Plans for HDB Commercial Shops with Near-expiry Leases

11 Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) what are the plans for HDB commercial shops that have their 30-year lease expiring in a few years; and (b) what are the long-term plans for towns with these commercial shops not partaking in the Revitalisation of Shops (ROS) scheme.

The Minister for National Development (Mr Lawrence Wong): Madam, similar to other leasehold properties, the shops which had been sold by HDB on 30-year lease will be returned to the lessor, in this case, HDB, upon the expiry of the lease. Where possible and if in line with future planning intentions, HDB can consider allowing lessees to rent the shops after the lease expires.

HDB shops are an integral part of public housing estates and are provided to meet residents' needs. The Revitalisation of Shops or ROS scheme has been designed specifically for HDB shops, to help enhance their vibrancy and improve their competitiveness. Under this scheme, the Local Merchants' Associations have the opportunity to lead and drive the revitalisation of their respective shop clusters, with funding support from the Town Council and HDB. To-date, 50% of HDB Town Centres and Neighbourhood Centres have benefited from the ROS scheme.

Besides the ROS scheme, HDB has other programmes to rejuvenate older towns and estates, like the Remaking Our Heartland (ROH) programme, which provides enhancements for the entire town.

MND and HDB have also been reviewing the ROS scheme with the aim of encouraging more retailers to upgrade their shops and business operations. The outcome of the review will be announced in due course.

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling (Fengshan): Mdm Speaker, I thank the Minister for his answers. I have three supplementary questions. First, for those where the tenure is already up, how long will the lease be for the renewal? Second, what are the criteria under MND for the mix of those on sale and of the lease of the shops? Last, would MND consider the transfer of ownership between one generation and the other, if we want to have some businesses thrive over generations?

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, can I ask the Member to ask the second question again?

Miss Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: The second question is what are the criteria being used to determine the ratio in each of the HDB heartland, between those shops on sale and those for lease.

Mr Lawrence Wong: Madam, on the first question on tenure, that will vary from shop to shop and by the individual circumstance. So, I cannot give a definite answer but HDB will look at each case on a case-by-case basis.

On the mix between sale and lease, HDB does not sell any more shops. There was a certain point in time when these were put out on a "sold" basis to encourage ownership, but this is not the case today. Currently, all the shops are put up on a rental basis.

On transfer of business from generation to generation, I presume Miss Chan is referring to sold shops and whether those can be transferred from one generation to the next. If it is within the tenure of the lease, HDB will consider it. So, if it is within the period where it is owned by that person and he wants to pass it on to the children, that could be considered. If it goes beyond that particular tenure, then that is a separate matter which would have to be considered separately.