Should interior designers be licensed? Some say regulation needed for renovation industry

SINGAPORE: A home owner hires an interior designer and pays the firm a large sum, but it doesn’t deliver what it should. What can he do?
Not much, as some home owners found out.
CNA reported last month that multiple legal claims were filed against an interior design firm after it failed to complete renovation works on time. Several were granted orders from the Small Claims Tribunal for refunds.
But the firm and its director did not comply, leaving those affected questioning if they had any recourse.
Certification and accreditation programmes spearheaded by industry groups are under way, but regulation could still be needed to solve perennial issues within the renovation industry, some industry players said.
A licensing regime for interior designers and such firms, as well as setting industry standards on contracts and other business practices are among suggestions made by those CNA spoke to.
Criticisms about shoddy work and shady practices have plagued the renovation industry for years.
Complaints received by the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) hit a multi-year high of 1,454 in 2022, before dropping to 1,168 last year. For the first half of this year, the consumer watchdog received 486 complaints against home renovation contractors.
No regulations govern who can enter the renovation industry. 
This low barrier to entry means that anyone can set up a renovation or interior design firm, and instances of fly-by-night companies are not unheard of, said TBG Interior Design’s director Michael Ong.
“In any industry, there are the bad apples. With the lack of an authority and laws that bite, there’s nothing for them to lose. They can open one company, close down, open another and their so-called reputation can be reset,” he said.
Others said the lack of government oversight means no standardised training or service guarantee exists.
To top it off, consumers, especially first-time home owners, may not know what to look out for.
“All these factors come together to create a very grey situation where consumers are not as protected as they should be,” said Mr Daniel Lim, co-founder of home renovation platform Qanvast.
While there are avenues for consumers to turn to in the event of a dispute – such as CASE and the Small Claims Tribunal – home owners may find that they have to spend more time and money to prove their case.
This deters consumers who are already mentally or financially exhausted from pursuing the matter further, said Mr Ong.
For those who pursue legal action such as suing the company for breach of contract, “there is often no real winner” when it comes to litigation, said Mr Kok Yee Keong, partner at Harry Elias Partnership.
“The successful judgment holder would have lost precious time and legal costs in pursuing the legal case, and payment of the judgment sum is never a guarantee,” the lawyer said.
The authorities have taken some steps to protect home owners.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has a directory of contractors who are approved to carry out renovations in HDB flats. This directory requires contractors to undergo training and renewal process, and errant contractors are “punished” with demerit points or taken off the directory, said Mr Kok.
CASE’s accreditation arm, CaseTrust, has accredited about 120 renovation firms it deems reliable. 
The consumer watchdog also has a joint accreditation scheme with the Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association. This has about 44 firms on the list as of Aug 15.
Under these schemes, firms are audited based on criteria ranging from store policies and ethical advertising to dispute resolution procedures. These businesses are also required to put in place safeguards, such as protecting customers’ deposits against closures, winding up and liquidation via the purchase of a deposit performance bond.
Separately, CASE maintains an alert list to warn consumers against potentially dodgy firms.
Further efforts to ensure standards and professionalise the industry are underway.
The Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association, for example, launched an academy in 2021 with courses focusing on both skills training and business ethics, said the academy’s director Gena Thien.
So far, the academy has seen 800 participants from around 70 firms. The names of those who complete the courses and are certified are listed on the association’s website.
“We want to be very transparent … and allow the public to access this information for their own due diligence,” said Ms Thien.
The Society of Interior Designers Singapore also has an accreditation scheme, first rolled out in November 2021 as part of an industry transformation map. 
About 300 interior designers have been accredited under three categories that are determined by education, skills and competencies, as well as experience in the industry.
For example, Class 1 designers include those with degree qualifications and at least two years’ experience. Those without qualifications but who have been in the industry for more than eight years can also be accredited as a class 1 designer after having their portfolios reviewed.
Class 2 designers have a relevant diploma and 18 months’ experience, while Class 3 designers have a National ITE Certificate (NITEC) certificate and 12 months’ experience.
Likewise, the names of those accredited can be found on the society’s website. To renew their accreditation, designers must attend a minimum number of professional courses.
The two industry groups said they would not hesitate to remove individuals if there are valid complaints. So far, no one has been taken off their lists due to misconduct.
Still, the interior designers association acknowledged that its accreditation system is only the first step in addressing issues such as low entry barriers, and that more can be done.
“The vision we hope to move towards is for (the accreditation system) to be legislated, like some form of an Interior Designer Act to minimally require some form of licensing,” said Mr Fann Zhi Jie, co-chair of the group’s accreditation council.
