UPGRADED HDB FLATS (Extension of lease)

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether he will extend the 99-year lease of Housing and Development Board flats after they have been upgraded.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, as my predecessor, Mr Dhanabalan, told this House in 1989, experience has shown that most buildings reach the end of their economic life, and are redeveloped, well before the end of their 99-year lease period. This is a desirable process, which ensures that land is utilised efficiently, and allows for the timely renewal of Singapore. The extension of the leases of HDB flats beyond 99 years, even if they have been upgraded, might hinder the future redevelopment and renewal of Singapore. The leases of HDB flats will thus not be extended after they have been upgraded.

Mr Chiam See Tong: If I heard the Acting Minister correctly, even a flat, after upgrading, will not have a longer life than before it was upgraded? Is that right?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: The basic structural life of a building is determined at its construction, ie, the foundation, the pillars, the load bearing walls, etc. That has not changed even after upgrading. In the upgrading process, what we are doing is that we are changing the inside of the flat, the pipes, the sewerage, the drainage. We add another space-adding item to the block, which is a standalone, and is on a separate foundation. So the structural integrity of the block and its life are not extended by the upgrading. It remains the same, more than 100 years. That is the designed life of a concrete structure.

Mr Chiam See Tong: There are two things. People who upgrade their flat have to pay additional money and they would also assume that the economic life of the building should last probably 10 to 15 years longer. So they are asking whether or not the Government is willing to extend their lease.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: I think the main objective of the upgrading programme to Singaporeans is that at the end of the upgrading, the flat is better for them to live in and they get a better value flat. Indeed, they do. All those flats which have been upgraded have provided Singaporeans with a newer flat, better amenities, better facilities, bigger space for those who have opted for the space-adding item. The value of their flat has gone up tremendously. So that is the real benefit to Singaporeans. Whether they expect to see the life of the flat being extended, that is not the primary concern.