Debated in Parliament on 5 Aug 2019.
Mr Saktiandi Supaat asked the Minister for National Development whether HDB repair services can be expanded to provide support for the elderly, less mobile residents living alone in non-rental flats when they experience problems in their homes like power trips and infrastructure problems.
Mr Speaker, flat owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of the fittings and fixtures within their flats, and can engage their own contractors to carry out the necessary work. As such, HDB does not provide repair services for flat owners.
Nevertheless, we recognise that some flat owners, such as the elderly or less mobile residents who live alone, may require extra help, so there are various avenues for these residents to seek help.
For urgent assistance on maintenance matters, such as power trips that occur after office hours, residents can contact their Town Council’s Essential Maintenance Service Unit (EMSU), who can provide advice over the phone or recommend an electrician that the flat owner can engage. HDB can also provide general advice on home repair and maintenance, including referring residents to repair contractors that are listed on HDB’s website. Finally, flat owners can approach the community for help and that includes the CDCs and the grassroots organisations.
Mr Speaker, I would like to thank the Minister for answering the question. I have one follow-up question. Essentially, in Toa Payoh where I am at, in the constituency, when I go around for block visits, there has been an increasing number of elderly staying alone in their flats, probably in the smaller flats. My follow-up question is, in the sense of HDB services that have been provided to rental flats for some of the elderly and more vulnerable residents staying in rental flats, HDB do provide subsidies, from what I hear. At the moment, for Toa Payoh, our Town Council and some of our RCs have actually been helping some of these vulnerable and elderly residents staying alone. I was wondering whether the services that have been provided to the rental flat residents can be extended to some of our elderly and vulnerable residents in the flats in the vicinity. Thank you.
Mr Speaker, we try very hard to uphold the principle of owner responsibility. So, for the rental flats, HDB is the owner, we will therefore take charge of maintenance for these units. For sold flats, owners have to bear responsibility. But as I said earlier, just because we uphold this principle does not mean that owners have to fend for themselves because there are in place a range of different assistance schemes or different organisations that owners can turn to, including Town Councils and community organisations, and HDB will also do its part within this set-up to facilitate and help where possible.
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