Debated in Parliament on 8 Sep 2014.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for National Development (a) how prevalent are short-term rentals spanning less than six months of private properties that are regulated by MCSTs; (b) whether there are current measures in place to regulate these practices and, if so, how are they enforced; (c) what types of complaints have there been against short-term lessees; and (d) how many complaints have been received to date.
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The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Mr Lee Yi Shyan) (for the Minister for National Development) :Mdm Speaker,
Since 2013, URA has received about 520 complaints regarding the alleged rental of individual strata-titled private residential properties for less than six months. Complainants have cited privacy and security concerns resulting from the presence of transient guests, and their use of common facilities which are intended for residents.
URA investigates all complaints received. If URA determines that an offence has been committed, it will take enforcement action to compel the offender to cease the unauthorised use. Offenders may be liable to penalties prescribed under the Planning Act.
I thank the Senior Minister of State for the reply. I have one supplementary question. Does the Government have any plans to review the regulatory framework that governs short-term rentals for both the public and private property market, in view of the rise of sharing economies service firms like Airbnb, for example?
Mr Lee Yi Shyan : Portals like Airbnb and many others promoting sharing of resources in an open economy is an emerging trend, and many of these websites or portals do have disclaimers which state that for people who are either offering their services or booking their services, they have to comply with the local laws and regulations. I think in this context of renting out properties for less than six months, clearly they are in infringement of our Planning Act. So, the necessary action will be taken. But going further in the long term, we have to study the implications of promoting or sharing of such resources in an economy, which, in itself, is positive, but then again, it is at the expense of existing regulations that tend to protect both consumers and service providers. Because we also do not want to see a situation where people sign up and are promised certain services or products, but, in the end, services are not delivered to them. So, I think we have to look at both the interest of the larger public, as well as the appeal or attraction of such form of resource sharing.
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