HIP is HDB’s upgrading programme for older flats. It covers compulsory repairs such as concrete defects and ageing waste pipes at a very subsizied rateno cost to owners, plus optional upgrades for bathrooms, doors and other fittings. Work inside the flat usually takes up to 10 working days. For anyone planning a kitchen renovation, the main issue is access: cabinets or box-ups blocking the pipe works may have to be removed and reinstated at the owner’s cost.
This article is to address We renovatione in kitchens in HDB flats, including flats in the middle of HIP. The official details of HIP below come from HDB. The kitchen advice comes from our own expertises and projectsprojects.
HIP covers flats built up to 1997 that haven’t had the older Main Upgrading Programme, which HIP replaced in 2007. It started with flats built up to 1986 and was extended to 1987–1997 flats in 2018 (HDB).
HDB selects blocks in batches. Each block then votes, and the works go ahead only if at least 75% of eligible Singapore Citizen residences households agree.
Group | What it covers | Who pays |
Essential (compulsory) | Repair of spalling concrete and structural cracks; replacement of waste and soil pipes; new clothes-drying rack; electrical load upgrading if needed | Government, heavily subsidised subsiziedin full |
Optional | Toilet and bathroom upgrading; entrance door; grille gate; refuse chute hopper | Both government and homeowner, but also heavily subsidised Singapore Citizens pay a share |
EASE (for seniors) | Grab bars, slip-resistant treatment, ramps, a lower or wider bathroom entrance, foldable shower seat, wheelchair lifter and other items | Subsidised as well Subsidised [[confirm the citizen co-payment on HDB’s live EASE page]] |
Sources: HDB, HIP booklet.
Cast iron waste pipes are always replaced. UPVC pipes are inspected and replaced only if they leak or have cracked, so not every flat gets new pipes.
Toilet upgrading is a full redo, not a patch-up. The bathroom door, wall and floor tiles, pipes and fittings are all replaced. Owners can move the wash basin and shower area, but the toilet bowl stays where it is.
The essential works are free. Singapore Citizens pay 5% to 12.5% of the optional items, depending on flat type, or roughly S600toS1,500 for the full optional package including GST (HDB). Permanent Residents pay the full cost of anything optional they choose.
Flat type | Citizen share | Full optional package (incl. GST) |
1-, 2- and 3-room | 5% | [[about S$600, confirm]] |
4-room | 7.5% | [[about S$900, confirm]] |
5-room | 10% | [[about S$1,200, confirm]] |
Executive | 12.5% | [[about S$1,500, confirm]] |
You pay only after all the works are finished, when HDB sends an invoice.
Once your block votes yes, the essential works happen in every flat. What you control is the optional list. HDB gives you six weeks to choose, at the HIP Information Centre or online with Singpass. After that the choice is locked, and an item you selected but later refuse is still billed (HIP booklet).
Keeping your current bathroom means passing HIP’s water test. If a recently renovated bathroom fails, HDB can redo the floor waterproofing and the bottom one or two rows of wall tiles under the toilet upgrading package, then re-tile to match. You still pay the full share of that package.
A precinct of 8 to 10 blocks takes about 1.5 to 2 years. Inside your flat, works take 10 working days or less, from 8am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday, except public holidays. An adult from the household has to be home while the contractor is working, so plan leave early if no one is home on weekdays.
If you take toilet upgrading, HDB puts a portable toilet with a hot shower inside your flat and provides common toilets at the void deck. There are also air-conditioned rest areas for residents.
Hacking dust goes further than most people expect. If the pipe works are in or near your kitchen, clear more than the cabinet directly around the pipe. Pack away loose cookware, countertop appliances, dry food and anything stored above the work zone, and tape shut the cabinet doors you won’t need that week. Dust gets in mostly through cabinet doors opened during the works and through open shelves. If you do decide to renovation your kitchen with us, we will do plastic wrapping and protections in adjacent areas to protect them from dust as much as possible.
The HIP works may be subsidised, but kitchen owners can still face a separate bill if cabinets have to come down for pipe access. HDB’s booklet puts it plainly: “you will be required to remove and reinstate any fittings and fixtures or cabinets that obstruct the works at your own cost”. (HIP booklet).
In many older flats the waste stack runs through or right beside the kitchen, and the common toilet often shares a wall with it.
On older HDB kitchens we’ve worked on, the pipe replacement itself is usually fine.is rarely the hard part. However, the cabinet built around the pipe is the difficult one.The cabinetry built around it is. Full-height box-ups, tiled enclosures and cabinets fixed tight against the pipe take longer to take apart cleanly than owners expect, and some don’t survive the removal.
