If you’ve ever wondered why a lift in an older HDB block does not stop at every floor, you’re at the right place. Some lifts really do skip floors like they have somewhere better to be. In fact, many of Singapore’s early HDB flats were built with lifts that don’t stop at every floor. Yes, generations of residents had to climb that extra flight of stairs whether they liked it or not.
But why were HDBs designed this way? To understand the mystery, we need to go back to when these blocks were first built. Full-access lifts sounded nice, but in an era of tight budgets, limited technology, and very pragmatic planning, they were more “luxury” than necessity.
Historical design choices & constraints
Image credit: Heritage SG Memories
To understand why older HDB lifts seem to have commitment issues with certain floors, especially the top one, we need to rewind to Singapore’s early housing boom. Back then, HDB wasn’t designing for convenience or aesthetics; it was designing for survival.
The priority was simple: house as many families as possible, as fast as possible, and with whatever budget was available.
So when it came to lifts, some tough trade-offs had to be made. Full-floor lift access sounds great today, but in the 60s to 80s, it was the luxury equivalent of having a dishwasher at home: technically possible, but financially unrealistic. Lifts that stopped at every floor required more space, more machinery, and more money.
So HDB opted for intermediate landing designs: lifts that stopped on alternate floors or whichever configuration best balanced cost and function.
There’s even a curious little “privacy” theory floating around that these lifts reduced corridor foot traffic and made living spaces quieter. Whether this was intentional urban planning or just a polite way of saying “sorry, no budget,” we’ll leave to the historians.
Why lifts didn’t reach the very top or every floor
Here’s the part many people don’t realise: some early HDB blocks literally couldn’t support a lift shaft that reached the highest floor due to structural and layout limitations. But the bigger reason was, once again, cost over convenience.
Fast-forward to today, and while most blocks have been upgraded through the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), not all could be. Examples include Block 291 Choa Chu Kang, and Block 4 Sago Lane. Not because HDB doesn’t want to fix it but because retrofitting a full-height lift is sometimes physically impossible or financially absurd.
How absurd? In some cases, the upgrade cost per household can exceed $200,000. At that price, you’re basically building a lift made of gold.
So yes, it’s not that HDB forgot. It’s that some old blocks were built in ways that make modern upgrades incredibly tricky, incredibly expensive, or both.
And that’s how design choices made half a century ago continue to “shape your thighs” today, one staircase at a time.
The “even or odd floor” phenomenon
Image credit: Singapore Public Housing Wiki
Following from the earlier point about how old HDB blocks often did not come with full lift access, another related quirk many Singaporeans remember is the “even- or odd-floor only” lift stop, almost like the lift was allergic.
In some older blocks, especially slab blocks built between the 1970s and early 1990s, lifts were designed to stop only on alternate floors, meaning either all the odd-numbered floors or even-numbered ones.
This meant many residents had to climb a flight of stairs up or down from the lift landing to reach their unit.
While HDB has never released a single, explicit statement detailing the reasoning behind “even- or odd-floor only” landings, the broader design logic of that era gives us strong clues:
- Cost-efficiency: fewer lift landings = lower construction and installation costs
- Operational efficiency: fewer stops reduce wear, breakdown frequency, and travel time
- Structural constraints: some blocks were built with narrow lift shafts or mid-landings (the half-floors between 2 levels), making it structurally unfeasible to add doors on every floor
- Staged lift designs: older lift models were not built for multi-floor door mechanisms without extensive retrofitting
These constraints mirror what was mentioned earlier about why early HDBs lacked full lift access. Both stem from the same architectural philosophy of the time: functionality first, cost control second, with accessibility only becoming a nationwide priority much later.
Why lifts in some blocks still haven’t been upgraded
Image credit: mailer_diablo
Even after decades of lift upgrades, a handful of older HDB blocks are still playing hard-to-get when it comes to full lift access.
Some alternative solutions, like retrofitting stair lifts or platform lifts, sound like a clever hack, but they were rejected because they could block escape routes during fires.
HDB has also explored fancier options, such as machine room-less lifts, home lifts, or even bubble-style external lifts. Cool ideas, but many old blocks simply don’t have the space to fit them in. Escalators were also considered. Yes, escalators in an HDB. But they were quickly ruled out as technically and spatially unfeasible.
Rather than tearing down entire blocks just to install lifts, HDB offers the Lift Access Housing Grant (LHG), up to $30,000 for households that urgently need barrier-free access and want to move to a flat with direct lift access. Not quite a magic wand, but it’s something.
Impact on residents
Image credit: Mediacorp
For residents still living in blocks without full lift access, these aren’t just minor inconveniences, they’re part of daily life. Imagine living on a floor that the lift politely skips over. Every trip home with groceries, or the climb after a long day at work, quickly becomes a mini workout – an added hassle that residents of HDBs with full lift access wouldn’t have to deal with.
For the elderly or anyone with mobility challenges, what might seem like a single flight of stairs can feel like climbing Mount Everest.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Some residents have taken advantage of the Lift Access Housing Grant to move into flats with direct lift access, trading their daily stair climb for a more convenient lifestyle.
According to MND, there are still about 2,000 flats without same-level lift access. In the grand scheme of Singapore’s public housing, that’s a tiny fraction, but for those who live there, it’s a significant part of their daily routine.
What HDB & MND are doing to help residents
Image credit: Desmond Lee
The good news is that the government hasn’t forgotten these residents. Since 2001, the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) has transformed over 5,000 HDB blocks, bringing lift access closer to the homes of thousands of Singaporeans.
For blocks where retrofitting is trickier, MND continues to trial and explore new lift technologies ranging from machine room-less lifts to home lifts, hoping to one day offer solutions even for the most stubborn of old blocks.
Beyond the LHG funding mentioned earlier, MND encourages affected residents to reach out directly, so they can understand the specific situation of each household and explore tailored solutions.
Understanding why old HDBs did not have full lift access
At the end of the day, lift access in older HDBs is really a story of trade-offs. Decades ago, planners had to balance cost versus coverage and structural constraints versus social needs.
What made perfect sense in the 1960s and 70s, like skipping floors to save money or working within narrow shafts, can now feel like a daily inconvenience for residents.
That said, the continued push for innovative lift technologies, along with housing grants like the Lift Access Housing Grant, shows that this “mystery” isn’t being ignored, and that Singapore is still finding ways to make its public housing a little more lift-friendly, and less stair-intensive.
Read more cool lift facts here:
- There are 360-degree bubble lifts in HDB flats across Singapore
- Tampines HDBs near old library have lifts that act as passageways
Cover image adapted from: Heritage SG Memories, Cheng Kiang Ng
Drop us your email so you won't miss the latest news.
