HDB correspondence on public newsletters

sunsetbay

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well, i think it will be informative if we consolidate all the published newsletter concerning on HDB issues. let's start today onward. here's one...

Extract fm ST, 12 July 2003

Bigger resale flats, please

I REFER to the report, ' 'Downgraders' drive up HDB resale prices' (ST, July 2). While it is true that downgraders may have helped to push up the prices of three-room Housing Board resale flats, the main reason is the increasing number of singles above 35 who are eligible to buy these flats.

Two years ago, a resale three-room corner flat in Holland Village cost $168,000. Now that HDB has allowed singles to buy resale flats in inner-urban areas, prices have shot up to more than $200,000. Some sellers are taking advantage of the fact that singles are not allowed to purchase larger flats and are asking for between $230,000 and $265,000 for areas in Marine Parade and Holland Village.

Prices of resale three-room 'modified corner' flats are now comparable with those of some four-room models.

It is time for HDB to moderate the prices of resale three-room flats before they shoot up to unrealistic levels.

Those who bought resale five-room and executive apartments at peak prices of between $500,000 and $650,000 are now suffering paper losses of up to $200,000. HDB should not allow history to repeat itself.

The housing authority can help to ease the pressure on prices of three-room resale flats by lifting restrictions on the resale of four-room, five-room and executive apartments to singles.

This would benefit not only singles but also downgraders and sellers of the larger flats who now have difficulty selling their flats due to low demand for larger units. HDB has consistently maintained that its housing policy is pro-family and that it supports the Government's social policy on family formation and procreation.

However, statistics on marriages and birth rates published earlier this year by The Straits Times have clearly indicated that HDB's pro-family policy is no longer effective.

Birth rates have declined for the past 10 years and marriages have also not increased signi-ficantly.

There are about 10,000 new flats which have not been taken up. This is a clear indication that a new flat will no longer entice singles to get married. Those who may eventually get married at a late age have also admitted that they are unlikely to have kids.

Unlike the 6 to 9 per cent of our married population who can choose not to procreate, most singles do not choose to remain single by choice. Why should they be 'penalised'?

HDB has to understand that singles have their own problems and needs. Just like their married counterparts, singles also require their own space and privacy. When one can afford to buy a bigger flat but not a private apartment, one should not be confined to a three-room resale flat.

Yes, I think no one will dispute that society should remain pro-family. However, this does not necessarily mean that singles should be discriminated against in public housing.

Pro-family policies should focus on giving fiscal incentives for marriages and procreation, without taking anything away from singles. Schemes like the baby bonus, tax relief for the third and fourth child and subsidies for childcare are some of the creative ways to boost family formation.

How can one be rooted here when the Government continues to discriminate against singles and does not allow them to buy a new flat direct from HDB, or to own a bigger resale flat? Singles cannot have a sense of belonging or passion for this country if they are not treated equally.

As Singapore seeks new ways to remake itself, the Govern-ment must recognise the aspiration and need of singles to own bigger homes. Singles should not be perceived as second-class citizens whose only means of getting round the discriminatory housing policy is to get married.

CHEW CHEE MENG
 

auratux

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From ST 16 July 2003

When upgrading is a dirty word

Permanent residents are likely to up and leave when they hear of HDB upgrading plans as their upgrading bill is much higher than their S'porean neighbours'. TAN HUI YEE reports

MOST Housing Board home owners are thrilled to learn of upgrading plans for their estate. But not permanent residents (PRs).

In fact, this group, which three years ago made up less than 4 per cent of total HDB home owners, is likely to start moving out the minute they get wind of such news.

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They want to avoid paying hefty upgrading charges and a 10 per cent levy which the HDB will impose on the sale price.

'Their relocation is something quite guaranteed,' said Mr Anthony Ng, 33, an agent with RealStar Property.

According to six property agents The Straits Times spoke to, PRs try to sell their flat early to avoid the upgrading bill.

Depending on the type of work done, this can be up to 14 times what a Singapore citizen pays.

To make matters worse, PRs are not entitled to vote during upgrading exercises which means they have little say in the process.

And once three-quarters of the residents involved say aye to the upgrading move, PRs will have to pay a 10 per cent levy on the sale price of their flat even if they sell it before they are billed for upgrading.

This levy also applies to Singapore citizens who had previously owned a flat which had been upgraded.

These rules were introduced in 1996 at the height of the property boom to curb speculation and remove the subsidies for non-citizens.


After the completion of the main upgrading programme, HDB homes generally fetch $15,000 to $20,000 more in the open market.

But such price increases mean little to the PRs.

This is because the value of their flat tends to rise by an amount roughly equivalent to what their Singaporean neighbours pay for upgrading - which sometimes can be less than a tenth of what PRs actually fork out.

If a Singapore citizen has to pay $20,000 in upgrading costs for his $200,000 home, flats in the block will be valued at about $220,000 after upgrading.

A Singapore PR who paid $70,000 and wants to sell his flat at $270,000 to recoup upgrading costs is unlikely to find a buyer.

If the owner wishes to avoid paying the 10 per cent levy, he can choose to sell the flat back to the HDB.

