Worrying tripling of demand for rental flats in one year

Aug 19, 2008
Worrying tripling of demand for rental flats in one year
By Jessica Cheam

THE sharp increase in the number of people seeking Housing Board
(HDB) rental flats - it has tripled in just a year - has become a
cause for concern, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Calling it a 'worrying trend', he said such cases made up the bulk of
those seen at weekly meet-the-people sessions.

The HDB is building more flats to meet demand, but Mr Lee urged
people who are not really in need to look for alternatives like
renting a room on the open market or moving in with their children.

He cited an example provided by the HDB of a 60-year-old woman with
three children - two living in private property - who applied for a
rental flat.

The children wrote to the HDB saying: 'Don't worry, we will jointly
hire a maid to look after our mother. Please can she have a rental
flat?'

While acknowledging that families must have their problems to ask for
help, Mr Lee said that for this particular group, 'rental flats are
not the right solution'.

Other viable alternatives include downgrading to a smaller flat or
moving into a studio apartment.

Elderly folk can also opt for the recently launched lease buy-back
scheme to monetise their flats instead of selling up and joining the
rental queue.

The initiative enables owners to sell the tail-end of their flat
lease to the HDB. The proceeds then go to a CPF Life annuity, which
will make monthly payouts.

Mr Lee said the growing demand for rental flats is one of the 'wider
needs of the public' noted by MPs, with some having flagged the issue
in Parliament.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said that HDB will increase
its supply of 42,000 flats by 20 per cent. It is also reviewing its
eligibility scheme.

This is so 'we can keep it an effective safety net for the people who
need this, this minority of genuinely needy families who have not
only no income but also no assets and also no family support', said
Mr Lee.

Aljunied GRC MP Cynthia Phua said Mr Lee rightly pointed out that old
folk should be cared for by their family.

'There's no straightforward solution to this situation,' she said.

Even studio flats are over-subscribed, she said, adding that the
situation will ease when more flats come on the market from the HDB's
building programme.