Condominium developer Macly Assets lost a bid for $760,000 in damages from a couple whom it said had built lofts in their penthouse apartment in Thomson V Two without their consent.
Notably, the property developer blamed the couple for the delay in obtaining its certificate of statutory completion from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA).
In a written judgment, the High Court ruled that Macly had granted written permission for the construction of the timber lofts.
Justice Lee Seiu Kin dismissed the developer’s claim that Mr and Mrs Anrew Loke violated the sale and purchase agreement of their flat by constructing the timber lofts without written consent.
The court noted the couple had submitted an application for a renovation permit (RP) with plans for the timber decks clearly showing what they were.
In fact, Loke was told to amend the words “loft floors” in the application form to “storage area”, as a storage area could not be “officially” considered as additional gross floor area (“GFA”) for the unit.
He was then informed not include the area of the timber decks as part of the unit’s GFA if he were to sell it.
Justice Lee said Loke was not, at any point, told his application for permission to construct the timber decks was rejected.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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