Tampines GreenQuartz key collection: a defect check plan for your flat

Tampines GreenQuartz is the Tampines BTO bounded by Bedok Reservoir Road and Tampines Streets 95 and 96, a short walk from Tampines West MRT and across the road from Temasek Polytechnic. It has about 1,613 flats in 13 blocks of 10 to 17 storeys, with 2-room Flexi, 3-room, 4-room and 5-room flats. It was launched in the August 2021 BTO exercise and had an estimated completion around mid-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.

Mostly big flats: plan for a long first visit

Most flats at GreenQuartz are 4-room and 5-room. That means a lot of floor tiles, two bathrooms, more windows and more doors. A careful check of a 5-room flat can easily take two to three hours, so don't squeeze it in after work. Go on a weekend morning, in daylight, and bring a second person: one taps and tests, the other tapes and takes photos.

• Floor tiles: tap every tile with a coin, room by room, including the corners and along the walls. A dull, hollow sound means a hollow tile. In a big flat it's easy to skip a room, so tick off each one. See how to check for hollow tiles.
• Two bathrooms and the kitchen: run every tap, flush each toilet, and look under the basin and sink for drips. Pour water near each floor trap and watch it drain away without pooling. See how to check the bathrooms and the floor trap test.
• Windows: open and close every panel, check every lock and rubber seal, and look for gaps along the frame. Check the wall below each window for water stains. More in window defects.
• Doors and the main gate: every door should close fully without rubbing, and every lock should work with each key you were given. More in doors, gate and locks.
• Walls and ceilings: hold your phone torch flat against the wall and look along it. It shows cracks, patches and uneven paint. See wall and ceiling cracks.
• Sockets and switches: try every socket with a phone charger and every switch. More in the electrical check.

2-room Flexi owners

GreenQuartz also has a few hundred 2-room Flexi flats. Smaller flat, same one-month deadline. It's quicker to check, but don't skip the grab bars in the bathroom (if fitted): pull on each one firmly. Open, close and lock the sliding doors and every kitchen cabinet. If you're collecting keys for an elderly parent, do the check with them and keep the list and photos on your phone so you can follow up with the BSC.

A simple plan for the first visit

1. Pack the night before: painter's tape, a marker, a coin, a bottle of water, a charger and a charged phone. Full list: what to bring on key collection day.
2. Go room by room. In each room: floor, walls, ceiling, doors, windows, sockets, then anything with water. Finish one room before moving on.
3. 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.
4. Mark them on a floor plan. In a 5-room flat, "crack near the window" can mean six places. A quick sketch with the numbers on it saves the contractor time and saves you a second visit.
5. Write one clean list, grouped by room, and submit it within the month. With 1,600 flats collecting keys around the same time, the BSC will be busy, so one clear list goes further than several small ones. 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.

Other projects collecting keys around now are on the BTO key collection list.