On 5 May 2022, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS“) published a Guide on Fair Trading Practices for the Renovation Industry (“Guide“) with the intention of improving business practices in the renovation industry and reducing “unfair practices” by suppliers of interior design or renovation services (“Contractors“).
The Guide comes in response to a high rate of complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (“CASE“) against Contractors in 2021 and Q1 2022. The majority of the complaints related to Contractors’ unsatisfactory service and failure to honour contractual obligations. These include poor workmanship, poor quality of material used for renovation, slow progress or failure to complete renovation works on time. The Guide was finalised with feedback from CASE and other stakeholders such as the Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association, the Singapore Interior Design Accreditation Council and the Ministry of National Development.
Contractors should review the Guide carefully and adopt the recommended practices, to avoid the types of conduct that may constitute ‘unfair practices’ under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act 2003 (“CPFTA“). We highlight that CASE will refer errant merchants to CCCS for investigation under the CPFTA for engaging in unfair practices and have been proven to do so.
In this Update, we briefly highlight the five areas of trading practices covered in the Guide, and the key Do’s and Don’ts. We also provide a checklist of key items that Contactors should set out in their renovation contracts.
For more information, click here to read the full Legal Update.
