A Tampines HDB flat owner who was in the news last year after his ground floor flat was featured prominently online for having a koi pond fish tank on the doorstep of his property, have lost his appeal to HDB to keep the koi fish tank.
HDB has rejected his appeal to keep the structure, where he installed glass panels to the walls around the four steps leading to his ground floor Tampines Street 41 flat. The structure was used to house about a dozen pet fish, but HDB had said that any alterations done must have permission of the Board. After all, our flat does not really belong to us, we are just leasing it from HDB, so we cannot do anything we like to our units without HDB's approval.
HDB had used the excuse of a safety concern as the main reason why the koi pond cannot be kept. HDB also said the steps leading up to a unit is common property, so no alterations can be made to a common property.
So now you know. The steps outside someone's ground floor unit is common property, so you can hang out there drinking beer if you like. Feel free, HDB said it is common property.
