Hougang Flats To Be Cleared

Source : TODAY, Friday, November 16, 2007

AS part of ongoing plans to revitalise older estates and make better use of land, nine blocks of properties which are about 33 years old in Hougang have been marked for clearance.

The affected properties — at Blocks 3, 4, 8 to 11, 11A to 14 in Hougang Neighbourhood 3 — include one and three-room rental flats, terrace workshops, rental shops, eating houses and a market/hawker centre. Part of the neighbourhood will be up for sale for private housing development in the second half of 2009 while the remaining site will be developed for residential/commercial use after 2010.

Those affected by the plan will receive standard clearance benefits and the necessary assistance, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said yesterday. Affected tenants of rental flats who are eligible will receive assistance such as priority allocation of new flats and a $1,000 removal allowance. First-timers who opt to buy flats directly from HDB will be given a tenancy discount of 3 per cent off the purchase price for each year they have lived in the rented flat.

Tenants of commercial properties will receive ex gratia payment of $60,000 per tenancy, while those of market produce and cooked-food stalls will receive $18,000 and $23,000 respectively. Industrial property tenants will receive $48,000 and an offer of alternative premises.