HUDC HOUSING ESTATES (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

This Bill seeks to amend the HUDC Housing Estates Act to facilitate upgrading of HUDC housing estates.

There are 20 HUDC estates, built in four phases. The first two phases (Phases I and II), comprising eight estates, were sold by HUDC Private Limited under the HUDC Housing Estates Act. The last two phases (Phases III and IV), comprising 12 estates, were sold by HDB under the Housing and Development Act. HDB has stopped building HUDC flats since 1986.

This Bill applies only to the Phases I and II estates. Phases III and IV estates are governed by the Housing and Development Act.

In most respects, the Phases I and II estates are similar to private estates. Unlike HDB flats, there are no minimum occupation periods, subletting of entire flats is allowed and single persons and foreigners are allowed to buy them. Management bodies are set up by the flat owners to manage their estates.

The Phases I and II estates were built since the mid-1970s. With the aging of these estates, many owners aspire to improve and upgrade their estates, both to enhance the value of their flats and to provide facilities which are usually available in private condominiums, such as swimming pools, sport amenities and clubhouses.

However, under the HUDC Housing Estates Act, a proposal to upgrade or improve the estate can only be passed, as a special resolution, if not more than 10% of the flat owners in the housing estate concerned cast their votes against it.

The 10% stipulated for passage of upgrading proposals is unnecessarily stringent. It limits unduly the aspirations of the Phases I and II HUDC flat owners to upgrade their estates. In comparison, for private estates under the Land Titles (Strata) Act, an upgrading proposal can be passed if owners of not more than 25% of the total share value cast their votes against it.

This Bill amends the HUDC Housing Estates Act so that an upgrading proposal can be passed if not more than 25% of the flat owners vote against it.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Mr Speaker, Sir, the HUDC flats are quite similar to the private flats and yet there is a difference in the law governing the HUDC flats and the private flats. I stand to be corrected. The Land Titles (Strata) Act in fact does not allow occupiers to upgrade their flats if they get 75% of the votes. I believe there must be a unanimous resolution or, if not a unanimous resolution, they must apply to the court to have their upgrading done. In regard to the HUDC flats, now there is an amendment before us that if not more than 25% vote against it, then upgrading is allowed. My query to the Minister is: how many occupiers actually comprise the 25%? Is it that everyone of the occupiers must vote and get 75%? Or is it confined to those who attend the meeting, ie, if 75% vote for it, then the majority will win? I would like to get this clarification.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, in case Mr Chiam fails to recollect, we had the HUDC Housing Estates Act in the early 1970s before we had the Land Titles (Strata) Act. In the HUDC Housing Estates Act, it is stipulated that you can only have an upgrading or improvement proposal if not more than 10% object to it. That was very stringent. When we had the Land Titles (Strata) Act, we amended this to 25% following the experience of many countries. So in the private condominiums in the private housing estates under the Land Titles (Strata) Act, an upgrading proposal can be passed if the owners of not more than 25% of the total share value, ie, the number of flats, cast their votes against it. So this amendment before the House today is to bring the HUDC Housing Estates Act in line with the provisions of the Land Titles (Strata) Act. The number of votes is based on the number of occupiers in the estate and not on the number who attended the meeting.

Mr Chiam See Tong: If the Minister cares to read the Report of the Select Committee on the Land Titles (Strata) Bill, he will see that the Minister, Prof. Jayakumar, explained to one of the representors, Mr Lim Chin Joo, that the meaning of unanimous vote applies to only those who were present and voted unanimously, and not necessarily that every owner must vote. Therefore, based on that explanation, do we take it that everyone of the occupiers must vote and you must get more than 75%, or only if the people who attend the meeting voted 75% and above, you can have an upgrading? Which of the two is correct?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Sir, I will take the opportunity to check out what Mr Chiam has said. But my understanding is that under the Land Titles (Strata) Act, an upgrading is passed if not more than 25% object to it and that 25% is based on the strata values, which means all the owners of the estate. Similarly, for the HUDC Housing Estates Act, we are making the amendment that not more than 25% object to it and that means all the owners of the housing estate.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Mr Lim Hng Kiang].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.

The Leader of the House (Mr Wong Kan Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, before I move the adjournment, may I remind Members that when they address another Member or the Minister, they should use the correct pronoun and not the word "you", because the word "you" refers to the Speaker. Just use "he" or "the Minister".