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only one?
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Reach Admin,
Can you help?
Because HDB only gave 1 block, If the only block for the poor also misuse by those heartless people then I don't know how to describe?
Thank you.
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Excuse me, but how do you know that this block is the only one in Singapore for the poor?
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WINN
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Dear HDB,
Does it mean Blk 28 Lor 6 Toa Payoh (only 1 block) 100% would be enough for all of the applicants in the long queue wating for HDB rental flats? If some of them in the long queue are not really need a rental flat then why they can join into the long queue?
And when will you reply for:
Will those currently waiting for a rental flat have to move from the place they are staying now when they get their new rental flat from HDB?
Will HDB ask foreign workers rent similar flats from the open market?
By the way, Blk 28 Lor 6 Toa Payoh has put on the internet for rent, is this a mistake made by the property agent or have some other reasons?
Thank you.
Regards
27/01/2010
The reply from HDB dated 16/01/2010:
I refer to your email dated 16 Jan 10.
2 As mentioned in our earlier reply, there is already a block of flats, i.e Blk 28 Lor 6 Toa Payoh, which has been set aside for the Interim Rental Housing. These flats, which would eventually be demolished, are offered to rental applicants who need interim accommodation while waiting for the allocation of a 1- or 2-room flat under the Public Rental Scheme.
3 We thank you for your feedback.
Yours sincerely,
SIM HWEE HUA (MS)
AG HEAD, RENTAL HOUSING POLICY & PLANNING UNIT
HOUSING ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
The enquiry to HDB QSM at 16/01/2001:
Has the queue for HDB rental flats ended?
If it still has a long queue then why they are not given priority for these flats (Blocks 32 and 33 Toa Payoh Lor 5) even these flats are being used for short-term rental? If the queue has ended then why HDB need to build 7,500 units of new rental flats in the next 3 years?
According to your reply at 11 Jan 2010, these flats will be demolished, they are less suitable for HDB's Public Rental Scheme as the tenants would then have to move in a few years time. Does it mean those currently waiting for a rental flat will no need to move from the place they are staying now when they get their new rental flat from HDB?
According to your reply for Mr Leong Sze Hian at
http://www.todayonline.com/Voices/EDC100113-0000022/Priority-given-to-truly-needy
(Subject:Priority given to truly needy, Date:13 Jan 2010), the flats cited by Mr Leong are no different from flats available for open market rental. Any person, Singapore citizen or otherwise, can also rent similar flats from the open market without waiting. If this is true, then why HDB not asking the foreign workers rent similar flats from the open market and let the poor Singapore citizens to rent these two flats with rents as low as $26 per month?
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Long Q
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Know it from the reply of HDB:
......
2 As mentioned in our earlier reply, there is already a block of flats, i.e Blk 28 Lor 6 Toa Payoh, which has been set aside for the Interim Rental Housing. These flats, which would eventually be demolished, are offered to rental applicants who need interim accommodation while waiting for the allocation of a 1- or 2-room flat under the Public Rental Scheme.
..........
Yours sincerely,
SIM HWEE HUA (MS)
AG HEAD, RENTAL HOUSING POLICY & PLANNING UNIT
HOUSING ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT
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only one? (I am a Guest) said :
Excuse me, but how do you know that this block is the only one in Singapore for the poor?
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only one?
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Mon, Aug 17, 2009
The New Paper
Under the Interim Rental Housing programme introduced earlier this year, units in Toa Payoh, Taman Ho Swee and Havelock Road are rented out at rates lower than market rates through a managing agent.
.....
The New Paper reported last month about a 44-year-old cleaner and his family of 11 who became homeless after he sold his four-room flat in Jurong.
He was not able to afford the repayments, and sold it, thinking he would get a rental flat immediately.
But he ended up bunking with friends and relatives, and finally stayed at void decks in Jurong.
HDB eventually allowed him to get an interim one-room rental unit.
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only one?
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29th JUL
There are about 500 three-room flats under the IRH scheme, of which about 50 are occupied.
These flats became available when their original owners moved out. Under the selective en-bloc redevelopment scheme (Sers), residents of flats of about 30 years old are relocated to new blocks nearby.
The vacated flats are in areas like Havelock Road, Taman Ho Swee and Toa Payoh. About half of these flats are in Block 28, Toa Payoh Lorong 6.
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why agent?
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why those Interim Rental flats are not allocated by HDB?
why apply from HDB but but have to get through an agent?
where to find out more details, eg the rental rates, I want to see if get through an agent the rate can low until how much? have to pay how much for the agent? anybody knows that?
