For Want of a Better Title

The problem with HDB?

Leong Sze Hian wrote in theonlinecitizen.com about the problem with HDB.

While I agree with somethings he said, some other points he made seem to elude me somewhat.

Mr Leong makes a point about how HDB should not be renting out flats to foreigners and PRs when there is a need for rental flats amongst the needy. I totally agree that there should be more rental flats for the needy Singaporeans out there. However I don’t think we should be renting 5 room flats to them. They can hardly afford the rent on that. 3 room flats maybe, but generally our rental flats for the needy have been 1 or 2 room flats. The other thing that struck me is that these 5 room flats and exec condos are all in Boon Lay, Sengkang, Hougang and Jurong West. I’ve mentioned this before, but home buyers should not be picky about where their location is if they need a place to stay. The problem is that people are picky. These ECs , 5 rooms and 3 rooms have not been filled because house buyers pass on them. So that means that they’re sitting empty. So renting them out makes sense instead of keeping them empty. I do think that the 3 rooms could be rented out to needy families, but I’m not sure if they can afford the rent.

The issue with many newly weds and house buying is that they do want good locations and big flats. Very few newly weds want small flats. The other day an old lady was talking about appealing to HDB for a 5 room flat in the Radin Mas area for her son. I said why not try Jurog West, and she basically said that her son didn’t want to live so far away from town. He’s a newly wed by the way. So the problem is not always HDB. There really are empty 5 rooms sitting out in Boon Lay, Punggol and Jurong West that are waiting for newly formed families to move in. I also said why not get a 3 room resale in Radin Mas, because it is a mature estate and have more rooms. Again she declined. Wanted a big one. Also wanted it on the 8th floor. Good luck with that appeal aunty.

The problem with long lines is because people want to live nearer to town, which is not a bad thing. It’s the whining about the long lines that bugs me. I have friends and relations who just take the first thing that come along. Their line number is not as long because they picked Sengkang and Punggol. Far? Yes. Got house quickly? Yes.

Also the other issue I have is that should HDB be run as a welfare program? My answer is no. I am not about to subsidize public housing by having someone who has under $1500 living in a rental 5 room whose market rental rate is $2000. At most we can make them pay $500, which means $1500 must be subsidized by the public purse. That’s not a lot until you think about 1000 odd people will be needing that subsidy or more. That means about $1.5 million in subsidies. This is assuming they all can pay $500 and that the market rate is $2000. Asking 1/3 of their monthly income can be too much to ask. Although I don’t mind subsidizing 3 room flats. Their market rate is lower.

I think Mr Leong also made one typo. The fact that they can even get onto the waiting list means that their monthly household incomes do not exceed $1,500. I think what he meant to say wasthat their incomes exceed $1,500. That’s just a typo though.

I do think that the HDB could do a better job with producing smaller flats, at the same time though I think getting it to compete near market rates is necessary so that we’re not providing a welfare housing scheme.