However, the HDB will pay a price equivalent only to either the flat's market value at the date of the successful upgrading poll, or its prevailing market value, whichever is lower.

There were an estimated 29,000 PR households living in HDB flats in the year 2000.

One PR recently caught in a bind is construction project manager Barry Ho.

Until January this year, the 40-year-old Malaysian citizen was living in a four-room Bedok South flat with his wife and three young children.

In the 10 years that they were there, they had grown close to their neighbours, and Mr Ho had also become an active member of Bedok Orchid Residents' Committee.

But last year, he was told that he would have to pay an estimated $70,000 compared to his neighbours' $20,000 for his block to be upgraded.

Mr Ho decided to move out.

'It's too high a price to pay for me... A house is not just a place to live in, it's a form of investment. To throw away $50,000, that is a lot of blood and sweat money,' said Mr Ho.

He and his family have since moved to a five-room flat two bus stops down the road.

When contacted, the HDB said: 'The main upgrading programme is heavily subsidised by the Government.

'Thus, only Singaporean citizens are eligible to vote for the upgrading programme and receive a subsidy on the upgrading cost.'

The board said PRs who cannot pay the full upgrading cost can choose to pay by monthly instalments over a period of either five or 10 years, at its market interest rate. HDB's current rate is 3.5 per cent per annum.

Those in financial hardship, it added, can also seek to extend or defer their repayment period.
 

sunsetbay

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this maybe revelant for those looking for new flats near Buangkok Mrt Station in the near future... :rolleyes:

From ST 19 July 2003

Buangkok Station Debate
When housing demand picks up... HDB priority is to build flats in area

By CHRISTOPHER TAN and DIANA SER

WHEN the demand for public housing picks up, priority will go to building flats around the Buangkok train station, which remains closed for now because there are too few residents in the area.

Giving residents of the area this assurance, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan yesterday said: 'We have started building some flats there already... We hope to do some more this year and I am asking HDB to make sure they are built around Buangkok station. In this way, we can bring more people to the station a bit earlier.'

Buangkok station has not been opened because SBS Transit believes it will not attract enough passengers.

Among the reasons it has cited is that there are 'only seven blocks of flats' near the station and they are 600m south of it.

It has also said that it would not be worth its while to open the station because people were loath to walk more than 400m to an MRT station. It based this assumption on its experience as a bus operator.

But a survey by rival rail operator SMRT Corporation shows that many Singaporeans walk 10 to 15 minutes to a train station.

Based on a healthy adult's normal walking speed of 3.5kmh, this translates to a distance between 580m and 870m.

The finding was part of a customer satisfaction survey conducted late last year by SMRT, which operates a subway network of 51 stations.

The survey covered 1,100 respondents, and found that 65 per cent of them walked to a station from home.

Mr Charles Chong, an MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC who has been lobbying for SBS Transit to open Buangkok station, said he is sure there are more than seven blocks within a 600m radius of the station.

In fact, Block 443 is just about 380m from the station, he said. His grassroots leaders have actually measured the distance, he added.

However, SBS Transit said the difference in distance is 'not very significant'.

It added: 'We believe that the distance, in particular, being exposed to the elements without any shelter, is one which few people are likely to walk every day.'

But Mr Chong is hoping that a survey of close to 2,000 residents in the area conducted by his grassroots leaders will prove otherwise.

Although its results are not yet ready, preliminary findings show an 'overwhelming' percentage of respondents saying they would use the station if it was opened, he said.

Not convinced by the operator's explanations, some readers have also pointed out that there are many stations with low ridership which are nevertheless open, including Dover station that serves Singapore Polytechnic, Marina Bay station, Clarke Quay station, and Expo station in Changi.

Urging SBS to reconsider, bank officer Lim Beng Chong, 31, wrote in an e-mail message that under the current weak economic environment, the authorities 'have really underestimated the residents' willingness to walk an extra distance in order to save on expenses'.
 

sunsetbay

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From ST, 21 July 2003

Singles can buy bigger HDB flats with others

I REFER to Mr Chew Chee Meng's letter, 'Ease 3-room flat prices, allow singles to buy... Bigger resale flats, please' (ST, July 12).

Our public housing policy is pro-family in orientation. As a general policy, flat applicants have to form a family nucleus to qualify for the purchase of new and resale Housing Board flats. Single citizens are a part of the family unit and are encouraged to stay with their parents for mutual care and support.

Nevertheless, the Government recognises that some older Singaporeans who remain single may prefer to live on their own. Under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme, single citizens aged 35 years and above can buy a three-room or smaller resale HDB flat in which to stay on their own.

A three-room flat can be as large as 70sq m. This is two to three times the national average of 24sq m of living space per person, and is more than adequate for a single person. To ensure optimal use of scarce land resources in Singapore, four-room and bigger flats are meant for family-based households comprising at least two persons. Singles who wish to buy bigger flats can do so jointly with other eligible singles under the Joint Singles Scheme.

Mr Chew also commented that the HDB should moderate the prices of three-room resale flats. Resale HDB flats are transacted in the open market on a willing buyer and willing seller basis.

Those in popular locations such as Holland Village would tend to fetch higher prices, but there is a wide range of three-room flats in different locations and at different prices for buyers to select from, according to their financial means. With about 220,000 three-room flats in Singapore, there is no shortage of these flats.

