Block 270A in Sengkang Central is the first to benefit from the Assure 3 scheme, which carries a warranty period of up to 10 years for the three most common defects found in HDB flats.The warranty covers all flats launched by the HDB after April 2005. This is in addition to the standard one-year defect liability period.

The three most common defects, the HDB said, are ceiling leaks, water seepage and spalling concrete - a term for ceilings that crack when steel bars embedded in concrete corrode and expand.

But flats launched before 2005 will not be offered the same warranty because improvements have to be done from the start, even before construction.

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