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only one? (I am a Guest) said : Mon, Aug 17, 2009
The New Paper
Under the Interim Rental Housing programme introduced earlier this year, units in Toa Payoh, Taman Ho Swee and Havelock Road are rented out at rates lower than market rates through a managing agent.
.....
The New Paper reported last month about a 44-year-old cleaner and his family of 11 who became homeless after he sold his four-room flat in Jurong.
He was not able to afford the repayments, and sold it, thinking he would get a rental flat immediately.
But he ended up bunking with friends and relatives, and finally stayed at void decks in Jurong.
HDB eventually allowed him to get an interim one-room rental unit.
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how much low?
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why agent? (I am a Guest) said :
where to find out more details, eg the rental rates, I want to see if get through an agent the rate can low until how much? have to pay how much for the agent? anybody knows that?
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How much is the rental rate you will consider low enough?
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homelessness
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http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/01/50-years-of-hdb-%e2%80%93-homelessness-is-its-biggest-challenge/
50 years of HDB – homelessness is its biggest challenge
Andrew Loh
Come next Tuesday to Friday, the Housing and Development Board will host the International Housing Conference, an event to showcase and boast about the HDB’s achievements over the last 50 years. Titled, “Sustainable Housing : Charting New Frontiers”, more than 30 experts and speakers from all over the world have been invited to the conference.
Undoubtedly, the HDB’s achievements are remarkable. It was awarded the United Nations Public Service Award in 2008. No one should begrudge it the accolades. Providing homes to a 5 million population in a land area of about 710.2 sq km is no mean feat.
50 years on, however, the HDB’s role is no longer that of just providing physical houses or flats. Its policies, especially in the context of an increasing number of foreigners, an ageing local population and the expanding income-gap, are under scrutiny. The issue is no longer one of making sure there are homes for everyone but one of whether Singaporeans are able to afford these homes, especially among the lower-income and the elderly.
Despite the oft-repeated refrain that “HDB flats are still affordable” by government ministers, the fact is that an increasing number of home owners are defaulting on their mortgage loans. In November last year, Parliamentary Secretary for National Development, Mohamad Maliki Osman, revealed that there are 33,000 flat owners who were in arrears of three months or more. The number of homeless people sleeping in public areas such as the parks and void decks have also seen an increase. Perhaps the best evidence that HDB flats are being priced beyond those who are at the bottom end of the income scale is the long waiting period for public rental flats – which can be as long as two years – and the government’s recent announcement that it will be building more such rental flats the next three years. In total, when these are built, the number of public rental flats here will be 50,000.
That could mean anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 people who require these flats – and this is quite an astonishing figure.
In Parliament in 2009, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan disclosed how acute the problem is:
300 new applicants join the rental queue every month. The number of people returning flats is 150. Over and above that, there are over 500 appeals from Members of this House each month, from those who do not qualify for rental housing, who are not on the queue at the moment. I think all Members would know that this is probably the largest item on the agenda, as far as MPS is concerned. (Source)
Mr Mah also revealed that there were 4,550 applicants for rental flats as of February 2009.
Mdm Siti (not her real name) is one of those whose application for a rental flat has been denied by the HDB. Unable to service her bank loan, she had to sell off her flat. However, her flat fetched a lower price than when she bought it. She lost almost $50,000 in the sale, she tells The Online Citizen. With her children going through difficulties of their own and unable to take her in, she applied to the HDB for a rental flat. She was denied because under the HDB rules, having sold off her flat, she has to wait 30 months before she is eligible under the Public Rental Scheme. In the end, she had nowhere to go and ended up in a park.
Mdm Siti’s predicament is not unique. An increasing number of home owners, unable to pay their loans, either have had their flats repossessed by the HDB or the banks, or were forced to sell them. A rental flat is their last chance for a roof over their heads. But with the waiting period for such flats a lengthy one, these people have no choice but to put up wherever they can. And this means public areas where some live for many months.
Mr Mah, referring to those who no longer can afford buying their own flats, said “the family, not the Government, should be the first line of support for those in need.” While this may be desirable, often it is not a viable option, such as in the case of Mdm Siti whose children face problems themselves. One would argue that the government should indeed be the “first line of support for those in need”. After all, the HDB is the only public housing provider in Singapore. Where else can those in need go to, if their children or families cannot provide support?
Government ministries and departments, such as the Ministry of Community Development,Youth and Sports (MCYS) and the National Parks Board (NParks), together with the Voluntary Welfare Organisations, must work
closely in tandem with the MND and the HDB. Otherwise, as in cases which TOC have come across, the homeless are burdened further by being placed in homes and treated like prisoners or are fined as much as S$500 for taking shelter in public areas. Some of these homeless families have children as young as three or four-years old. It is unconscionable that our children should be made to face the unpredictable Singapore weather in the open, especially during the cold, rainy seasons.