The HDB will continue to review its housing policies for singles regularly to ensure that they remain relevant and fair.


LEONG CHOK KEH
Deputy Director
Policy and Property
for Director
Estate Administration and Property
Housing and Development Board
 

sunsetbay

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another one... :angel:

From St, 21 July 2003

More want 3-room homes

I REFER to the letter, 'Ease 3-room flat prices, allow singles to buy... Bigger resale flats, please' (ST, July 12), by Mr Chew Chee Meng.

I am sure that there are many singles, like Mr Chew and myself, who are frustrated with the HDB's policy regarding the flats that singles can buy.

There is a limited supply of three-room flats as they are no longer being built. And in this economic downturn, demand for these flats has gone up as many are switching to smaller homes.

Singles who value their independence and want to live on their own are not avoiding their responsibility towards their parents. On the contrary, it is often singles who take care of them.

I look after my elderly parents and have been searching for a three-room unit in Holland Village to be near them.

There is an extremely high demand for three-room flats in this vicinity, and sellers are asking ridiculously high prices for them.

I responded to a recent advertisement and was shocked to learn that the owner wanted $305,000 for his upgraded three-room flat.

It is time that Singapore citizens be given due recognition for the contributions they make, regardless of their marital status. I hope the Government will make it easier for singles to have their own space.


CHIA SHYH CHIUAN
 

sunsetbay

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converting a shophouse to a hostel? if this is approve, i think many will follow.... :rolleyes:

From TODAY, 22 July 2003

The HDB hurdles

Man's efforts to turn shophouse into hostel bear fruit

by Tor Ching Li
chingli@newstoday.com.sg


WHAT'S the difference between a backpackers' hostel and a hotel?

None, according to the Housing Development Board (HDB), which classifies both under the same category.

Coupled with its insistence that "HDB flats cannot be used for the boarding and lodging of tourists", hostelier-wannabe and backpacking enthusiast, Mr Yang (as he prefers to be known) told Today that he is on the verge of "closing (his) HDB hostel even before it is opened".

Based on the current leeway that shophouse-owners can sublet their living quarters for residential or commercial purposes, the 34-year-old had sent in a proposal to the HDB to convert the three-room living quarters above his father's shophouse in Woodlands into a "family-run homestay-style backpackers' hostel".

When this entrepreneurial attempt was rejected, Mr Yang appealed to the Pro-Enterprise Panel (PEP), which managed to get the HDB to grant him "in principal approval". This was on condition that the requirements of "all other competent authorities" were met.

One such authority was the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), which gave Mr Yang the go-ahead as the proposed living quarters do not share a common access and lobby with other residential units. Mr Yang forked out $800 for the Change of Use fee.

However, the HDB then wanted him to engage a professional engineer to install an automatic fire alarm system. A second appeal to the PEP managed to get the HDB to waive this requirement from the Fire Safety and Shelter Bureau to a manual fire alarm instead.

The HDB also capped his maximum number of backpacker tenants at eight, instead of his proposed 12, a requirement he is appealing against.

Said the HDB in an e--mail reply: "We understand that the shop-owner will want to maximise his economic returns by accommodating more backpackers."

"But we will need to limit the number of occupants in the living quarters mainly to minimise disturbance to the residents, to prevent overcrowding and ensure that the structural loading is not exceeded."

There is currently no restriction on the number of occupants for normal residential use.

"I'm not going to become a millionaire from this; it's hard work," said a frustrated Mr Yang who plans to quit his current job if the hostel idea goes through.

"Restricting the number to eight means that I will have to charge higher fees (than $20 a night)."

Mr Yang is waiting for his third appeal (regarding tenant cap in numbers) via the PEP to the HDB to be processed.

"One needs to have good stamina to overcome the many obstacles along the path to setting up a small business in Singapore," he said.
 

chilli

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some property news.

JULY 24, 2003, ST

If land prices plunge suddenly...

Home owners will suffer. So the Government is focusing its efforts on cutting wages, fees and taxes

THE Government cannot afford to bring down land prices abruptly to ease the cost of doing business in Singapore, as this will eventually cause the housing market to collapse.

This is why it is trying to keep business costs down in other ways, including cutting wage costs, said Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew yesterday.

Union leader Law Swee Hong had asked what the Government was doing to lower costs, besides getting workers to accept lower wages.

In response, Mr Lee said that the Government was trying to bring down fees and taxes as fast as it can to keep business costs down.

The biggest problem was its high land costs.

'We allowed, or we did not check the rise in land prices and property prices. It went too high. That is a problem.'

But bringing down land costs too quickly would be 'very dangerous', as it would result in the problem that Hong Kong faces now, where its people feel the heat from the depressed value of their property.

Any move to bring down the cost of industrial land, or commercial rent at places like Suntec City, OCBC Building or DBS Building, would eventually result in falling housing values.

'It's all inter-linked and, finally, you find your three-room flat may be worth less.'

And being 'an asset-owning, property-owning society', Singaporeans would be hit badly if this were to happen, he said.

The Government thus had to adjust land prices in a gradual manner.

