Plans to Help Long-term Hawker Stall Tenants of Current Landlords before Expiry of Hawker Centre Lease and Its Return to NEA

Mr Ang Hin Kee asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources whether the Ministry has plans to help long-term tenants who rent their hawker stalls from the current landlord during the transition phase when the lease of a hawker centre expires and has to be returned to NEA.

Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Stallholders in 15 hawker centres purchased a 20-year lease under the Stall Ownership Scheme launched between 1994 and 1997. These stall owners were allowed to sell, transfer or sublet their stalls during the lease period. The leases for these sold centres have expired or will be expiring in the next few years.

When the leases of these centres expire, all stall owners who wish to continue working personally as hawkers may take up tenancy at a NEA-managed hawker centre at the prevailing market rent. As a special concession, hawkers who were originally subsidised stall-holders would only have to pay the prevailing subsidised rent. In all cases, they would have to personally operate these stalls.

Stall operators who currently rent their stalls from stall owners in these centres may choose to participate in open tenders for vacant stalls in all our hawker centres. There are currently more than 100 vacant stalls in existing hawker centres and over 300 available stalls in new hawker centres scheduled to be completed by 2017.