So while the HDB trumpets its achievements to an international audience come next week, it must keep in mind that a growing population of those who can no longer afford its flats will be its biggest challenge going forward. The HDB must be more compassionate towards those who request for rental flats and it must be more aware of what is happening on the ground – Singaporeans who are affected adversely by its policies.
Perhaps the HDB should reflect on its priority and its first responsibility – to provide truly affordable homes for Singaporeans – in this its 50th year. Indeed, sustainable housing is what Singaporeans are hoping for.
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Related posts:
Biggest hike in 8 years but “we’re better off”
Needy waits 2 years under HDB’s Public Rental Scheme
From political party member to homelessness
Beyond managing homelessness
Challenge of communication
Posted by theonlinecitizen on 23 January 2010.
Tags: hdb, hdb flats, homeless, mah bow tan, public housing
Categories: Andrew Loh, Main Stories
11 Responses
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Show u Black & White only!
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http://theonlinecitizen.com/2010/01/hdbs-reply-on-rental-flats-unclear/
7 Responses
I have seen a contract for a one room house,renewal every two years as follows:-
HOUSEHOLD INCOME <$800 –THE RENT PAYABLE IS $26
" $801-$1500– " 30% of market rent
$1,500-$2,000 " 50% of market rent
" Above $2,000 " 70% of market rent
The average market rent(as at 2005) 1Room=$360; 2Rm=$480; 3Rm=$680; 4Rm=$810.
This market rates will be updated at the next renewal of contract, due in 2010.
I wonder how the older singels above 55 are going to cope up in paying market rates that keep increasing. Besides coping with the payment of other bills such as medical, utility,transport and other bills. It will be a disincentive for the older occupants to be working gainfully. As a lower 'Housold Income'$801-$1,500 jacks up the rental several times higher.It' better to be unemployed at an older age and fall into the below $800 income to pay a much lower rental for the one room house.
I believe the idea of having a one room house was to house the older unmarried single Singapore citizens,who never owned a house in their life-time,cheaply with partner.
It would be of great help to the elderly tenents if the household income of $801 to $1,500 be brought up to a higher treshold, so that the rental will be lower. This will justify the elderly tenents to be on the job market and meet the burden of paying other bills like for medical. I know of elderly tenents in one rooms who save costs on utilities by not bathing for two to three days. But just spray the Butterfly Brand Florida Water Perfume diluted with water on themselves before going to work. They even miss taking their medication because of non-affordability. If they have saved some cash then they travel to Johor Bahru to buy medication, which is cheaper.
by Concerned on Jan 23, 2010 at 3.27 am
so long???
then if people live in street or parks cannot blame them.
any way to reduce the time???
maybe can go see mp.
but are mp really so powerful???
hard to say.
some apples are sweeter, some apples are not as sweet.
hope my mp is good.
if not good i will vote him/her out.
same for you.
by dfghgf on Jan 23, 2010 at 11.32 am
aiyoyo
why need wait so long?
wondering – by the time the needy get their turn to rent hdb flats,
what type of economic situation, by then?
hope 远水救得了近火…
by aiyoyo on Jan 23, 2010 at 3.47 pm
there are many empty buildings that the LTA is holding onto for commercial reasons.
Like Pearl Hill terrace(have been rebt out), CID fomer Hq(have been rent out), old schools(some have been converted to worker dorms).
In light of the present homeless situation, why cant our “kind” government, uses these places for temporary shelter, till their application for HDB rental units is made available for them.
Reading about foreign IR staff getting house instead of our on citizen, boils my blood. Is our present government so cruel to let its own citizen – Singaporeans to live in the street??
It pains my heart, it really does.
by nmj on Jan 24, 2010 at 4.01 pm
there is a hugh chunk of vacant hdb blocks in lim/choa chukang older estates
it was ^chased^ away to make way for the tegah airforce expansion or buryin the ^DEAD^..it was never..repeat never upgraded nor finalise into any major project
if only the hdb bothered to leave it untouched it could housed aLOT of homelessness even though it so ulu
beggars are not choosy..neither is the homeless peoples
it just the typical arrogant hdb a s shole scholars who only think anyotherWISE…
burnt my heart as well……….
by iamawelfarereptilient on Jan 24, 2010 at 11.23 pm
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$26/mth
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how much low? (I am a Guest) said : why agent? (I am a Guest) said :
where to find out more details, eg the rental rates, I want to see if get through an agent the rate can low until how much? have to pay how much for the agent? anybody knows that?
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How much is the rental rate you will consider low enough?
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HDB said $26/mth is low enough, so I think it is fair to say $26/mth is low enough!
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