But since wages made up a major proportion of costs - ranging from 15 per cent in information technology industries to 60 per cent in labour-intensive manufacturing industries - the Government is now focusing on bringing down labour costs.

But how do workers cope with lower wages on the one hand, and rising costs of public amenities such as health care and transport, asked Madam Law.

Mr Lee dispelled the notion that workers were squeezed on both ends - facing lower wages and a higher cost of living.

Transport and medical costs may have risen in recent years, but the cost-of-living index - which tracks prices of a comprehensive bundle of goods and services - had risen by less than 1 per cent.

As for public amenities, it was better to let market forces determine their operations.

Subsidies would distort consumption, he said.

Free medical services in China and a nationalised health system in Britain had resulted in backlogs and poor quality of care.

Elsewhere, government coffers subsidised public transport companies - and as a result they became inefficient.

'The open market, supply and demand settling the price, is the most efficient way of settling what a service or a product is worth.'

So, rather than subsidise the service, the Government decided to help the needy with cash grants or rebates.

'We decided as a matter of basic principle that it's better to give the man the cash and he decides what he's going to do.'

As for the worry that retrenched workers and those who suffered wage cuts cannot service their mortgages, Mr Lee said this issue of 'negative equity' had been examined closely by the Government.

This is the biggest problem in Hong Kong at the moment. It came about following the bursting of the property bubble that had built up over the years there.

People bought property at the height of the market and mortgaged it to the bank.

But when property values came down, many who were jobless or had lower salaries found they could not service their loans.

Fortunately, Singapore did not have this problem, as property prices did not go up as high as in Hong Kong, said Mr Lee.

Also, the bulk of Singaporeans own Housing Board flats.

No one who bought a flat directly from HDB at subsidised prices was in danger of losing it from not servicing his loan, due to HDB's home ownership social agenda.

Indeed, most would still make money if they sold out now.

'We are not going to do anything which will cause us the problem that Hong Kong is facing.

'One of the reasons why our morale is not like Hong Kong is because we don't have this problem,' he said.
 

sunsetbay

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From ST, 26 Jul 2003

Private home prices at four-year low

With resale prices of big HDB flats rising and lower-end condominiums becoming more affordable, a trend of home upgrading has emerged, experts say

By Leong Pik Yin

PRICES of private homes are at a four-year low and property analysts expect them to bottom out by year-end.

Latest government figures show that while prices continue to fall, signs are emerging that they are beginning to level out.

Yesterday, when the Urban Redevelopment Authority released its quarterly figures, prices in the April-to-June period dipped 0.6 per cent against the previous quarter - less than the 0.9 per cent of the previous quarter-on-quarter comparison.

Resale prices of Housing Board flats continue to climb, rising by 2.1 per cent over the previous quarter, the biggest increase since prices started to inch up last year.

The shrinking gap has sparked signs of an emerging upgrading trend, said some industry experts.

Said Mr Chris Koh, director of Dennis Wee Properties: 'Some who bought their flats 15 years ago can make as much as $100,000 in profit if they sell their flat now.'

Associate director of Chesterton International Nicholas Mak, said the number of purchases made by HDB upgraders rose from 588 in the first quarter to 987 in the second quarter.

Confirming the trend, real estate agents point to the smaller price gap between lower-end condominiums and big HDB units.

An executive flat in Tampines, for example, costs between $400,000 and $450,000, while some lower-end, 99-year leasehold condos are going for $500,000, said Mr Tony Ho, associate director of real estate network PropNex.

The president of ERA Realty Jack Chua said enticements include cheap bank loans and the change in Central Provident Fund (CPF) rules last year, which allows home-buyers to use their retirement funds for half of a property's 20-per-cent cash downpayment. Before, the entire 20 per cent had to be paid in cash.

Lower condo prices, dropping by more than 40 per cent since the 1996 peak, have also drawn many HDB owners, who form the bulk of buyers of suburban private properties.

Seven out of 10 buyers of Grandeur 8 units, a 99-year leasehold project in Ang Mo Kio, are HDB upgraders, said ** Richard Ellis.

But some property consultants expect the upgrading wave to grow only later.

Colliers International managing director Dennis Yeo sees it happening only in the fourth quarter, if 'signs of the economy recovering become clearer'.

That said, developers sold 1,917 new homes between April and June, more than four times that in the first quarter.

Real Estate Developers Association of Singapore vice-president Chia Ngiang Hong said: 'We were expecting 1,500 units sold, so it was better than we expected.'

One HDB owner who has been drawn to buying a private home is Madam Aziah Bte Ahmad, a 42-year-old property agent.

Shortly after the CPF rules were relaxed, she bought a $430,000 Yishun Sapphire unit last September.

But she is holding on to her five-room HDB flat in Yishun, which she bought for $70,000 in 1985.

'If I sell it now, it may fetch about $270,000. But I think prices will still go up, so I want to wait. I'm hoping to get about $330,000.'

-- Additional reporting by Tan Hui Yee and Vladimir Guevarra
 

sunsetbay

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hdb news

not a very good news for motorists, u can expect more stingent carpark wardens.

Fm ST, JULY 31, 2003

Private firms to patrol HDB carparks


THE next time you get a ticket from a traffic warden at a Housing Board carpark, it may not be one from the HDB.

