Trivelis developer offers residents goodwill package

SINGAPORE — Embattled developer EL Development (ELD) of the Trivelis DBSS project yesterday announced the details of a goodwill package to address issues raised by residents, including monetary compensation as an option for owners of four-room units who were affected by sanitary pipes taking up space in their service yard.

In a letter yesterday, ELD said it is looking into relocation of the vertical pipe stacks to external areas such as the air-conditioning ledge, on the condition that residents of units of the same “stack” unanimously agree. The proposal is also subject to approval by the relevant authorities.

If residents cannot come to a unanimous agreement or approval from authorities cannot be obtained, ELD said it would calculate compensation for residents based on the price of 2 sq ft of the unit — the approximate area taken up by sanitary pipes. Based on a range of prices paid for four-room units, compensation would average about less than S$2,000.

Owners of four-room units whom TODAY spoke to said relocating the pipes is ELD’s responsibility and should be done even if there is no unanimous agreement. Compensation should also be given to residents for the stress and inconvenience caused.

“We just want to get ELD to do the right thing … It’s a long-term problem as we’re going to live here for so many years (and) will have to face this problem day in, day out,” said Mr Eddy Lim, 43, who had to delay moving into his unit because of extra renovation to fix defects.

Dismissing the technical and regulatory constraints that ELD had cited as reasons for locating the pipes on the service balcony, a resident who wanted to be known only as Mr Khoo said: “If this (pipe relocation) can be done now, why (couldn’t) they do it earlier?”

Requiring unanimous agreement would serve only to sow conflict among residents and shows ELD may not be sincere in trying to resolve issues, he added. Nearly 500 Trivelis residents have been up in arms over problems with the 888-unit development, which include narrow common corridors prone to flooding. Most of the residents were given their keys in January.

Other rectification work offered by ELD includes free installation of a safety film for glass shower screens that shattered spontaneously in three units, extending warranty for laminate flooring parts for an additional nine years, excluding labour costs, and tiling the existing cement corridor.

Responding to TODAY’s queries, the Trivelis pro tem Residents Committee said it welcomed the progress made and hopes to see more progress on other issues raised.

Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Member of Parliament Sim Ann said ELD’s gesture is “a turn for the better”. “I expect residents will want to weigh their options and consider whether it is worthwhile to accept the package.”

However, residents such as Mr Andy Tan and Ms Jaslyn pointed out that some of ELD’s measures offer little reprieve. For instance, Mr Tan said instead of installing safety film on the glass, ELD could replace it with acrylic panels that are safer.

Ms Jaslyn, noting the poor quality of the units, said she has to live in fear of more defects popping up in her unit, adding that she is not confident about the workmanship or product quality standards. “I foresee that when we move in, we will (have to) deal with all these problems until we sell the flat.”