Debated in Parliament on 4 Feb 2013.
Mr Hri Kumar Nair asked the Minister for National Development with respect to the recent property cooling measures (a) how many HDB flats are owned by permanent residents who reside in private properties; and (b) what happens in cases where such HDB flats have existing tenancy agreements which run beyond the six-month deadline for their disposal.
About 400 flats which are owned by Permanent Residents (PRs) who concurrently own a private property are not owner-occupied. Presumably, they are living in their private properties.
PRs who own HDB flats are now required to sell their HDB flats within six months of buying a private residential property. If they intend to purchase a private residential property but have existing unexpired subletting arrangements, they should time their purchase properly to meet the stipulated timeframe to sell their HDB flats.