Moving in and renovating in a condo: approvals, deposits and hours

Every condo is run by its management corporation (MCST), and its by-laws bind every owner. BCA's guidance for condo owners is direct: even if you were not at the meeting that voted on a by-law, you are required to follow it once it is made.

The MCST may make by-laws that require you to meet certain requirements and get its approval before carrying out works in your unit. Those requirements can include a professional engineer's endorsement for structural works and approvals from authorities such as URA, SCDF and the Commissioner of Building Control (BCA Strata Management Guide 14).

The by-laws, house rules and renovation guidelines that your management office hands out are where the practical details are set: forms, deposits, working hours, lift booking. These differ from condo to condo, so read your own before you sign anything with a contractor. BCA also tells owners to check the developer or the MCST, and the Sale and Purchase Agreement, for renovation restrictions before starting work (BCA: What to know as a condo owner).

These are the kinds of work that official guidance says need the MCST's approval, an authority's approval, or both.

• Hacking and structural work. BCA says structural elements such as slabs, beams, columns and walls cannot be altered without proper assessment by a Professional Engineer, and approval from the Commissioner of Building Control is also required.
• Demolishing non-structural walls. In a 2014 advisory to MCSTs, BCA advised that renovation plans involving demolition of non-structural elements (other than floor tiles) should be endorsed by a civil or structural Professional Engineer certifying that no structural works are involved. Ask your office whether it requires this.
• Windows, external walls and anything that changes the look of the building. BCA says alterations to features fixed on the external building, such as windows and walls, are not allowed without approval from the MCST and any relevant government agencies. Under section 37(4) of the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA — renamed the Building (Strata Management) Act on 1 October 2025; BCA's guides still use the old name), works that will affect the appearance and structural integrity of the building need the MCST's authorisation first.
• Anything fixed onto common property. If your work uses common property, for example an awning anchored to an external wall, you need the MCST's approval to carry out that work (section 33 of the BMSMA, as described in BCA's Guide 14).
• Work that adds floor area. Work that affects the development's gross floor area needs the MCST's authorisation by a 90% resolution at a general meeting. BCA gives roofing over a private enclosed space and putting a slab over a void as examples. URA says alterations or additions generally need planning permission if they increase gross floor area.

Safety equipment is treated differently. Under section 37A of the BMSMA, you may install safety equipment in your unit, or on a window, door or opening that faces outdoors, and the MCST shall not prevent you. BCA describes safety equipment as features that stop people falling over the edge of a balcony, terrace, window, door or opening.

The MCST can still set design guidelines so grilles look uniform, and you must follow them where they exist. If you want a different design, BCA suggests writing to the MCST or raising it at the next general meeting. If you and the MCST cannot agree, either side may apply to the Strata Titles Boards.

Under SCDF's Fire Code, each home in a residential building is compartmented from its neighbours, with the unit's exit access door rated for half an hour of fire resistance, unless otherwise permitted (Fire Code 2023, Clause 9.2).

• SCDF says a fire-rated door must not be replaced with a non-fire-rated door. It can only be replaced with another fire door of equal or higher fire rating (SCDF FAQ).
• To check whether your door is a fire door, look for serial labels near the hinges of the door or frame. If unsure, SCDF says to check with your MCST (SCDF: Digital locksets on fire-rated doors).
• Since 1 March 2024, a digital lockset installed on a fire door must be certified for fire resistance. SCDF says installing one is not mandatory; you may keep the original lockset.

Not every job needs plans submitted to BCA. Building works listed as "insignificant building works" in the First Schedule of the Building Control Regulations do not require plan submission. For anything else, BCA advises private owners to engage a Qualified Person, a registered architect or professional engineer, to advise on the clearances needed (BCA: Building works not requiring approval).

Being exempt from BCA does not mean being exempt from your condo. BCA reminds owners that they must still observe other rules, including MCST by-laws, and that building works in condos might require the MCST's approval. Owners found with unauthorised building works have committed an offence under the Building Control Act, according to the same BCA page.

None of the BCA, URA or NEA guidance in this article sets a renovation deposit for condos. Whether your MCST asks for one, how much it is, what can be deducted from it and when it is returned are set by your condo's own by-laws or renovation rules. Ask your management office for these in writing before work starts.

The national by-laws show what a deposit usually protects. The prescribed by-laws (published by BCA in the Building Maintenance (Strata Management) Regulations 2005) say an owner or occupier must not mark, paint, drive nails or screws into, or otherwise damage any structure that forms part of the common property without the MCST's prior written approval. Where you install a safety device or screen, you must repair any damage it causes to common property. These prescribed by-laws apply to MCSTs constituted on or after 1 April 2005; your condo's own by-laws may add to or differ from them.

Before you hand over keys to a contractor, photograph the corridor, lift lobby and lift interior near your unit, and agree with the office what condition they are in. That record is what you rely on when the deposit is assessed.

NEA does not set renovation hours for condo units. Its guidance says condo units are managed by their MCST, and residents affected by renovation noise in a condo should give feedback to their MCST (NEA).

The prescribed by-laws say no owner or occupier may create noise likely to interfere with the peaceful enjoyment of other residents. The MCST may also decide, by special resolution, that facilities on common property may be used only at certain times or on certain conditions.

So the permitted renovation hours, any rest days, and how you book and protect the service lift are your condo's rules. They are not the same everywhere. Ask your management office for the current hours, the lift booking procedure and what protection (padding, floor covering) your contractor must put up.

• Parking. Under the prescribed by-laws, you must not park, or let your invitees park, any vehicle on the common property without the MCST's prior written approval, and the MCST shall not unreasonably withhold that approval. Book a slot for the moving truck with the office in advance.
• Corridors and driveways. You must not obstruct the lawful use of common property by anyone, except on a temporary and non-recurring basis.
• Moving furniture. If the MCST has specified, by resolution, how furniture or large objects are to be moved through common property, you must follow it. Ask which lift, which entrance and which hours apply.

Your contractor works under your approval, and the by-laws place duties on you as owner or occupier. BCA also notes that poor maintenance resulting in property damage or injury may make an owner liable for compensation (BCA).

BCA's advisory asks MCSTs to carry out spot checks during renovations. If structural reinforcement bars are exposed, the works should be stopped, a Professional Engineer called in to assess them, and BCA notified (BCA advisory, 2014).

For a unit bought from a licensed developer, URA explains that after you collect the keys you can inspect your unit, the housing project and the common property, and report defects to the developer to put right (URA Home Buyers' Guide, Step 5).

• A defect is a fault due to defective workmanship or materials, or to the unit not being built according to the specifications in the Sale and Purchase Agreement. In a strata development this also covers the common property.
• The developer must rectify defects that appear within 12 months from the date it delivers vacant possession, or from the 15th day after you receive notice that TOP has been issued and the infrastructure works are complete, whichever is earlier.
• The developer must make good the defects at its own cost within one month of receiving your notice. If it does not, the Sale and Purchase Agreement sets out how you can engage your own contractor and deduct the cost from the sum held by the Singapore Academy of Law.
• Defects in the unit are not regulated by BCA. URA describes them as contractual matters between developer and buyer, so follow the procedure in your agreement.

BCA adds that any defect reported during the defects liability period remains the developer's responsibility if it is still unsolved after the period ends. After the period, upkeep and repairs are yours (BCA). Inspect thoroughly and report in writing early, before your own renovation covers up what you need to show.