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Loft Development Provides Conundrum for Homeowners

Jul 01, 2011 - Danny Gilchrist
A property dispute has evolved into a complex legal matter because of the lack of clear responsibility designated from the starting point of the case. Twelve homeowners in One North Residencies in Buona Vista have attempted legal proceedings on the property developers of their development for what appears to be misleading marketing.


(It seems to be a he-said-she-said case between developers and some homeowners of One North Residencies.)

The debate is over the proposed addition of a loft space within the resident’s one-bed simplexes’ with homeowners claiming that the property agents at the time (2007) stated they would be able to build a mezzanine floor within their existing structure. As time progressed when the owners eventually moved into their new homes they were told the extension would not be possible due to the gross floor area being maximised.

The property developers UOL Group, Low Keng Huat and Kheng Leong along with the estate agents Knight Frank and Savills claim that no such promise was given and that rules and regulations have been stringently adhered to.

Ultimately a stalemate has developed with both sides asserting that the other has broken the contract. What underlines the disagreement is the potential price fluctuation in the individual simplexes’ with the added mezzanine level thought to drive the per sq ft (psf) price down. One homeowner (remaining anonymous) claimed paying S$1,157 psf for a 517 sq ft simplex unit could have seen him construct the extra mezzanine level and drive the price psf to S$798.

The case has been continuing for a few years now and consequently the homeowners do not see a favourable decision being made anytime soon due to the impending legal costs associated with pursuing the matter any further. A rather disgruntling factor is that the homeowners have not been assisted with how to go about starting/furthering the legal proceedings with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) and the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) both expressing their inability to advise the owners of the next steps.
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Related Categories: Daily Property News and Updates, Private Residential

Tags: Council for Estate Agencies, Estate Agents, Homeowners, Legal issues, One North Residencies, property developers, urban redevelopment authority

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