HDB Renovation Timing:
the Hours, the Deadline, the Job
Three different clocks run on an HDB renovation: the hours in the day work is allowed, the window HDB gives you to finish the permit works, and the number of weeks the whole job takes. They are easy to mix up. Here they are, one at a time.
Search “HDB renovation timing” and you will find people asking three different questions. What are the renovation working hours? How long does HDB give you? And how many weeks until I can move in? This guide answers all three, with HDB’s own words for the first two and our own jobs for the third.
The HDB rules below were read from hdb.gov.sg on 11 September 2026 and are quoted as published. They change from time to time, so if a date matters to you, check the linked page before you plan around it.
HDB renovation hours: when work is allowed
HDB splits renovation into ordinary work and “restricted” noisy work, and gives each its own hours.
From HDB’s page, read 11 September 2026
“General renovations should only be carried out between 9:00am and 6:00pm on weekdays and Saturdays. No renovations are allowed on Sundays and Public Holidays.”
“Restricted renovations such as demolishing of walls, removing wall/ floor finishes, cutting of tiles and heavy and excessive drilling works, etc. can only be carried out between 9:00am and 5:00pm on weekdays only. Such works are not allowed on Saturdays, Sundays, Public Holidays and the eves of New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa and Christmas Day.”
HDB, Important Information on Renovations, timings for carrying out renovations
In plain terms, HDB’s renovation working hours are:
- Hacking, tile cutting and heavy drilling: weekdays, 9am to 5pm. Never on a Saturday, and never on the eve of the five festivals HDB names.
- Everything else (carpentry fitting, painting, plumbing, electrical, cleaning): 9am to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
- Sundays and public holidays: nothing.
Two more rules sit alongside the hours. Only two of HDB’s approved handheld power tools may be used at any one time, and HDB says “Renovation contractors cannot take more than 3 consecutive days to demolish walls and/ or remove wall and/ or floor finishes.” Together with the weekday-only hours, that three-day rule means the hacking has to be planned as a short, loud burst, not spread across a fortnight.
Doing it yourself is looser but not unlimited: HDB asks that DIY work be kept between 7:00am and 10:30pm, with noise kept to a minimum.
Telling the neighbours
The hours exist for the people on the other side of the wall, and HDB asks you to warn them first.
From HDB’s page, read 11 September 2026
“Inform your neighbours staying within a radius of 2 units at least 5 days in advance before renovations begin with written notice. Do remind your contractor to put up the Notice of Renovation outside your flat early and throughout the renovation period.”
HDB, Important Information on Renovations
Written notice, at least five days before the first hammer. It costs nothing, and a neighbour who knows when the noise will end is a far more patient neighbour than one who finds out from the drilling.
The completion window HDB gives you
This is the clock people forget. Once HDB grants the renovation permit, the permitted works have a deadline, and it is shorter for an older block.
From HDB’s page, read 11 September 2026
“Any renovation works you have planned for must be completed within 1 month for existing blocks and 3 months for newly completed blocks, from the date the renovation permit is granted. Please immediately inform the HDB Branch managing your flat immediately once your renovations are completed.”
HDB, Important Information on Renovations, completion of renovation work
HDB’s terms and conditions add a third case: window-only work must be completed within two weeks of the permit date.
The important word is granted. The window does not start when you collect keys or sign the quote; it starts on the permit date. So the timing of the application is part of the plan, not paperwork to get out of the way early. Which works need that permit in the first place is covered in our guide to the HDB renovation permit.
What we do
We submit the permit for you, since we are on HDB’s Directory, and you get a timeline from us before any work starts. HDB’s window and HDB’s hours are two of the things that timeline has to fit inside.
How long an HDB renovation really takes
Now the question you actually care about: how long does an HDB renovation take? HDB does not publish a typical duration, and a contractor should not promise one on a website, because the answer depends on the scope. What we can tell you is what our own jobs have run to.