The mistake we see most is owners budgeting only for taking the cabinets down. Putting them back after the new pipe is in, and replacing panels that crack on the way out, is the part that gets missed.
Find out at the condition survey what has to be cleared, not the week before workworks startsstart. A separate contractor may have to remove and refit the cabinets, and they need time to fit you in. Before anything is dismantled, take a few photos of the cabinet, the countertop edge and nearby tiles, so both you and the contractor have a record if something is damaged.
HIP’s 1-year defects period covers the HIP works, not your cabinets. If a new pipe leaks into a cabinet, report it within that year to the HIP Information Centre or your HDB branch, and keep your photos.
When we build a kitchen in a flat that hasn’t had HIP yet, we leave the pipe zone behind a removable panel instead of a sealed box-up, so the cabinet doesn’t have to come out when HIP arrives.
If a leaking pipe has already damaged your cabinets, it makes sense to replace them after the pipe works. Aluminium cabinets don’t swell or rot when water gets under them, which matters at the sink in older flats. See our aluminium kitchen cabinets and the aluminium kitchen cabinets price in Singapore.
@tse7en tips for homeowners going through HIP home improvement programmes. learn what you can do or upgrade or change during the renovation #tse7en #aluminiumcabinets #renovation ♬ original sound - T Se7en Alucraft | Singapore
This 4 room flat in Choa Chu Kang was going through HIP when the owners asked us to redo their kitchen. They had chosen toilet upgrading, and their common toilet sits right next to the kitchen. That side of the flat was going to be hacked and dusty anyway, so they did the kitchen at the same time rather than face a second renovation later.
The layout has a wet kitchen behind a door, to keep oil and cooking smells out of the living area. Along one wall is a pantry cabinet with built-in appliance space, storage cabinets and a spot for the water dispenser. Opposite it, a full-height storage cabinet runs the length of the wall. The owners kept one side free of cabinets for the fridge and washing machine.
Watch our video above to understand the layout
If HIP has been announced for your block, don’t renovate the kitchen or bathrooms before the works. Anything blocking the pipes comes out at your cost, and a new bathroom still has to pass the water test.
In practice, most owners are better off renovating either alongside HIP, if the two contractors can coordinate, or after the works are finished. Doing it alongside means one round of dust and noise instead of two. Waiting until after means the new pipes are already in, so the cabinet layout is planned around them once.
Tell your kitchen contractor about HIP before the cabinet layout is finalised, especially if the waste stack sits inside or beside the cabinetry. For the renovation budget itself, see our guide to HDB renovation cost in Singapore.
The government has said a second round, HIP II, will be offered to flats at around 60 to 70 years of age. When the Ministry of National Development announced it in 2018, it said the scheme would start in about ten years and the scope would be set nearer the time (MND).
If HIP has been announced for your block, or the works have already started, we can inspect the kitchen pipe area before you commit to a cabinet layout. As a professional kitchen renovation contractor.
Regular Cleaning: Use appropriate cleaning products for your specific cabinet material.
Ventilation: Ensure proper kitchen ventilation to minimize moisture buildup.
Moisture Management: Address any leaks or spills promptly to prevent long-term damage.
Hardware Adjustments: Periodically check and adjust hinges and drawers to ensure smooth functionality.
Aluminum cabinets require minimal maintenance, making them ideal for busy Singapore households.
Not the essential works. You can choose which optional items to take during the six-week selection period, but after that the choice is locked, and you pay for anything you selected even if you later refuse it.
Only if they block the works, which usually means cabinets around the waste pipe. HDB’s contractor will tell you at the condition survey. Removing and putting them back is at your own cost.
Many owners do, because the flat is already disrupted. Your kitchen works must not block the HIP contractor, so agree the order of works with both contractors and check with your HIP Information Centre first.
Yes, if you choose toilet upgrading. Tiles, door, pipes and fittings are all replaced.
An adult from the household must be home while the contractor is working inside the flat, for up to 10 working days.
HDB can fix the floor waterproofing and the bottom rows of wall tiles under the toilet upgrading package, then re-tile to match. You pay the full share of that package.
Yes. All HIP works have a 1-year defects liability period. Report problems to the HIP Information Centre or your HDB branch.
Speak to a professional now and get personalized consultation and guidance for your next renovation. Work with a team you can trust!
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