Home owner's secret move to have mezzanine floor foiled

Unauthorised renovation of East Coast shophouse added 676 sq ft to unit

- Selina Lum

The owner of a shophouse unit in East Coast Road intended to secretly build a mezzanine floor, but his scheme was foiled by the accidental discovery of a layout plan that showed the unauthorised level.

The management corporation of the Frankel Estate development, which comprises four strata-titled units, had come across a "lighting plan" pasted on the wall of the unit on Feb 19, 2022, amid the renovation.

This plan - unlike the one submitted for renovation approval - showed a 676 sq ft mezzanine floor, comprising a living area, two bedrooms and a bathroom, which was connected to the base level by a staircase.

When told to stop the works, home owner Ng Jun Quan and his contractor initially denied that they were building a mezzanine floor.

The works continued despite subsequent objections by the management corporation. Under the law, owners of strata-titled units have to obtain approval through a 90 per cent resolution passed at a general meeting before carrying out works that increase floor area.

Mr Ng eventually admitted in May 2022 that he had built the mezzanine level, stating in an e-mail that "many do mezza illegally" in Singapore and that he was going through the "proper way".