A whole flat has run to around eight weeks for us, depending on scope. One client timed it:
“about 8 +/- weeks (mid Dec 2022 to mid March 2023, excluding CNY break)”
Notice the “excluding CNY break”. HDB bars restricted works on public holidays and on the eve of Chinese New Year, many trades take the festive days off, and a job that straddles the holiday gains calendar time without gaining work time. If you are collecting keys around Chinese New Year, ask about it.
Where the weeks go
Roughly in this order, for a resale flat taken back to bare. A new flat has far less to hack, so the first stage shrinks or disappears.
- Hacking and removal. Walls, old tiles, old kitchen out. HDB’s three-consecutive-day rule applies, weekdays only.
- Wet works and services. New screed and waterproofing, plumbing and electrical rough-in, then the wall and floor tiling. This is the long middle of the job.
- Carpentry, built off site. Kitchen cabinets, wardrobes and feature walls are made at our factory in Toa Payoh while the wet works happen on site, then fitted by our own team. The flat is not waiting on somebody else’s workshop.
- Painting, fittings and cleaning. Lights, sanitary ware, doors, final coat.
- Handover. The keys come back to you, along with a list of anything that still needs touching up.
What moves the total is mostly how much is being hacked, how much carpentry there is, and how quickly decisions get made. Tiles and laminates chosen early are tiles and laminates that are not holding up a trade later.
The part we are proudest of
Twelve of the forty Google reviews we read through mention finishing ahead of schedule. We do not promise that, because a promise on a website is worth little and a schedule with your name on it is worth something. But it is the pattern, and we put it down to doing the work with our own teams, from hacking to tiling, electrical and carpentry, so there is nobody else’s calendar to wait on between trades.
“Being a direct contractor for most things, and engaging very few sub con for the all the works, he manages the timeline well!”
Following the job without coming down
The hours also mean most homeowners are at work while their flat is being worked on. Our answer is a photo update on WhatsApp at the end of the working day, so you see Tuesday’s hacking on Tuesday, not on the weekend walk-through.
“the workers also shared photo updates via WhatsApp, even when I couldn’t visit the site every day.”
HDB renovation timing: the three clocks on one card
| Clock | What it says | Whose rule |
|---|---|---|
| Hours in the day | General work 9am to 6pm, Mon to Sat. Noisy work 9am to 5pm, weekdays only, not on the eves of the five named festivals. Nothing on Sundays and public holidays. | HDB |
| Neighbour notice | Written notice to units within a two-unit radius, at least five days before. Notice of Renovation displayed throughout. | HDB |
| Completion window | One month (existing blocks) or three months (newly completed blocks) from the permit date; two weeks for window-only work. | HDB |
| Weeks for the whole flat | Around eight for us, depending on scope; longer across Chinese New Year. | Us, from our own jobs |
Short answers on timing
What are HDB’s renovation working hours?
General renovation work is allowed from 9am to 6pm on weekdays and Saturdays. Restricted, noisy work, such as demolishing walls, removing wall or floor finishes, cutting tiles and heavy drilling, is allowed from 9am to 5pm on weekdays only. No renovation is allowed on Sundays and public holidays.
Can renovation work be done on a Saturday?
General work, yes, between 9am and 6pm. Restricted noisy work, no: HDB does not allow it on Saturdays, Sundays, public holidays, or the eves of New Year’s Day, Chinese New Year, Deepavali, Hari Raya Puasa and Christmas Day.
How long does an HDB renovation take?
HDB does not publish a typical duration, and the answer depends on the scope. A whole flat has run to around eight weeks for us, depending on scope, and longer across Chinese New Year. Separately, HDB requires the approved works to be completed within 1 month for an existing block or 3 months for a newly completed block, from the date the permit is granted.
How much notice do my neighbours need?
HDB asks you to inform neighbours staying within a radius of 2 units, with written notice, at least 5 days before renovations begin, and to remind your contractor to put up the Notice of Renovation outside your flat early and keep it up throughout.
If you want to see where the weeks end up, the two resale flats on our HDB renovation page were both taken back to bare, and both halves of each before-and-after pair are our own photographs.
Want a real timeline for your flat, not a website promise?
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