SINGAPORE - Just over 9,200 Housing Board flats have each been rented out to six unrelated tenants as at November 2023, out of a total of 58,000 flats rented out in their entirety.

Senior Minister of State for National Development Tan Kiat How told Parliament that of the HDB flats that are fully rented out, 16 per cent have six unrelated occupants each – the maximum number allowed now.

About 90 per cent of these occupants are non-residents, with most in their 20s to 40s, he said on Jan 9, in response to questions from MPs on the temporary relaxation of the rental occupancy cap for HDB flats and private homes.

From Jan 22, 2024, to Dec 31, 2026, owners of four-room or larger flats and private homes of at least 90 sq m will be allowed to house up to eight unrelated people who are not from the same family unit, up from six. This is aimed at helping to cool the home leasing market and supporting households that intend to rent.

Six MPs had asked about the potential nuisance and disputes that may arise from the temporary relaxation, what measures are in place to mitigate these concerns, and whether HDB has enough manpower for enforcement, among other things.

In response, Mr Tan noted that residential property owners who now house up to six unrelated people will need to apply to HDB or the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) for authorisation to include up to a total of eight per property.

Both agencies will conduct inspections to ensure that the rules are followed, he added.

Over the past five years, HDB has taken action against an average of 115 cases of unauthorised renting a year, including cases where flat owners had breached the occupancy cap, Mr Tan said.

HDB will issue written warnings, impose fines, or compulsorily acquire the flat for the most severe cases, he added.

Likewise, over the past five years, URA has taken action against an average of 244 cases a year for breaches of the occupancy cap in private residential properties. Those who breach the cap can be fined and/or imprisoned.

Mr Tan said that in cases where there is serious nuisance or disamenities, the rental occupancy cap will be reduced to the original limit of six.

The non-citizen quota of 8 per cent for HDB neighbourhoods and 11 per cent for HDB blocks will limit the number of flats that can be rented to foreigners, he noted, given that most of those renting at the occupancy cap are non-citizens.

Non-Malaysian work permit holders from the construction, marine and process sectors are not permitted to rent HDB flats or bedrooms, he added.

Ms Denise Phua (Jalan Besar GRC) and Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) asked about measures to mitigate neighbours’ concerns on noise and safety, and whether there is sufficient manpower to deal with complaints, among other issues.

In response to Ms Phua, Mr Tan said HDB investigates all feedback received and conducts routine inspections of almost 500 flats a month. Likewise, URA has been maintaining a “high enforcement tempo” over the past five years, he added.

Replying to Mr Singh, he said: “We take the feedback of disamenities and complaints seriously, and we will proactively work with community partners, including town councils, to deal with these matters.”

Mr Tan pointed out that nuisance-related complaints resulting from tenants renting HDB flats or bedrooms constituted just 1.5 per cent of the total complaints on nuisance from neighbours in the past five years.

Responding to Ms Foo Mee Har (West Coast GRC) on whether existing infrastructure can cope after the occupancy cap is increased, Mr Tan said the 58,000 flats that are rented out represent only about 5 per cent of about one million flats islandwide.

“So, by and large, across our neighbourhood estates, (most flats) are still majority owner-occupied. And we are not sure if all the tenants or landlords will take full advantage of this relaxation (in the rental cap),” he said.

Mr Tan said he agreed with Ms Foo that it is “important to maintain the Singaporean characteristics of HDB estates and that’s the reason why we have the non-citizen quota”.

He noted that as at December 2023, less than 2 per cent of HDB neighbourhoods, and about 1 per cent of HDB blocks, were affected by the non-citizen quota.

“We don’t expect the operation and maintenance costs of common areas and facilities like lifts and playgrounds to go up significantly (as) most users are existing owner-occupiers,” he added.

Responding to Workers’ Party MP Louis Chua’s (Sengkang GRC) questions on the increase in the number of flats rented out in the past five years and the expected increase in rental supply, Mr Tan said the proportion of flats rented out and the average number of occupants in each flat type have been stable.

Most analysts cannot project the amount of rental supply coming on stream because this will depend on whether landlords and tenants take advantage of the relaxed cap, he said.

“This move should be seen in the context of a suite of measures that were put in place – increasing the number of flats available in the market, and the number of Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) flats available, to moderate the imbalances between demand and supply,” he added.

Close to 100,000 public and private residential units will be completed from 2023 to 2025, which will add to the housing supply.

The number of flats available under PPHS for those awaiting completion of their new HDB flats has been doubled to about 2,000 units since 2021, and will increase further to about 4,000 units by 2025.