Katong Hostel Wins Master Lease Tender For Tiong Bahru Flats

Source : The Business Times, November 8, 2007

THE Housing & Development Board (HDB) yesterday awarded the tender for the master lease of 120 three- and four-room vacated flats in Tiong Bahru to Katong Hostel at a tender price of $230,280 per month. The company was the highest of 15 bidders at the tender which closed on Oct 9.

Katong Hostel will be given a master lease on the flats on a 3+3-year tenancy. The flats were vacated under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) and the tender to seek a master tenant was a pilot project by HDB to boost the supply of flats for rental housing.

'This will put these flats to better use in the interim period, pending their redevelopment,' HDB said. 'HDB will assess the response to this pilot project before deciding whether to expand the scheme in future. If needed, HDB has a potential supply of about 4,000 to 5,000 units that can be introduced to bolster rental supply in the HDB market over the next three years.'