HDB may acquire privately owned shops ‘if needed’ to curb rising rents in the heartlands

SINGAPORE: The Housing Development Board (HDB) may selectively acquire privately owned shop units and expand the supply of those it leases out to curb rising rents in heartland areas, Channel News Asia (CNA) reported, citing Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling in Parliament on Wednesday (Sept 24).

Singapore has about 15,500 HDB shop units. Roughly 7,000 are leased directly from the board, while around 8,500 are privately owned. HDB stopped selling shops in 1998 and has since chosen to lease them out directly to businesses.

Rental prices for some HDB shop units in Singapore have more than doubled over the past year, raising concerns about affordability for small businesses and the impact on essential services.

Ms Sun said that 90% of rented HDB shops have not seen rent increases in the past five years, and even when rents have gone up, it was at a moderate pace, averaging between 1.3% and 3.3% annually over the last three years.

Meanwhile, rents for privately owned shops surged sharply, with reports of some doubling in just the past year, 99.co noted.

While commenters online praised the board’s move as a “good start” to curb rising rents, others suggested subletting should not be allowed.

One commenter urged authorities to ensure tenants use the shops for their own businesses, claiming many sublet them secretly at higher rental rates, while another remarked, “The highest bidder will win the tender anyway. So ultimately, rental will get higher and higher; it doesn’t really matter if it’s privately owned HDB commercial units or HDB-owned commercial units.”

Just last week, food guru and Makansutra founder KF Seetoh spoke for hawkers and coffeeshop operators in Singapore, saying their margins are “paper thin” as they deal with steep rental hikes, along with high operating costs and the rising cost of living. In June, he also mentioned the “sky is the limit” rents that retailers, hawkers, and restaurants face in the city-state. /TISG

Read also: Singaporeans say ‘cooking at home is becoming expensive too’ as they cope with rising food and kopi prices

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