13 weeks, but CPF Board yet to reply on rental cut

Source : Straits Times – 3 July 2009

WE ARE a small- and medium-sized enterprise (SME) located in a building owned by the Central Provident Fund (CPF) Board. Like many companies, we are constantly examining ways to manage our costs that will allow us to retain our valuable team members in this time of economic upheaval.

I was pleased to read the news earlier this year that a number of other government landlords (HDB, Singapore Land Authority and JTC Corporation, among others) had offered their tenants a 15 per cent rent rebate from Jan 1 to Dec 31, providing them with some relief.

Understanding the consistency and transparency that exists here, I anticipated a similar announcement from the CPF Board, yet none was forthcoming. To its credit, it passed on the 40 per cent tax rebate without us asking. However, this equates to only a 4 per cent reduction in our rent.

We queried the CPF Board via e-mail on April 3, asking if the 15 per cent rent rebate would be extended as other government landlords had done, but received no response. Two weeks later, we called the CPF Board, and were told the request was under review.

On May 6, I e-mailed the CPF Board again, and on May 8 received a response that it had a number of properties under its portfolio and the review would take some time. Almost two weeks later, we called again to check the status and were told there was no response from management and were given the deputy director’s name and address to contact.

On May 20, I sent our request to the deputy director and received a response on May 25, stating that still more time was needed to collate and review the figures. I was assured my request would be considered and we would be informed ‘in due course’. I responded with some questions and an alternative solution on May 26, and I am still waiting for a response, more than one month later.

It has been more than 13 weeks since my initial e-mail, and more than four weeks from the CPF Board’s last response. I am not clear why this decision is taking so long to make, and the unresponsiveness of our landlord is disheartening. The year is half over, and while other government tenants have got six months of relief, we are still waiting for a decision from our landlord.

Steven Stearns