25% More HDB Flats Rented Out Since March

Source : The Straits Times, Sep 24, 2007

MORE Housing Board (HDB) flatowners are cashing in on the rising rental market by letting out their units following a relaxation of the rules on doing so.

The new rules have spurred 5,700 more people to rent out their flats over the past six months.

The latest figures from the HDB show that a total of 15,773 flats have been given the green light for rental by the middle of this month.

This is a 25 per cent jump on the total figure before the March 3 rule change. About 39 per cent of these additional homeowners would not have qualified had the rules not been eased.

Previously, flatowners could rent out their flats only five years after buying them - or 10 years if they had not paid off HDB home loans.

Now, they can do so after living in their flats for just three years - or five years if they had bought it with a government subsidy or grant. It no longer matters if the home loan has been paid off.

The change almost doubled the pool of eligible flats to 645,000, out of more than 800,000 across the island.

The relaxation was part of a series of measures to make it easier for flatowners to earn income from their units.

Besides easing subletting rules, the HDB also allowed homeowners to take out reverse mortgages on their flats. It is also looking into a novel scheme to buy back the tail-end of flats' leases from homeowners.

Newly minted landlords included Madam Yee Kin Moi, 58. The retired hawker and her husband rented out their four-year-old flat in Choa Chu Kang just last month for about $1,000 a month, and moved in with their daughter to help take care of their 18-month-old grandson.

The rental income, said Madam Yee, covers their monthly housing instalments and helps pay daily expenses as well.

She told The Straits Times: 'The good thing about renting the flat out is that we do not need to sell it. We can go back to live in it if our children choose to migrate elsewhere.'

According to the HDB, about 27 per cent of flats rented out after March 3 belonged to owners who were older - aged 55 years and above.

Most of those renting out their flats under the revised rules moved in with their family members. About 22 per cent now live with their children, while another 36 per cent live with their parents, siblings and other relatives.

About two-thirds of flats being rented out are three- and four-room units.

HDB statistics show that three-room flats fetched a median rental of $980 islandwide from April to June, while four-room flats fetched $1,180.

Property agents estimate that rents are up about 10 per cent to 15 per cent since then, but say demand for rental flats remains strong as tenants, deterred by rising private rentals, choose public housing instead.

Median rentals of non-landed private homes islandwide grew by 11 per cent from April to June to $31.87 per sq m per month. This means it would cost about $3,200 a month to rent a 100 sq m, three-bedroom home.

As a result, rental flats being put on the market are being snapped up within a month, said the chief executive of property agency Propnex, Mr Mohamed Ismail.

Most homeowners, though, will not rush to rent out their flats even if rental rates become even more attractive. This is simply because they would have nowhere else to live if they did.

The director of Dennis Wee Properties, Mr Chris Koh, pointed out: 'Not every elderly couple would want to live with their children.'