Plantation Creek @ Tengah key collection: a defect check plan for your flat

Plantation Creek is the Tengah BTO along Tengah Garden Avenue and Tengah Boulevard, on the edge of Tengah next to Jurong and the PIE. It has about 713 flats in 6 blocks of 15 to 16 storeys, all 4-room and 5-room. It was launched in the February 2022 BTO exercise with an estimated completion around the second quarter of 2026, so owners are collecting keys now or will be soon. Here's how to check your flat properly on the first visit.

The deadline that matters

Report defects to your Building Service Centre (BSC) within one month of collecting your keys, and before your renovation starts. Your exact key collection date comes from HDB by letter or email, so go by that, not by what you hear in the group chat. The 12-month defects liability period covers problems that appear later, but the first month is when it's easiest to show a defect was there from the start.

Windows first if you face the PIE

Plantation Creek runs along the Pan-Island Expressway, so some flats face constant traffic. Windows that don't close tightly let in noise and dust, and they're much easier to get fixed now than after you've put up curtains and grilles.

• Close and lock every panel. Each one should shut fully and the lock should catch without forcing it.
• Look at the rubber seals. Check for gaps, tears or seals that have come loose at the corners. With the window closed, a gap you can see daylight through is worth reporting.
• Slide and swing. Sliding panels should move smoothly along the whole track; casement windows should open and close without rubbing on the frame.
• Check the glass and frame. Look for scratches, cracks and gaps in the sealant between the frame and the wall, especially on the outside edge where rain comes in.

More in how to check windows at key collection.

A 4-room or 5-room flat takes time

Every flat here is a 4-room or 5-room flat, so you have two bathrooms, a kitchen, a service yard and a lot of floor tiles to check. Give it two to three hours, in daylight, and bring a second person: one taps and tests, the other tapes and takes photos.

• Tap every tile with a coin, including the ones at doorways and along the walls. A dull, hollow sound means a hollow tile. See how to check for hollow tiles.
• Both bathrooms: run each tap and the shower, flush, look under the basin for drips, and pour water near the floor trap to see it drain without pooling. See the bathroom check and the floor trap test.
• Walls and ceilings: hold your phone torch flat against the wall and look along it for cracks and uneven paint, and check the ceilings next to the bathrooms and kitchen for stains. See wall and ceiling cracks.
• Doors, gate and locks: every door should close fully and lock with each key you were given. See doors, gate and locks.
• Sockets and switches: try every socket with a phone charger and every switch. See the electrical check.

Getting there and what to bring

Tengah is a new town and still filling in. The nearest train station, Tengah Plantation on the Jurong Region Line, was still being built when the project launched, so check how you'll get there before the day. Bring your own water and a snack in case shops nearby aren't open yet, and charge your phone fully: you'll use the torch and camera a lot.

Pack painter's tape, a marker, a coin, a bottle of water for the drain test, and a charger. Full list: what to bring on key collection day.

A simple plan for the first visit

1. Go room by room. In each room: floor, walls, ceiling, doors, windows, sockets, then anything with water. Finish one room before moving on.
2. Number each defect on tape (#01, #02…), then take one close-up and one wide photo with the number showing. The BSC uses the numbers to find each spot.
3. Mark them on a floor plan. A quick sketch with the numbers on it saves the contractor time and saves you a second visit.
4. Write one clean list, grouped by room, and submit it within the month. Check the repairs when they're done and report anything that wasn't fixed.

Every room and what to check is in the room-by-room BTO defect checklist. Prefer paper? There's a free printable version with tick boxes and number labels. Or use the free KeyDay app on your phone: it numbers each defect, keeps the photos with it and marks it on your floor plan. How to hand the list in: how to report BTO defects to the BSC.

After the first month

Tiles can turn hollow and hairline cracks can appear over the first year. Do a second round before the 12 months are up: the one-year DLP check. Renovating? Check the contractor's work before the final payment with the renovation handover checklist.

Also in Tengah: the Garden Waterfront I & II check. Other projects collecting keys around now are on the BTO key collection list.