Harry Elias Partnership LLP Partner Kok Yee Keong was featured in an article by the Channel NewsAsia titled “Should interior designers be licensed? Some say regulation needed for renovation industry”.
Commenting on the avenues for consumers to turn to in the event of a dispute, Yee Keong said for those who pursue legal action such as suing the company for breach of contract, “there is often no real winner” when it comes to litigation. “The successful judgment holder would have lost precious time and legal costs in pursuing the legal case, and payment of the judgment sum is never a guarantee,” Yee Keong added.
Yee Keong highlighted the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has a directory of contractors who are approved to carry out renovations in HDB flats. This directory requires contractors to undergo training and renewal process, and errant contractors are “punished” with demerit points or taken off the directory.
On what else can be done, Yee Keong suggested that authorities name and shame contractors who have received a number of unresolved complaints or decisions against them. Applicants of the accreditation schemes could also be required to declare if they were ever a director, shareholder or management staff of a renovation business with any antecedents. “This might help mitigate the issue of repeat errant individuals incorporating new renovation companies,” Yee Keong said.
Read in full here.