This article concerns you if you are a resident in a HDB housing unit. Did you know that you (or your parents) have to pay the Town Council a monthly fee called ‘Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC)’ if you are living in a HDB flat?
The charges range from $50 to $100-ish depending on the size of your house. For new homeowners, we strongly recommend setting up an Interbank GIRO payment to avoid the late penalty fees.
So with the S&CC payment every month, what does the Town Council do or not do for you?
Here are 8 Town Council facts you should know:
- There is an app to lodge a complaint or provide feedback
Even though the Town Council takes care of your estate, there are many facilities that fall outside their purview. Nonetheless, whether is it the matter of LTA, HDB, NParks or NEA, you can report a matter through an app now.
- The S&CC pays for maintenance works to maintain estate hygiene
- Cleaning of refuse from chutes
- Cleaning of lifts
- Block washing
- Servicing of lifts, pumps and public lightings
- Building and horticultural maintenance
- Sweeping of common corridors
- The S&CC pays for cyclical maintenance and upgrades
Town councils carry out cyclical maintenance works to manage wear and tear over time, and estate improvement works to improve the living environment of the town, including:
- Repainting of HDB blocks
- Re-roofing, rewiring and lift replacements
- Provision of covered linkways
- Children’s playgrounds, etc
- The S&CC pays for 24-hour Essential Maintenance Service Unit
The Town Council provides a 24-hour Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) service to attend to residents’ maintenance and urgent essential service requests, such as:
- Lift breakdown and rescue
- Disruption of electrical or water supply
- Structural defects, etc
via GIPHY
- The EMSU hotline is different for PAP estates and Worker’s Party’s estate
All residents residing in any PAP managed estate can call: 1800-275-5555
Residents of Hougang-Aljunied Town Council estate can call: 6385-8888
- You can remove bulky household appliances and furniture FOR FREE
You can make an appointment through your Town Council’s website 2-3 days in advance for this service. Do note that most of the Town Councils provide this service without charge for up to 3 items per month per unit only. But why would you have so many bulky refuse anyway right?
- It’s actually possible to retrieve items dropped in the lift pits!
You don’t have to say bye-bye to earrings, rings, keys or even handphones (not sure if it will survive the fall) dropped in between that little ‘lift platform gap’. You are entitled to call the Town Council to arrange a retrieval.
via GIPHY
- Your S&CC does not pay for the waste refuse service though
This might be a bummer, but the waste management service in your HDB flat is not covered in the S&CC. All HDB households islandwide pay a monthly refuse collection fee of $8.25.
Click here for more information on the specific Town Councils and their services.