HARDER FOR PRS
TO SUBLET HDB FLATS NOW
Flat owners who are permanent
residents (PRs) will now have to meet more stringent conditions if they want to
sublet their flats.
With effect from yesterday, they
will be able to sublet their flats only if they have not done so before.
This is on top of the Housing
Board's (HDB's) existing requirement that they have to occupy the flat for a
minimum period of five years.
HDB said in a statement yesterday
that PRs can sublet their flats for only a one-year period, after which they
would have to apply for an extension. But the application would be assessed on
a case-by-case basis.
Approval will be granted only if
there are "extenuating reasons", said HDB. The total period of
subletting during the owners' entire flat ownership cannot exceed five years as
well.
Previously, the subletting
conditions for PRs were the same as those for Singapore
citizens - they had been allowed to sublet their flat for up to three years per
application, and there had been no cap on the number of renewals or the total
period allowed for subletting.
The subletting conditions for
Singaporeans remain unchanged.
On the changes, HDB said:
"The revised rules are to reinforce the policy intent of providing HDB
flats as homes to PRs, and to deter those who are buying the flats for rental
yield or investment."
HDB added that while it allows PR
owners who have met the minimum occupation period to sublet their flat,
"the subletting should be on a temporary basis".
It added: "If the PR
families no longer need the flat for their own occupation, they should sell the
flat instead of subletting it."
HDB said that as of April, 2,142
PR flat owners are legally subletting their flats. They form about 5 per cent
of the total approved subletting applications.
A total of 56 owners were taken to
task last year for unauthorized subletting. Most were fined, while 18 had their
flats taken away.
Property analysts told my paper
it is unlikely that the stricter conditions for PRs were a result of higher
rates of illegal subletting among them.
Mr Lee Sze Teck, a senior manager
at Dennis Wee Group, said that the changes could be due to last year's General
Election, "when sentiments on the ground reflected that there should be
clearer distinction between citizens and PRs".
Rental prices might go up
initially, with fewer rental flats in the market because PR flat owners face
tighter rental conditions, said Mr Mark Teo, executive group division director
with ERA Realty Network.
But he added that government
policies that have tightened immigration and restricted who can rent flats will
help reduce demand for rental flats.
Info Courtesy – My paper & Asia one
