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Monthly Archives: September 2009

Whose duty is it to enforce renovation rules?

Posted on 23 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

MY NEW neighbour and his contractor have repeatedly broken the rules regarding renovation works.

The notice of renovation works was posted outside the HDB flat for work carried out on weekdays from 8.30am to 6pm from July 21 to Aug 28.

First, their renovation works resulted in damage to the outside utility door. Second, each day, the contractor would leave rubbish along the common corridor and lift landing. Third, residents had to deal with loud noises from the hacking, knocking and drilling even over the weekends.

When I reported the matter to the Housing Board on Sept 5, I was told it was expected that renovation works would be unpleasant, and that the renovation had been extended to Sept 9. I was then given the name of an officer to contact for further inquiries. That officer did other checks and informed me that no rules were broken.

Subsequently, the renovation continued after the deadline had passed and I contacted the West Coast Town Council to report the noise pollution and possible unapproved renovation. I was told to contact the Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU) instead. Continue reading →

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Posted in HDB

Tagged General, HBD, Renovation

Conveyancing fee guidelines scrapped

Posted on 23 Sep 2009 | Comments Off

Law Society says all fees should be freely negotiated

The Law Society has scrapped its fee guidelines for conveyancing transactions six-and- a-half years after they were introduced.

The guidelines were issued in February 2003 after fixed scale fees were scrapped, to give lawyers some idea of the fair and reasonable fee to charge for conveyancing.

Yesterday, the Council of the Law Society said that as part of an ongoing review, the guidelines will be removed from Oct 1.

That is because they were intended as a transitional measure for lawyers after the abolishment of fixed fees, the Law Society said.

‘The Council believes that all fees should be freely negotiated between solicitors and their clients without guidelines from the Council (other than statutory guidelines).’ There was no reason to treat conveyancing fees differently, the society said in a statement.

Gan Hiang Chye of Rajah & Tann said that ‘by now lawyers have got a keen sense of conveyancing fees and of what is proper to charge. So we don’t actually need the guidelines any more,’ he said.

The Law Society said that despite the scrapping of the guidelines, lawyers still have an obligation to charge fairly and are prohibited from overcharging. Continue reading →