HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD RETAILERS (Termination of leases and change of use of shops)

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Minister for National Development, for the period 1998-2000, (a) how many Housing and Development Board (HDB) retailers had (i) terminated their leases; (ii) requested for change of use of their shops and were approved; and (b) how does this change of use benefit residents.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Mah Bow Tan): Mr Speaker, Sir, HDB shop tenants can exit from the retail trade either by terminating their tenancy with HDB or by assigning their tenancy to another operator. As for shopkeepers who own their HDB shops, they can exit from the retail trade by selling their shops in the open market. Every year, about 5% of HDB shopkeepers exit from the retail trade through one of these means. Between 1998 and 2000, there were about 800 terminations, 1,200 assignments and 500 resale cases.

HDB also allows shopkeepers to change the use of their shops, except in cases where the conversion is likely to cause disamenities to HDB residents. Between 1998 and 2000, HDB gave approval for 600 shop tenants and lessees to change the use of their shops. This figure suggests that on an annual basis, about 1% of HDB retailers change the use of their shops.

A flexible change of use policy will enable HDB shopkeepers to respond more swiftly to the changing needs of HDB residents. Over time, this will create a vibrant commercial environment in HDB estates, which will result in a wider variety of goods and services at competitive prices. This will definitely benefit HDB residents.

Dr Teo Ho Pin (Sembawang): Sir, may I ask the Minister whether or not HDB will allow the change of use to eating houses, and also whether HDB will control the tenant mix of the neighbourhood?

Mr Mah Bow Tan: Sir, as far as changing of use to eating houses is concerned, as I have said earlier, the change of use will only be allowed if it does not cause disamenity to residents. In this particular case, HDB feels that change of use to an eating house will create more disturbance, more disamenity, more noise nuisance to the residents. Therefore, they will not allow this. But they will allow change of use to snack shops and take-away shops which will deal with take-away food.

In so far as the second question is concerned, whether HDB will control the tenant mix, the answer is that in the case of new towns or new neighbourhood centres where the tenant mix has not yet settled, where the commercial environment has not yet settled, HDB will not allow a change in the tenant mix for the first three years. But thereafter, when the commercial environment has settled down, HDB will allow freely a change of use, subject of course to the conditions that were stated earlier.