A 36-year-old woman was reportedly appalled that her 86 sq m four-room Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) Pasir Ris One flat was too small to house her family of seven.

According to the woman, Tracy Tan, who originally told the Chinese evening newspaper Shin Min Daily News about her predicament:

"I planned to occupy the master bedroom with my mother, give one room to my brother and his wife, and the guest room to my two nephews and the maid."

If that sounds like plenty, read on.

Her shock first registered when she visited the unit for the first time after getting the house key.

She said she was not ready to find a "shoebox" size guest room, which could accommodate only one single bed, and a master bedroom just big enough for a queen-size bed.

She reportedly paid S$590,000 for the unit and is now looking at forking out an additional S$40,000 to dismantle the built-in wardrobe and build customised double-decker beds.

For comparison, a typical five-room HDB flat in Sengkang is about 110 sq m: Plenty of room for a family of five, but barely accommodating for a family of seven.

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Dennis Lim, a spokesman for Pasir Ris One's developer, was obviously not amused, as per the report.

This was after the woman proposed letting her switch to a five-room unit at a discounted price or have the developer subsidise her renovation expense.

Lim said the agent who sold Tan the unit had furnished her with all the information she needed before she made the purchase, including the sizes of the rooms.

Lim said: "She was fully informed."

And not before making a snarky remark:

"I understand it's not easy for someone who has lived in a private apartment to adjust to living in a four-room flat."

Nice.

Top photo via DBSS Pasir Ris One Facebook page