The board has outsourced these services in the eastern and western parts of Singapore.

From Tuesday, these carparks will be patrolled by wardens from either building management company Premas International or Chubb Singapore, which provides a range of security services.

The HDB will continue to send out formal notices to motorists to settle their fines, as well as handle all payments and appeals.

According to a spokesman, the outsourcing is part of the HDB's recent restructuring exercise where 2,630 staff opted for 'early retirement' under the Government's Special Resignation Scheme.

About 200 of them were from the carparks division.

They will leave the organisation on Tuesday when the private operators take over, said the HDB in a statement issued yesterday.

This will leave behind 430 enforcement officers.

Wardens from Premas International will patrol 110,000 parking lots in the west, while those from Chubb Singapore will take charge of 101,000 parking lots in the eastern part of Singapore.

The areas were assigned by the HDB after a tender exercise, said a spokesman for Premas.

She added that the company, which has experience in carpark management, will deploy about 80 wardens.

Parking charges and fines will remain the same.

According to its latest annual report, the HDB collected $42 million in parking fines between April 2001 and March last year.
 

sunsetbay

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Re: car park

Fm ST, 1st Aug 1 2003

Can private firms book parking offenders?

I REFER to the report, 'Private firms to patrol HDB carparks' (ST, July 31), that the Housing Board has delegated parking enforcement to two private companies.

Can the HDB do that? After all, isn't issuing notices of parking offences a quasi-penal responsibility? Strictly speaking, illegal parking is penal in nature, notwithstanding the fact that offenders can compound an offence with a fine.

If indeed private companies cannot enforce criminal laws, and I suspect even serve notices of prosecution on behalf of the police and other law-enforcement agencies, how can private companies give out notices of parking offences? Even if there is legislation allowing this, should it be relooked? Will there be abuse?


MICHAEL LOH YIK MING
 

sunsetbay

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Re: Re: car park

Fm ST, 1st Aug 2003

Free HDB pipe repairs end

HOUSING Board flat residents have to revert to paying for the repair of leaking sewage pipes in their flats, now that the Sars situation has improved.

The HDB and town councils had been doing pipe repairs for free since April because of concerns that the Sars virus could spread through the sanitary system. They stop doing so from today.

HDB said it had fixed more than 1,400 leaks during this period, at a cost of about $35,000.

East Coast Town Council said it saw to an average of six leaks a day between April 19 and July 26, for both main sewage pipes and branch pipes, while Pasir Ris-Punggol Town Council said it had had only four reported cases.

Main sewage pipes - which are common property - are taken care of by town councils, but pipes within a flat are the responsibility of the flat owner.

:monkee:
 

sunsetbay

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new way to dry your laundry

wonder how would it looks like? :rolleyes:


Fm ST, 1st Aug 2003

Safer way to dry laundry


HANGING out the clothes should be a breeze for those moving into Housing Board flats that will be ready next year.

A new feature lets residents hang their laundry on metal railings an arm's length from, and parallel to, the parapet wall.

Since 1999, 51 maids here have died in accidents, many of which are believed to have happened while they were hanging out clothes or cleaning windows.

The HDB will install the new drying facility in the 40-storey blocks being built at Toa Payoh and Queenstown. These will be ready next year and in 2005.

It will also be available at three build-to-order contracts tendered this year, one at Sengkang and two at Punggol.

Asked if all new flats will have the facility, an HDB spokesman said it is suitable only if there is 'a reasonably long area for hanging laundry parallel to the building facade'.

However, he pointed out that all HDB flats built since 1995 have 'improved' drying systems, where external racks support both ends of the bamboo poles for clothes.

Those living in older flats slated for the HDB's Main Upgrading Programme can opt for this feature.

Flat owners such as Mrs A. Menon, who feels it 'can be a struggle' with the older facility, welcome the improvements.

But younger flat owners, such as marketing manager Chan Aileng, 29, say the new facility 'makes little difference' as many of them use dryers.
 

sunsetbay

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Lifts in some HDB estates have cameras

Fm ST, 04 AUg 2003

Lifts in some HDB estates have cameras

I REFER to Mr Pang Seng Kwang's letter, 'Eye on the elderly' (ST, July 30).

Currently, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras are installed in lifts and lift landing areas in some neighbourhoods, for example, the Bukit Merah and Bedok housing estates. Police will continue to work with the Housing Board and the respective town councils to explore the use of CCTVs to deter crime in lifts and lift landing areas, where necessary.

Opportunities for robbers and thieves would also be reduced greatly if members of the public are vigilant and practise crime prevention measures.

They should stay alert to their surroundings and adopt the following measures:


Be wary of strangers loitering at lift landings or void decks


Avoid wearing expensive jewellery or carrying large sums of cash when going out alone


When returning home late, arrange for a relative or friend to escort you


If taking the lift alone, stand beside the lift control panel. Press the 'door open' button to leave if any stranger rushes in. If you feel uncomfortable, exit at the next lift landing.


