Debated in Parliament on 2 Aug 2022.
Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for National Development in each of the last 10 years, including 2022 to date what is the average rent per square foot for commercial HDB units located in HDB residential estates that are for (i) food and beverage businesses (ii) medical facilities and (iii) essential services respectively, broken down into units that are directly owned by HDB and units owned by private entities as HDB sold shop premises.
Shops that were sold to private entities make up 56% of HDB's commercial properties. HDB does not collect private rental data for sold shops, and owners who have rented out their shops are not obliged to report their rents to HDB.
Since 1998, HDB has ceased the sale of shops. The remaining 44% of HDB's commercial properties are directly rented out by HDB and include those in newer towns and estates, like Sengkang and Punggol. These are directly owned and managed by HDB. A summary of the average rents across the three categories can be found in Table 1. In general, HDB rental shop rents are far below private rentals. Based on the Real Estates Information System (REALIS) data, median private rental outside the Central Area in 2021 was more than $13 per square foot.
In 2018, HDB introduced Price-Quality tenders for coffeeshops directly owned by HDB, with 50% of points awarded for aspects such as the availability of budget meals, good track record and community initiatives. Operators who successfully tender for HDB coffeeshops typically provide budget food options at every stall, priced at around $3. The rentals under Price-Quality tenders are typically lower and less volatile than those tendered out purely based on price.
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