“If you want to call yourself an interior designer, then you should have the relevant education and experience,” he added. “We have been reaching out to different stakeholders … but I think everything is still very preliminary.”
With service offerings differing widely across the industry, the association is also hoping to roll out industry standards that cover areas such as standardising contracts and quotations, as well as what comes under the job scope of an interior designer.
“For example, a company may be offering free rendering for designs, but another company doesn’t. Consumers may then wonder why is this company offering a freebie and another is asking me to pay after two free images,” said Mr Fann.
“If that’s the case, what’s fair and what’s not? So, we hope that with these standards, there will be a norm for both the designers and consumers to follow.”
Others agree that regulation, such as a licensing regime that was rolled out in the real estate agent industry, will provide “more teeth that bite”.
“A regulatory regime to make sure that designers are only able to practise if they hold a licence is good because if there’s a licence at stake, then errant companies will reconsider doing things that might compromise a home owner,” said Mr Ong.
Having clear industry standards that spell out the responsibilities of both sides will help to protect businesses too, Mr Ong added.
While bad apples in the industry exist, consumers also play a part when disputes arise, industry players said.
For example, owners without technical expertise do not understand the difficulty of achieving their desired aesthetic and withhold payments even when work has been done.
“Consumers’ education on fair practice and reasonable acceptance is important as well,” said Mr Ong. “At the end of the day, there cannot be one-sided guidelines that lean towards consumers.”
Mr Kok from Harry Elias Partnership suggested that authorities name and shame contractors who have received a number of unresolved complaints or decisions against them.
Applicants of the accreditation schemes could also be required to declare if they were ever a director, shareholder or management staff of a renovation business with any antecedents, he said.
“This might help mitigate the issue of repeat errant individuals incorporating new renovation companies.” 
The Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association and Society of Interior Designers Singapore hope their certification and accreditation schemes can serve as another checkpoint for home owners.
“If we don’t have the demand, then designers will not see the need for accreditation, and we need designers to see the importance of accreditation in order for this entire industry to be uplifted,” said Ms Ng Hwee Li, co-chair of the society’s accreditation council.
As with all things, research is key.
As a first step, home owners can sieve through online reviews to check the credibility and track record of a contractor or interior design firm.
Next, look up company records on the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority’s website for information such as the amount of paid-up capital. The Singapore Renovation Contractors and Material Suppliers Association (RCMA) recommends a benchmark of at least S$50,000 in paid-up capital.
Also check if the companies you have in mind are listed on HDB’s directory for renovation contractors, as well as certification and accreditation schemes offered by CaseTrust, RCMA and the Society of Interior Designers Singapore.
Insist on a written contract with details on key project milestones. The Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) advises consumers to negotiate for a progressive payment schedule according to the project milestones, with the deposit “as low as possible”.
Based on a model agreement on home renovation available on CASE’s website, the typical milestones and amounts are as follows: 
Home owners should also document outstanding renovation defects by taking photos, which can be used as supporting evidence in case of disputes.
Ensure outstanding defects are fully rectified before making full payment.
If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So watch out for unrealistic promises on project timelines, as well as “too good to be true” material costs and quotations, said RCMA.
Other red flags include asking payments to be made via PayNow to a personal mobile number, instead of a company’s unique entity number (UEN).
Others in the industry are also offering solutions to what they see as perennial issues in the renovation industry, such as renovation platforms that tout themselves as the reliable middlemen to connect home owners with renovators. 
Long-time player Qanvast, which started in 2013, said it only lists interior design firms that meet its criteria such as being in operations for at least one year and having completed a minimum of five projects.
Its screening team will call up home owners to verify said completed projects, as well as conduct interviews with industry partners to verify the soundness of the firms, said Mr Lim.
The monitoring continues after the company is listed, with firms having to achieve at least three-and-a-half star ratings on its platform. In the event that complaints are lodged, Qanvast said it conducts an investigation before deciding whether to remove the firm from its platform.
The platform has also gone a step further by rolling out a trust programme for home owners. This includes a S$50,000 guarantee to safeguard deposits in case their interior design firm becomes insolvent, and an extended warranty coverage at no additional cost to home owners.
Qanvast currently has around 300 interior design firms listed on its platform.
“Given how renovations are such big-ticket items and the industry being highly unregulated, what we are doing is try to increase the trust factor and hopefully remove some bad actors as best as we can,” said Mr Lim.
“We would love to see more regulations for the industry because ultimately, that will have the same goal as what we are hoping to achieve.”