CHUA CHEE WAI
Assistant Director,
Media Relations (Covering)
Singapore Police Force
 

sunsetbay

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RENOVATION WOES

gd to take note if you are doing reno... :angel:


Fm ST, 05 AUg 2003

Marble floor too thick, so owner cannot sell his flat

He has to remove tiles before HDB will allow sale

By Tanya Fong

WHEN Mr Goh Thiam Siong, 36, a mini-van driver, bought a three-room flat in Bukit Batok in 1998, he blew $50,000 on laying a marble floor.

Now, it is the cause of his woes.

He cannot sell the flat unless he removes the marble tiles, which he says will cost him another $20,000.

A Housing Board regulation says that floor tiles cannot be more than 5cm thick. The total thickness of his marble floor exceeds the requirement by about 7cm.

A spokesman said this 'overtopping' of flooring can cause structural defects in the building and compromise the safety of residents.

The overtopping was unexpectedly discovered in October 2001, when HDB inspectors went to his flat to inspect his toilet floor.

Mr Goh told The Straits Times in Mandarin: 'I did not even know there was such a regulation, until HDB told me.

'It's the contractor's fault. So why should I pay for it?'

Mr Goh was told to remove the marble flooring, but he appealed to HDB in April last year.

HDB told him that he would have to remove it if structural defects were detected in the building, or if he wanted to sell his flat.

Now, the father of two says he needs to sell his flat because his transport business is not doing well.

He appealed to Dr Amy Khor, an MP for Hong Kah GRC, for help in June, but HDB will not budge.

He has also not been able to reach the contractor, whom he says should be responsible, as it has closed shop.

The Straits Times was also unable to reach West Island Design.

The HDB spokesman stressed that home owners should exercise diligence by ensuring that their contractors do not contravene the regulations in the renovation permits issued by the Housing Board.
 

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privatization of carpark

Fm ST, 09 Aug 2003

HDB to continue handling appeals by parking offenders

I REFER to the letter by Mr Michael Loh Yik Ming, 'Can private firms book parking offenders?' (ST, Aug 1).

Mr Loh was concerned about the legality of having private companies issue parking fines and with possible abuses arising from the arrangement.

The Housing Board has engaged two private companies, Premas International Ltd and Chubb Singapore Pte Ltd, to provide parking-enforcement services in some of the carparks in HDB estates. However, the right to carry out enforcement action against motorists remains with HDB.

Staff from Premas and Chubb will issue Notice of Parking Offence (Nopo). HDB will follow up with a formal notice to the motorists to settle the parking fine, and handle all enquiries, payments and appeals, similar to the current practice. This arrangement is purely contractual, and HDB can enter into such contracts in the course of managing its carparks.

If motorists dispute the Nopo issued, the dispute or appeal will be referred to the HDB Branch Office managing that carpark and processed in the usual way.


ENG SOH SENG
Acting Deputy Director (Car Parks)
for Director, Housing Administration
Housing and Development Board
 

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1st of its kind

Fm ST, 07 Aug 2003
HDB precinct says 'no' to upgrading - a first

Pandan Gardens residents believed to be put off by cost and stalled work at Marine Terrace earlier this year

FOR the first time since the main upgrading programme began in 1992, residents in a Housing Board precinct have said 'no' to sprucing up their flats and their surroundings.

The cost and the stalled work at Marine Parade earlier this year are understood to have put people off.

Only 68.8 per cent of flat owners in blocks 401 to 408 Pandan Gardens voted for the upgrading late last month.

A 75 per cent yes vote is needed from the precinct for the work to be done.

Residents were offered a landscaped garden and two multi-storey carparks, among other amenities. The HDB would also have spruced up the flats, by waterproofing and re-tiling the toilets for example.

None of these goodies appealed enough.

So far, 123 precincts have been offered upgrading.

Mr Liang Tsang Ying, a 67-year-old retiree who has lived in the Pandan Gardens precinct for 17 years, was one of the naysayers.

'We don't need new amenities. We have pavilions, barbecue pits, a garden and a playground already,' he explained.

'Also, times are bad. We don't want to spend money on upgrading.'

While the upgrading is subsidised by the Government, residents have to pay for part of it. It costs those who opt for the standard package up to $5,300.

The HDB will also add a utility room or a service balcony, if 75 per cent of owners in a block vote for it. Those who opt for this package pay between $11,000 and $21,900.

Residents can use money from their Central Provident Fund accounts to pay the bill. The HDB is also willing to extend the repayment period and defer payment.

Ayer Rajah MP Tan Cheng Bock said he had expected the upgrading to get the necessary vote, but added that the current economic climate has made its affordability an issue.

'Some of the residents asked me if they could get discounts,' he said.

He added that about 45 per cent of those who own the 860 flats in the precinct are at least 51 years old, and some had been retrenched.

Dr Tan said he would ask the Government if residents could still be given the basic package.

However, engineer Goh Chun Kiat, 30, who has lived in a five-room flat there for years, worried about the upgrading work being stalled.

Referring to Marine Terrace residents being left in the lurch because three construction companies went belly up or abandoned the project, he said: 'We didn't want to be caught in that situation.'
 

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times are bad...

