What to Check Before You Pay
a Renovation Deposit

Every homeowner has heard the story: the renovation deposit is paid, the hacking is done, and then the contractor stops answering. It is not a myth, and the numbers are public. What follows is what those numbers say, what protection actually exists, and the checks you can do on any firm before a cent moves.

One thing first, because a guide like this is worthless if it hides it. Startec is not CaseTrust-accredited, and we do not offer deposit protection, a bond or escrow. What CaseTrust does cover is set out below, in CASE’s and the Government’s own words, because that advice is clear and you should have it. Then come the checks that apply to every contractor, accredited or not, and how we come out on them.

What went wrong in 2024, in CASE’s numbers

The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) published its figures for 2024 on 6 February 2025. This is what it said about renovation.

Two things worth holding onto. The failure CASE describes happens mid-job: contractors that “suddenly became uncontactable during the renovation process”. And whether you call it a renovation scam or, as CASE does, a sudden business closure, the money lost is money paid ahead of the work: prepayments and deposits. That shapes every check below.

The Government’s own figures, from a written parliamentary reply, give the longer view and one fact most homeowners do not know:

Read that last sentence again. Nobody requires the people running a renovation firm to hold a particular qualification or a number of years in the trade, so the checking falls to you.

Two registers and one alert list

People search for a renovation contractor blacklist. What you can actually check are three public sources, each answering a different question. A firm can be clean on all three and still be the wrong choice for you, so read each one for what it actually says.

1. HDB’s Directory of Renovation Contractors

Answers: is this firm allowed to renovate an HDB flat at all? If your home is an HDB flat, the contractor must be on this list, and it is the listed contractor who submits your renovation permit. Search it by company name or UEN on HDB’s e-service. It says nothing about quality, and HDB says so:

The same page says that if a disagreement cannot be settled privately, you can seek help through CASE, the Singapore Mediation Centre or the Small Claims Tribunal, and it points out that CASE keeps a Company Alert List. Which brings us to the other two sources.

2. BCA’s e-Directory

Answers: which construction workhead is this firm registered for, at what grade, and until when? Search it by company name or UEN. Like HDB’s list, it is a registration, not a review. What it gives you is the workhead, the grade and an expiry date you can see for yourself.

3. CASE’s Company Alert List and the CaseTrust directory

Answers: have complaints been lodged against this firm, and is it in the voluntary accreditation scheme? CASE displays a Company Alert List of businesses that have had complaints lodged against them, and publishes a separate directory of CaseTrust-accredited businesses. A firm on neither is an unaccredited firm with no public alert against it. A firm that claims accreditation on Instagram but is missing from CASE’s directory is a different matter.

What CaseTrust covers

CASE’s advice is unambiguous, and you should hear it from CASE rather than from us. Its president, in the same February 2025 release: “Consumers are advised to engage CaseTrust-accredited companies whenever the purchase involves large prepayments because these companies buy insurance to protect your interest.” The Government says the same:

CASE’s release describes what accredited renovation contractors offer as “safeguarding deposits in the event of a sudden business closure”, together with the CaseTrust Standard Renovation Contract, “which outlines the obligations of both parties, including work and payment schedules.” If a firm is still trading and the dispute is about the work itself, the same MTI reply sets out the route, and it applies to non-accredited contractors too: CASE can negotiate or mediate, and “If negotiation or mediation fails, consumers may file a claim with the courts, including the Small Claims Tribunals.”

Seven checks before you pay a renovation deposit

1. The HDB Directory, by UEN. Not by the trading name on the Instagram page; by the UEN printed on the quote. The name on the quote, the name on the register and the name on the bank account should be the same company.
2. The BCA e-Directory, by UEN. Note the workhead, the grade and the expiry date.
3. How long the company has existed. ACRA’s register shows when a company was incorporated and whether it is still live. A firm that has traded as the same company for years has a record under that company. A firm that is eight months old may be excellent; it simply has less for you to check.
4. Reviews spread over time, with replies. A steady run of reviews with the owner answering, including the ones that mention problems, tells you more than a burst of five-star reviews in one month. Look for a reviewer who had a hiccup and says how it was handled.
5. A written contract with a scope, a work schedule and a payment schedule tied to work done. What you are checking is that each payment follows work you can see, and that the sum still due at handover is large enough to matter to the contractor. The 2024 losses were money paid ahead of the work, so be wary of paying far ahead of it.
6. Who actually does the work. Ask which trades are the firm’s own employees and which are engaged from outside, and ask to see the workshop if they say the carpentry is theirs. You are entitled to know who will be in your flat, and a firm that does its own work can show you.
7. How you will see progress. Daily photos, a site visit schedule, a group chat with whoever runs the site. The 2024 losses came from firms that went quiet; with a daily update you notice silence on the first day, not the tenth.

And one more that costs nothing: pay the company named on the contract, into that company’s own account.

How that list reads for us

Since we wrote the list, here is how it reads for us.

If it has already gone wrong

If work has stopped and the contractor has gone quiet, do not pay anything further until you know where you stand, and keep everything: the contract, the quote, every WhatsApp message, dated photographs of the site. The routes are the ones HDB and MTI both name. CASE can negotiate or mediate on your behalf. HDB also lists the Singapore Mediation Centre. If negotiation or mediation fails, a claim can go to the courts, including the Small Claims Tribunals.

HDB holds the owner responsible for the renovation in the flat, and a granted permit has a completion window, so if the job was an HDB renovation, speak to the HDB Branch that manages your flat early rather than late.

None of that brings a deposit back quickly, which is the whole reason for the list above. An evening of checking before you pay costs less than any of it.

Short answers on renovation deposits

Our register references, reviews and factory address are on the Startec Construction homepage. The HDB permit, which only a Directory contractor can submit for you, is explained in our permit guide.