Singaporean and PR HDB Flat Owners Renting out Flats

Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current number of HDB flat owners who rent out their entire flat or at least a room; and (b) what is the breakdown of these owners by Singaporean and Permanent Resident.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman (for the Minister for National Development): Madam, as at 31 January 2015, 87,900 households have rented out their flats or one or more rooms. Ninety two percent are Singaporean households. The remaining 8% are Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) households, almost entirely subletting just their rooms. Since Jan 2013, HDB has disallowed SPR households from subletting their entire flats.

Mr Png Eng Huat: Thank you, Mdm Speaker. I just have a quick supplementary question. How would HDB ensure that these flats are properly rented out, that is, the number of occupants are within legal limits, and that the length of the tenancy or rental agreement is also within legal limits so that these flats do not function like mini motels.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman: Madam, I share the Member's concern to ensure that HDB flats are not used for purposes other than subletting according to regulations set out by HDB. Every lessee of the flats knows the regulations and if they are subletting the rooms, they are supposed to register the number of tenants that they have in their rooms. HDB monitors that quite closely. We also require the help of local grassroots to let us know, should the tenancy breaches the agreement set out by HDB. It is a two-pronged approach: HDB will continue to do their spot checks from time to time to ensure that these flats are not sublet, not according to prescription. At the same time, we require local ground-up feedback so that we can continue to enforce, where necessary.