Fm ST, 08 Aug 2003

At least one MP to delay upgrading

MUP at Teck Whye to be postponed because of downturn, but other MPs are still going ahead with upgrading

By Leong Pik Yin

AT LEAST one MP has decided to postpone the Main Upgrading Programme in his precinct because the bleak economy makes the scheme the last thing on their residents' minds. Another is thinking of doing the same.

But others are still planning to go ahead with it for their precincts.

The Housing Board (HDB) too said it will continue to offer the programme as part of its 'long-term' plan to improve old HDB estates.

However, its spokesman added, the pace of upgrading would take into account 'current economic conditions and the budgetary constraints of the Government'.

This may mean spreading out the polling for the current batch of precincts 'over the next few months to next year'.

The relevance of having the improvements in these bad times has been called into question by some flat owners and grassroots leaders.

But the extent of people's feelings to the Main Upgrading Programme emerged only two days ago when the HDB revealed the scheme was rejected at one precinct.

This is the first time this has happened since the programme began in 1992.

Only 68.8 per cent of flat owners in eight blocks in Pandan Gardens in the West Coast voted for the upgrading. Seventy-five per cent have to agree for the work to be done.

Most of the nay-sayers The Straits Times spoke to were concerned with the amount of their contribution for the sprucing up.

This has prompted Chua Chu Kang MP Low Seow Chay to postpone the MUP for nine blocks at Teck Whye Lane/Avenue.

It would still be offered, he said, but 'we thought it'd be wise to postpone its commencement'.

The project was due to be completed next year.

An MP for East Coast GRC, Mr Tan Soo Khoon, is also considering putting off the programme slated for Bedok North Street 1 and Chai Chee Street. He is now consulting with grassroots leaders.

'Having seen the outcome of the Pandan Gardens poll, we should see what the needs of our residents are,' he said.

He believes it would be 'prudent' to put it off 'until things are better', because the scheme is offered only once.

But some of his colleagues intend to present the programme to their precincts.

Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Seng Han Thong is confident that at least 75 per cent of residents of the nine Ang Mo Kio blocks slated for the MUP will vote for it.

'The flats are old and the residents are first-time owners. They see the upgrades as improvements...and are looking forward to it,' he said.

Residents at six blocks at Clementi Avenue 4 will also be asked to vote.

Their MP, Dr Wang Kai Yuen, pointed out that those living in smaller flats are likely to be keener on upgrading, as they enjoy bigger subsidies.

For instance, the owner of a three-room HDB flat pays $2,700 for the standard package

The owner of five-room flat, however, has to pay $5,300.

Six out of the eight blocks at Pandan Gardens, where the scheme was rejected, comprise five-room flats.

Its MP, Dr Tan Cheng Bock said he would now try to ask the Government to give the residents the basic MUP package.

He was 'quite surprised' by the result.

Grassroots leaders had met several times and done straw polls of residents, which indicated most were keen.

Some who voted for it were unhappy it did not go through.

One of them, Mrs Christine Chow, a 44-year-old clerk, said: 'The estate is quite old. The pipes and grilles need to be changed and the lift often breaks down.'

Dr Tan cited the economic downturn, job insecurity, the fact that about 45 per cent of the residents are over 50, and the recent hold-ups at the Marine Terrace upgrading as reasons for the scheme not getting enough votes.

Many were also against some of the proposed plans, especially the building of a multi-storey carpark, which they felt was unnecessary.

'We have to take this rejection as a signal,' said Dr Tan.

'The economy has affected people fairly badly and maybe we have to rethink our upgrading programme.'
 

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no second chance....

Fm ST, 09 Aug 2003

Pandan Gardens residents lose their chance to upgrade

National Development Minister says he will not bend the rules after less than 75% voted to accept improvement offer

By Tan Hui Yee

PANDAN Gardens residents will not soon get a second chance to upgrade their homes, after about a third of them voted against the Government's offer to spruce up the estate.

Their MP, Dr Tan Cheng Bock, has tabled a question for National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan for next Thursday's parliamentary sitting, asking if residents could get the basic upgrading package, despite the fact that only 68.8 per cent voted in favour of the programme.

But Mr Mah said yesterday that he would not be bending the rules, which clearly state that a 75 per cent majority is necessary.

He was responding to press queries at a National Day Observance Ceremony yesterday.

The nay vote - the first in the main upgrading programme's 11 year history - came as a surprise, even to him.

But he said he understood residents' concerns about cost, given the weak economic environment.

'If you want to get something which will make a big difference to your flat, to your living environment, which will last you a long time and which is very heavily subsidised by Government, you vote yes,' he said.

'But, on the other hand, if you're not certain about your job, not sure whether you may be retrenched, then obviously upgrading is not your top priority.'

Residents who opt for the standard package - which includes waterproofing and retiling the toilets - have to pay between $4,000 and $5,300.

Those choosing to also add a utility room or service balcony have to pay up to $29,100.

Mr Mah said the Pandan Gardens case was 'peculiar' to the precinct. About 45 per cent of the homeowners there are over 50, while improvements were made recently to their outdoor areas.

Asked whether Pandan Gardens residents might be offered another opportunity to upgrade in, say, five to 10 years' time, Mr Mah said he was unable to answer the question. This has left many, including Block 406 resident Wee Kok Choo disappointed.

