Data on Cases Involving Tenants of HDB-sold Shops Found to be Facilitating Vice Activities and Enforcement Actions Taken

Ms Elysa Chen asked the Minister for National Development (a) what regulatory levers HDB currently has to refuse trade approval for a new tenant at an HDB-sold shophouse where the shop owner has a prior record of facilitating vice-related activities; and (b) whether the Ministry will consider legislative amendments to allow sanctions to be imposed directly on such shop owners.

Mr Xie Yao Quan asked the Minister for National Development (a) in 2025, how many owners of HDB-sold shops has HDB taken action against where tenants have been found conducting vice activities under the guise of beauty and wellness trades; (b) what are the challenges in taking action against such owners; and (c) whether the Ministry will consider legislative amendments to enable HDB to take more punitive and expeditious action against such owners.

Operators who wish to operate a massage establishment are subject to the Singapore Police Force's licensing requirements under the Massage Establishments Act and are required to obtain land use approval from the Housing and Development Board (HDB) before setting up in HDB shops. HDB will reject new land use applications from errant shop owners and operators with prior records of tenants facilitating vice-related activities.

HDB works closely with the Police to enforce against vice-related activities in HDB shops. Owners of privately-owned HDB shops are required to evict the errant tenants if vice-related activities were detected. Since 2025, there have been 36 such cases where the shop owners have taken eviction action.

For privately-owned HDB shops involved in such cases, the challenge lies in establishing the extent of the shop owners' knowledge of, or involvement in, such activities and it requires thorough investigation. If such shop owners are found to be complicit, Police and HDB will not hesitate to take strict enforcement actions against these errant landlords. HDB is also currently reviewing how to strengthen its regulatory and punitive levers for privately-owned HDB shops, particularly against shop owners who knowingly bring in tenants facilitating vice-related activities.