What is the difference between the defects liability period and the maintenance period?
In practice they mean the same thing: a fixed period after completion during which the contractor must return and make good defects at its own cost. The Public Sector Standard Conditions of Contract (PSSCOC) call it the Defects Liability Period and set its length in the Appendix. The SIA building contract calls it the Maintenance Period. Reported SIA cases show 12-month maintenance periods. Whatever the label, read your own contract for the length, the start date and how defects must be notified.
From the RRD Field Guide, checked against the sources cited in Defects Liability Period and Retention Money in Singapore: DLP, Maintenance Period, Final Account and Late Defects. General information, not advice for your project.
The fuller picture
The defects liability period (DLP), called the maintenance period in SIA contracts, is the window after completion in which the contractor must return and fix defects. Retention is typically released half at completion and half when the DLP ends. Later defects can still be claimed: generally within 6 years, or for negligence 3 years from knowledge, subject to a 15-year long-stop.
More questions on this topic
- How much retention money is usually held in Singapore?
- When should retention money be released?
- Can I still claim for defects found after the defects liability period ends?
- How long do I have to sue for a latent defect in Singapore?
- What is a final account in a construction contract?
- Can the owner fix defects using another contractor and deduct the cost?
- Does SOPA apply to claims for retention money?