Fitted and operating, not delivered and stacked.
- Final balance Held until the defects list is closed.
Write the staging into the contract rather than agreeing it verbally. A firm wanting most of the money before the wet works are done is describing its own cash position.
- Every milestone tied to a stage you can photograph.
- No milestone tied to a calendar date alone.
That single discipline prevents most payment disputes, because it removes the argument about whether a stage was actually reached.
Contract
The contract terms worth reading before signing
Four clauses decide most disputes, and none of them is the price.
- The variation rate, agreed before work starts rather than when a wall is open.
- What each payment milestone is tied to, in inspectable terms.
- The defects liability period, and what it covers.
- What making good includes after handover.
Read those four before you read the total. They are the clauses that decide what the total actually turns out to be.
None of them is unusual to ask for. A firm that treats them as an imposition is telling you how the rest of the project is likely to go.
If not listed
What to do if a contractor is not on the register
Do not proceed. The requirement covers works that need no separate HDB approval, so there is no category of job small enough to be an exception.
- No job is small enough to fall outside the requirement.
- No verbal assurance replaces a listing you checked yourself.
If a firm tells you the rule does not apply to their kind of work, that is itself the answer to your question about the firm.
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
Trades
Electrical and plumbing: the worker-licence requirement
Electrical work must be done by a worker holding the relevant Energy Market Authority licence, which is separate from the firm’s own registration.
Permit required
Electrical work requires a worker holding an Energy Market Authority licence
The licence sits with the worker rather than the firm. Ask which named person holds it and confirm they are the one doing the work.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Order
How the work is sequenced, and what that tells you
A programme is a claim about competence. Read it against the order the trades actually have to run in.
How the work runs
- Permit filed By the contractor, before anything starts.
- Hacking Restricted works. Everything downstream waits on it.
- Wet works Waterproofing, screed and tiling, in that order.
- First fix Points and relocations, while the walls are open.
- Carpentry Measured on site, built off site, installed late.
- Painting and handover Then a defects walk, with the list written down.
Ask for the programme in writing at quotation stage. It costs a firm nothing to produce if they have genuinely planned the job, and a great deal of improvisation if they have not.
- Carpentry after the site measure, never before it.
- Painting after the defects walk has been scheduled, not before.
Carpentry scheduled before the site measure, or painting before the defects walk, means the programme was written to look short rather than to be delivered.
Ask which stage the firm considers the critical path. A contractor who cannot answer that has not planned your job, they have described a general order of work.
After
Warranty, defects and making good
A defects liability period runs from handover and is not the same as a workmanship warranty. Get both in writing.
No permit needed
Making good is priced work, not a courtesy
Re-plastering and re-finishing a cut surface takes materials and labour. If it is not a named line in the quote, it was not priced.
hdb.gov.sg · read 2026-08-31
Scope
How every figure on this page is sourced and dated
Regulatory claims cite HDB directly with the date the page was read. Cost figures name their publisher and publication date.
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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 figure we cannot source is left off the page rather than estimated, which is why some questions here are answered with a range and others are not answered at all. The register is the one claim on this page that you can check for yourself in under a minute.
Where two publishers disagree, both figures appear. The renovation contractor guide applies the same method to hiring across the whole flat.
Honesty
Why we publish no reviews, ratings or rankings
None exist for BTO Renovation SG, so none appear. A fabricated review would also be a false representation under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act.
Every image here is a generated illustration and says so. Run the register check on us as readily as on anyone else, and read how carpentry is specified before you compare quotes.
Next
What happens after you send the form
Tell us which BTO project, which flat type and when you collect keys. You get a reply within one working day with a scope discussion and an indicative cost band.
You are welcome to check us against the register before you send anything. That is the order we would recommend to anybody, including about ourselves.
Questions people ask about HDB renovation contractors
Who are some approved HDB renovation contractors in Singapore?
The authoritative answer is HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors, which lists every firm permitted to renovate an HDB flat. HDB registers those firms; it does not approve, endorse or rank them, so 'HDB approved contractor' is not a status the register issues.
What does the register actually certify?
That the firm may lawfully carry out renovation works in an HDB flat. It is not a quality mark, a warranty, or a vetting of workmanship, and it should not be read as one.
How do I check if a contractor is registered?
Search the firm's name in HDB's Directory of Renovation Contractors e-Service. It is public and takes under a minute. Do it before paying any deposit.
What happens if I use an unregistered contractor?
Contravening the Housing and Development (Renovation Control) Rules 2006 carries a fine of up to S$5,000 on conviction plus other penalties, and the liability attaches to the flat owner as well as to the contractor.
What is the difference between DRC registration and a BCA licence?
They are different registers for different work. The Building and Construction Authority registers main contractors for building works; HDB registers renovation contractors for works inside flats. Only the HDB register governs work in your flat.
What is the consumer trade accreditation people mention?
A voluntary trade accreditation run by the Consumers Association of Singapore. It is not a licence, and it is not what permits a firm to work on an HDB flat.
Who files the renovation permit?
The contractor, before works start. Confirm in writing that filing it, and working inside the permitted window, is treated as their responsibility.
What are the permitted working hours?
General works run Monday to Saturday, 9am to 6pm, and never on Sundays or public holidays. Restricted works run Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm only, and are additionally banned on the eves of New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa and Christmas Day.
What should I do if a contractor is not on the register?
Do not proceed. The rule covers works that need no separate HDB approval as well, and the penalty binds you as the flat owner, not only the firm.
What contract terms should I read before signing?
The variation rate, the payment milestones and what each is tied to, the defects liability period, and what making good covers after handover.
Which payment should I hold until the end?
The final balance. It is the only leverage you have once the work is substantially done and the defects list is being argued over.
Do you publish reviews or rankings of contractors?
No. No review, rating or completed-project photograph exists for this site, so none is shown, and a fabricated one would be a false representation under the CPFTA. This page gives you the check to run instead, on any contractor including us.
Does being on the register mean the work will be good?
No. The Directory of Renovation Contractors is a licence to work on HDB flats, not a rating, a review or a guarantee. It tells you a firm may legally do the job and nothing about whether they will do it well, and no register anywhere does.
How do I compare firms once they all pass the register check?
On how they quote and how they answer the permit question. A firm that itemises hacking, making good and carpentry per running foot has thought about your flat. A firm that is vague about which works need approval will be vague on site.
Sources
- Directory of Renovation Contractors (DRC)
- Important Information on Renovations
- 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
- HDB Renovation Cost & Loan Guide Singapore
Related on this site
Checked against primary sources · updated 2026-09-01