VACANT HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD RENTAL FLATS

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for National Development if he will furnish a statement of the numbers of rental flats that were vacant as at 1st June,1983 in the various housing estates where the Housing and Development Board has flats for rent and the number of months the flats have remained vacant.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: The HDB manages a total of 132,414 rental units, of which only 939 units (0.7% ) were vacant as at 1 June 1983. The table below (cols. 103-4) gives details of the vacant units by zone and period of vacancy.

A rental flat is not immediately allocated for occupation when it falls vacant. For the comfort and convenience of the tenants, the HDB undertakes general repairs and repainting of each vacated flat before offering it to resettlement cases or public applicants on the waiting list. It normally takes 2 weeks to complete repairs and repainting. The process of offering takes another 2 weeks, inclusive of the time needed for the Lettings Section to identify and match applicants against vacancy lists, obtain the necessary approvals and notify the successful applicant. The applicant is given 1 week to decide whether to accept the offer. If he rejects it, the flat is offered to the next applicant in line. This process goes on until the flat is finally accepted.

Generally, 2 to 3 offers are made before a flat is taken up. The average period between the termination and occupation of HDB rental flats is 2 to 3 months. Flats in less popular areas, however, require a longer time to be accepted and may be vacant for up to 6 months.

The inevitable time lapse between termination and occupation of rental flats may cause the uninformed to believe that the HDB deliberately withholds flats from applicants who have waited a long time for accommodation. In reality, at any point of time, vacant flats will be undergoing repairs and repainting or will be under offer to resettlement cases or applicants on the waiting list. VACANT RENTAL UNITS BY ZONE AND PERIOD OF VACANCY AS AT 1 JUNE 1983 Zone Cen- Jur- Bedok/ Ang Bukit Yis- Wood- Total tral ong Tamp- Mo Batok/ hun lands ines Kio/ Cai-Hou- cuo-gang gang ______________________________________________________________ Months Vacant ______ 1 month 63 176 84 142 2 2 1 470 2 months 22 131 33 40 1 6 2 235 3 months 10 31 5 19 - 1 3 69 4 to 6 27 94 13 24 4 - 3 165 months ______________________________________________________________ Total 122 432 135 225 7 9 9 939 ______________________________________________________________