Tracking Tenure Duration and Ethnicity of Tenants for Open-market Rental of HDB Flats
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns whether HDB tracks the tenure and ethnicity of open-market tenants and how it ensures these rentals do not significantly alter the ethnic composition of housing estates. Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim inquired about potential Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) violations, but Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat clarified that open-market rentals are not subject to the EIP. He explained that HDB instead utilizes a non-citizen quota to cap the number of flats rented to non-Malaysian non-citizens to maintain the Singaporean character of neighborhoods. Flat owners are required to fulfill a minimum occupation period and obtain HDB approval, with rental durations for non-Malaysian non-citizens limited to a two-year cap. Senior Minister of State Chee Hong Tat emphasized that HDB monitors for irregularities and takes enforcement action against owners to ensure these temporary stays do not impact long-term ethnic proportions.
Transcript
81 Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB systematically tracks tenure duration and ethnicity of tenants for open-market rentals; (b) if not, how does HDB ensure rentals remain short-term and do not significantly alter block or precinct ethnic composition; and (c) if so, whether violations of the Ethnic Integration Policy have been detected.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: The Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP), seeks to ensure that our Housing and Development Board (HDB) estates remain diverse and inclusive, and applies to the sale and purchase of all HDB flats, as well as the allocation of HDB public rental flats. For EIP-constrained flat owners with extenuating circumstances, HDB has been exercising flexibility and provides a range of assistance measures on a case-by-case basis.
Tenants who rent HDB flats on the open market are not subject to EIP. The majority of these tenants are non-citizens from diverse ethnic backgrounds and countries. Their stays are typically temporary in nature and do not affect the ethnic proportions in our public housing estates over the long term.
To prevent the formation of foreigner enclaves and maintain the Singaporean character of our HDB heartlands, HDB introduced the non-Citizen quota in 2014, which caps the number of flats that can be wholly rented out to non-Malaysian non-citizens within each block and neighbourhood.
Eligible HDB flat owners must have fulfilled the minimum occupation period before renting out their whole flats. They are also required to seek HDB's approval and meet the non-Citizen quota. The rental period is capped at two years when owners rent out their flats to non-Malaysian non-citizens. If irregularities are detected, HDB will take appropriate enforcement action against the flat owner.