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It wasn\u2019t until 2013 that Singapore\u2019s National Environment Agency (NEA) updated its Code of Practice on Environmental Health. From June 2014, new buildings had to raise the ratio of female to male toilets from 1:1 to 5:3.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But since the update applied only to new buildings, older ones were stuck with outdated designs such as squat toilets \u2013 a feature carried over from early Housing Development Board flats that many women avoid today, adding to the wait.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You would think that newer malls and offices built after the guidelines were revised would have tackled this problem. Yet long queues continue to form outside some women\u2019s restrooms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This is where developer considerations come into play, said Jacqueline Pong, director of DP Architects, the firm behind SingPost Centre, Paya Lebar Quarter, Our Tampines Hub and The Woodleigh Mall.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhile toilets contribute to the gross floor area, they do not count under the net lettable area. Thus, developers may take into consideration revenue potential in their spatial allocation,\u201d Pong explained.<\/span><\/p>\n Simply put, because toilets take up space but don\u2019t directly generate income, some developers view them as cost centres and are less inclined to allocate room for them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Sim, who, in 2005, helped bring China on board the potty parity movement by appealing to its desire to polish its public image ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, added that this is also why you\u2019d be hard-pressed to find a ground-floor restroom in most shopping malls in central Hong Kong \u2013 where real estate is priced at a premium.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\nSACRIFICING TOILET SPACE FOR REVENUE<\/span><\/h2>\n