Source : Straits Times – 16 Sep 2009
THE average waiting time for the heavily subsidised HDB rental flat has dropped by more than a third due to the Housing Board’s management of supply and demand.
Parliamentary Secretary (National Development) Mohamad Maliki Osman told Parliament yesterday that the waiting period for rental flats is now about 13 months, down from 21 months a year ago.
This figure refers to the average waiting period for those who were invited to choose a rental flat last month.
Dr Maliki was responding to questions from Mr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), who asked about the average waiting time for the allocation of rental flats.
Dr Maliki explained that the reduced waiting time was due to the HDB’s ‘multi-pronged approach’ of managing supply and demand for rental flats.
He said HDB resumed building rental flats two years ago. Since then, 1,400 flats have been added to the stock. About 8,000 new rental units will be added to the existing stock of 42,000 by 2012.
On the demand side, Dr Maliki drew attention to the HDB’s revised eligibility criteria introduced in February.
The tightened criteria include those who previously owned private property, or whose children own private property or an HDB flat with a spare room.
Those who joined the rental queue before February will retain their positions if they meet the revised criteria.
Dr Maliki also touched on the repossession of flats by HDB, addressing the concerns of Mr Zainudin Nordin (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) and Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC).
The HDB explores a variety of solutions with households that fall behind in payments. These include allowing them to sublet a spare room, getting working family members to share the loan burden and reducing monthly instalments by extending the loan repayment period, said Dr Maliki.
However, despite providing ample time and assistance, the HDB still encounters those who are unwilling to work towards a sustainable financial solution. In such cases, it has no choice but to repossess their flats to prevent their debt from accumulating further.
Dr Maliki noted that since 2007, the HDB has recovered 1,260 flats due to arrears – 0.3 per cent of the total number of outstanding loans.
He said: ‘Compulsory acquisition will continue to be our last resort…We will ensure that those affected by compulsory acquisition have alternative accommodation, including a rental flat if necessary.’
Dr Maliki added that most of the 1,260 cases were allocated a rental flat as they had no other viable option.
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