The 51-year-old housewife has lived on the estate since 1979 and voted for the basic package as the $5,300 it would have cost is all she could afford.

'We have no choice now. A lot of residents don't support upgrading,' she said in Mandarin.

Electronic engineer Johnny Wee was also peeved at the results of the poll.

The 49-year-old said: 'It's crazy. I don't understand why people are not taking it. You can pay by instalments, as well as defer payments if you need to.

'Money should not be a reason for people to reject upgrading.'

An HDB flat owner who is 55 years and older can defer paying for upgrading until he sells his flat or transfers ownership, if he does not have more than the minimum amount in his Central Provident Fund account.

However, he would have to pay interest on the deferred payment. And if his CPF savings are above the minimum amount, he has to use the surplus towards paying for the upgrading before seeking deferment.

Mr Wee said: 'Now nothing's going to happen, and it's just going to pass us by.'

Mr Mah said that, despite the Pandan Gardens vote, there is a need for the upgrading programme, to close the gap between the look of new estates and old, which are looking 'a little bit worn, both inside and out'.

But given the current economic slowdown, the Government may have to cut back on its upgrading programme, as 'the current budget situation is not as healthy as it was a few years ago'.
 

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interesting case to be followed.... let's see how's the outcome like. :)


Fm ST, 11 Aug 2003

Flat owner sues HDB over water seepage woes

He says he has endured the problem for nine years, and seeks to recover repair costs for flat's floors which he claims were damaged

By Lorna Tan
COMPANIES CORRESPONDENT

FED-UP home owner Peter Cho is suing the Housing Board over damaged floors in his flat due to water seepage, a problem he claims he has endured for nine years.

Mr Cho, an insurance practitioner, filed documents in the High Court last Wednesday alleging that the HDB had neglected to construct the property properly.

The documents detail his grievances and damage caused to his flat.

His woes began about five months after he and his wife, Madam Ong Siao Kheng, moved into the $197,000 executive flat at Elias Road in April 1994.

The couple discovered that water was seeping through the external walls of the flat.

It usually happened after heavy rain accompanied by strong winds.

'We had gone to great lengths and took great pains in selecting our home. Little did we know that our home was going to turn out to be so nightmarish an experience,' stated Mr Cho in his documents.

Despite remedial works by HDB contractors, including waterproofing of external walls in 1995-96 and 1999, Mr Cho alleged that the seepage problem was never completely arrested.

As a result, the flat's marble flooring has become discoloured, he alleges, and cracks have developed in the floors of the living room and other rooms.

He seeks to recover the costs of repair of his property, including demolishing and disposing of marble tiles as well as general damages, which were unspecified.

In 1996, when Mr Cho quantified to HDB his flat's total damage as amounting to $108,840, the board responded with a 'without prejudice' sum of $6,000 - which he rejected.

In his latest court filings, Mr Cho says that he has been advised by civil engineering experts that the water seepage problem 'is due to design fault or defective workmanship', which means it will be a 'permanent feature' and will recur.

When contacted, an HDB spokesman said that 'as the matter has been brought before the court, it is not appropriate for HDB to comment on the case'.

The latest round of court filings began last year.

In documents filed last October in the subordinate courts, the HDB denied any negligence as claimed by Mr Cho.

The HDB added that 'the water ingress was due to the wear and tear of the walls' of his flat.

Mr Cho declined to comment when contacted last Friday.

According to his court documents, the seepage woes are widespread.

Other units in the same block as well as other blocks in the Elias Road area have experienced the same problem, he claims.

However, for some affected units, the problem seems to have ceased.

Speaking in dialect, Mr Cho's neighbour, who lives on a separate floor, told The Straits Times: 'We had a water seepage problem in one of our bedrooms when there was heavy rain since 1995... but now, it's okay.'

She declined to be named.

Mr Charles Chong, an MP for Pasir Ris-Ponggol GRC, recalled that Mr Cho, together with other residents in the same block, first approached him to seek redress on the matter in 1995.

'I have since taken up the matter with HDB and the Ministry of National Development but, according to Mr Cho, the remedial works are not satisfactory,' said Mr Chong.

Lawyers from Niru and Company are acting for Mr Cho; HDB's lawyers are Wee Tay & Lim.
 

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mr mah comments....

:yawn:


Fm ST, 14 Aug 2003

Public housing affordability a key concern given times

By Leong Pik Yin



SINGAPORE -- The affordability of public housing at a time when Singaporeans are worried about a weak economy and the possibility of job losses and wage cuts, was clearly a concern among several MPs on Thursday.

And they queried National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan about the kind of help that financially strapped home buyers could receive from the Housing Board.

Mr Mah assured that the HDB 'always takes a very sympathetic view' of those who are genuinely in difficulty. The Government 'remains committed to providing affordable public housing' and if 'wage levels deteriorate drastically', it would obviously have to look at adjusting prices, he said.

But going by available data, 90 per cent of home buyers could afford a three-room flat 'comfortably', while 70 per cent could afford at least a four-room unit.

At Thursday's sitting, MPs raised a number of specific issues of concern such as whether younger Singaporeans, whose starting salaries are lower, would be able to afford HDB flats, whether buyers could defer collecting their keys if they were unable to service their loans.
 
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