{"id":113165,"date":"2019-12-18T12:21:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T05:21:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/observers-say-hdb-lease-top-up-proposal-has-long-term-drawbacks\/"},"modified":"2019-12-18T13:22:28","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T06:22:28","slug":"observers-say-hdb-lease-top-up-proposal-has-long-term-drawbacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/observers-say-hdb-lease-top-up-proposal-has-long-term-drawbacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Observers say HDB lease top-up proposal has long-term drawbacks"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nThis policy must run in perpetuity as issues may arise if it is ever shelved, says one observer.
\nA one-time automatic lease to-up for old HDB flats might address the problem of their declining value once their leases expire, but it will bring long-term drawbacks, say observers, reported The Straits Times.
\nThe warning came as a response to the proposal of veteran architect Tay Kheng Soon, property consultant Ku Swee Yong and economist Yeoh Lam Keong at a forum held at the Singapore Management University recently.
\nThe automatic extension was one of the policies introduced by the three in what they called a \u201ccitizen\u2019s non-partisan policy proposal\u201d to tackle and offer solutions to key public housing problems.
\nHowever, Nicholas Mak, ERA Realty Head of Research and Consultancy, warned that topping the leases of HDB flats owned by Singaporeans back to 99 years once they get to 50 years would be \u201ca handout that is extremely hard to stop\u201d.
\nMak said that such a policy must run in perpetuity as issues may arise if it is ever shelved.
\nAs an example, he described a scenario where if the government decided to end the automatic lease extension in 2021, home buyers who purchased an HDB flat in 2020 would receive a 149-year lease, while those who bought in 2021 would only get a 99-year lease.
\n\u201cCan you imagine the level of unhappiness among the later buyers? The extension is just kicking the can down the road,\u201d he said.
\nAs part of the proposal, the trio also said that all new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats be sold at around construction cost to first-time buyers, with the present five-year minimum occupancy period\u00a0(MOP) raised to 15 years.
\nHowever, nominated MP and economist Walter Theseira had qualms with the proposal, as this deviates from the \u201cstatus quo\u201d of the country\u2019s home ownership model, where owners hope to profit when they sell their flats. He said that the proposal will bring the valuation of HDB flats to construction-cost pricing.\u00a0
\nThis would affect those who see their flats as retirement assets. Around 80% of Singapore families live in HDB flats.
\nRECOMMENDED ARTICLE:\u00a0The decaying HDB lease. Myth or reality?
\nIn a report released last month, the Workers\u2019 Party (WP) also proposed a Universal Sale and Lease Back scheme covering HDB home owners who have finished the minimum occupancy period and paid at least 80% of their loans.
\nThis would make HDB the \u201cbuyer of last resort\u201d for owners who may be unable to sell their properties.
\nFlats purchased by the government can then be resold with shorter leases or offered via a proposed Public Rental Market scheme.
\nBut Mak was apprehensive of the proposal as it would effectively turn the government into \u201ca major landlord\u201d.
\n\u201cRight now, most people own their remaining leases on their HDB flats and enjoy tax-free appreciation of the flats when they sell. But it won\u2019t be the case if it becomes a rental situation,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cFurthermore, if you can get cheap rental flats, will it make people want to work harder?\u201d
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit\u00a0PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\n\u00a0
\nVictor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email\u00a0victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…Observers say HDB lease top-up proposal has long-term drawbacks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This policy must run in perpetuity as issues may arise if it is ever shelved,...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-trf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113125,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/mnd-to-consider-suggestions-to-tackle-hdb-lease-decay\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":0},"title":"MND to consider suggestions to tackle HDB lease decay","date":"December 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The government will consider proposals and suggestions for external parties to manage HDB flat leases.\u00a0 Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong has responded to two separate policy proposals, saying that all alternative suggestions and ways to manage HDB flat leases will be considered by the government. Like many condominiums\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49789,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/wong-not-all-old-hdb-flats-are-eligible-for-sers\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":1},"title":"Wong: Not all old HDB flats are eligible for SERS","date":"March 27, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The vast majority of HDB flats will see their leases run out, with the flats returned to the government. Do not assume that all old HDB flats are automatically eligible for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), cautioned National Development Minister Lawrence Wong in a blog post last\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96333,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/pm-lee-sheds-more-light-on-99-year-leases-for-hdb-flats\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":2},"title":"PM Lee sheds more light on 99-year leases for HDB flats","date":"August 20, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r PM Lee noted that Singapore would run out of land for new public housing if the government sold HDB flats on a freehold tenure. With over 80 percent of the population living in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and the recent questions on the flats\u2019 depreciating value, Prime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":104371,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/most-buyers-of-2-room-flexi-flats-are-seniors\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":3},"title":"Most buyers of 2-room flexi flats are seniors","date":"February 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Buyers can look out for a new batch of 2-room flexi flats launching in Tengah, Woodlands and Kallang\/Whampoa in May. Since 2-room flexi flats were introduced in November 2015, 16,169 units have been taken-up to date. Of this, 54 percent were purchased by those aged 55 and above, according\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96393,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/lease-buyback-scheme-to-be-extended-to-all-hdb-flats\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":4},"title":"Lease buyback scheme to be extended to all HDB flats","date":"August 21, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r Elderly owners of large Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats can look forward to monetising their flat by selling part of their remaining lease to the government. \u00a0This comes as the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) will now be extended to all HDB flats, including five-room and bigger units, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":96520,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/vers-announced-early-to-alleviate-worries-over-hdb-lease-expiry\/","url_meta":{"origin":113165,"position":5},"title":"VERS announced early to alleviate worries over HDB lease expiry","date":"August 23, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\r More time is needed to fine-tune the details of the newly-announced Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) for HDB flats such as the price to be offered by the government and whether all public housing will qualify for it, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong told Channel NewsAsia on Tuesday (21\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Property News"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113165\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}