Debated in Parliament on 9 Jan 2018.
Ms Rahayu Mahzam asked the Minister for National Development (a) how does HDB ensure that the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) is adhered to when the flat owners rent out their flats; (b) whether there are rules in place to ensure compliance with this policy when flats are rented out; and (c) if so, whether HDB conducts checks or assessments to ensure that the sanctity of the EIP is maintained.
Mr Deputy Speaker, the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) applies to the sale and purchase of all Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, as well as HDB public rental flats. But tenants who rent HDB flats out on the open market are not subject to the EIP, as their stays are typically temporary in nature and do not affect the ethnic proportions in our public housing estates in the longer term.
Instead, flat owners who rent out their flats to one or more non-citizen tenants are subject to the Non-Citizen Quota. The quota helps to maintain the Singaporean character of our HDB heartlands. All HDB owners are required to seek HDB's approval and ensure that they meet the quota before renting out their flats.
HDB conducts regular inspections of flats to ensure that all flat owners adhere to HDB's regulations. Unauthorised renting out of HDB flats is a serious infringement of the lease, and HDB will take firm action against any errant flat owners.
I thank the Minister for the answer. I raised this question because in my house visits, I had observed where there is a certain demographic of residents in certain flats. Some residents had also given their feedback about their observations in certain flats where you see a certain number of residents of a certain ethnicity. In light of that, I am just wondering what happens in situations where the rental is not actually approved by HDB, how are inspections and enforcement done in those situations? In a situation where there is non-compliance, what are the specific sanctions or penalties that are given for non-compliance? If there are any residents who have observed a certain trend in a particular estate, what recourse do they have in terms of referring this matter to the HDB?
Mr Deputy Speaker, as far as non-compliance with the limits is concerned, as I mentioned earlier, HDB takes this very seriously, and if there are advisors or residents who suspect that there may have been breaches of the quota or the HDB approvals, then please let HDB know. We do enforcement, surprise inspections even, and we will take these errant flat owners to task, as I mentioned earlier.
The quotas that were set for non-citizens were put in place in 2014. In putting in place these quotas, I think we also have to bear in mind and calibrate it carefully because there will be genuine flat owners who want to let out their flats and earn some extra income. If we tighten it too much, then they will find it difficult to rent out their flats, and that may deprive them of some income for their families and households.
So, we have set the quota in place in 2014. So far, there has not been any breach of the quota for the neighbourhood in Bukit Batok East. What we have seen is that the numbers are well within the quotas that we have set. But we will continue to monitor and see, as we progress along, whether there is a need to update and review these limits.
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