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22 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Reply View - 5
Criterion for new HDB grants

The applicable housing grants are determined at the point of application for a flat (Qualifying for new HDB grants, by Mr Yeo Shuan Chee, Sept 13). As changes to government schemes are not applied retrospectively, the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant will apply only to new flat applications from Sept 11. Those who applied for their flats before Sept 11 will still benefit from the subsidies and grants applicable at the time of their application. Lily Chan-Wo......



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16 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 8
Protect landlords and tenants from unscrupulous real estate agents

The Government has been encouraging the elderly to use their flat to finance their retirement. And my mother did precisely that by renting out her four-room Housing Board flat. Through an agent from a well-known real estate agency, we found six foreign workers as tenants. Months later, an HDB officer called and said neighbours had complained about many people going in and out of my mother's flat. The agent went with the HDB officer to do a spot check ......



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13 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 87
Chance at waterfront living for all

The mandate of the Housing Board is to create high-quality and affordable public housing for all Singaporeans. This mission does not entail arbitrary restrictions on location. Which is why I strongly disagree with Mr Soo Weng Keong's views on HDB flats within the Greater Southern Waterfront area (Govt subsidy should not go to luxury seafront homes, Aug 30) When applications for public housing exceed demand, a lottery is the fairest method of allocating scarce resour......



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09 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 6
Some changes needed to home ownership scheme

Dr Thomas Lee Hock Seng stated that "what really needs to be done is to revert public housing to a long-term home ownership scheme to ensure that most people will have a roof over their heads" (Make long-term home ownership HDB's focus, Sept 5). This was and should still be the Housing Board's main focus. A home is a basic need for anyone looking to start a family. If the price of HDB flats keeps increasing at the current rate, it will come to a point where future g......



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09 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 6
Help young singles who move out of parents' home to buy flat

Any improvements to the process that single unwed parents have to go through for their housing needs will be welcomed and appreciated (HDB to review how it interacts with single unwed parents, Sept 3). The Housing Board should also look into helping singles whose parents can no longer house them - having downsized to a smaller flat or studio apartment in order to unlock their retirement savings - to access public housing. This will greatly ease the singles' financia......



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03 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 14
Time to relook paradigm on public housing

Forum writer Soo Weng Keong rightly pointed out that public housing is a form of social spending which is funded by taxpayers (Govt subsidy should not go to luxury seafront homes, Aug 30). The Government has announced that the goods and services tax will be raised from 7 per cent to 9 per cent some time between 2021 and 2025. Notwithstanding......



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03 Sep 2019
Housing Development Board
Reply View - 3
Wrong to withhold subsidies based on 'lottery effect'

The suggestion by Mr Soo Weng Keong to get rid of the HDB subsidy for those flats to be built on the land where Keppel Club sits by virtue of the fact that these flat-owners will reap a handsome profit when they resell is untenable (Govt subsidy should not go to luxury seafront homes, Aug 30). His idea of having to moderate government spending in view......



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30 Aug 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 8
Government subsidy should not go to luxury seafront homes

During Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally, he mentioned that among other developments, Housing Board flats will also be built on the land where Keppel Club sits, which is part of the 30km Greater Southern Waterfront. HDB's mission is to provide basic affordable housing to the population, and in this regard, it has done an excellent job, an achievement second to none anywhere in the world. Public housing is subsidised by the Government and is a form ......



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30 Aug 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 4
Consider 'rent with option to buy' scheme for flats at Keppel site

News reports on the prospect of public housing being built on the land where Keppel Club now sits have raised concerns about a "lottery effect". Experts have raised the idea of a longer minimum occupation period (MOP) to mitigate that effect (Spotlight on "lottery effect" of flats slated for Keppel Club site, Aug 23). However, lengthening the MOP period to 10 years will still potentially result in a lottery effect although the wait is longer, as new Housing Board fl......



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28 Aug 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 3
Install canopies to protect against killer litter

High-rise littering is prevalent in Singapore, and we need concrete measures to protect the lives of innocent pedestrians (Stronger measures needed to stop high-rise littering, by Mr Jeffrey Law Lee Beng, Aug 23). A man died earlier this month after being hit by a wine bottle that fell from a height. And in 2014, a 67-year-old woman died after being hit by a bicycle wheel thrown from the 14th floor of an HDB block. We should take inspiration from the many old buildi......



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14 Jul 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 1634
Be careful about buying a HDB resale flat

I want to give this word of caution to Singaporeans. Be careful when you buy a HDB resale flat. You may have heard about the money that people make when they sell their resale flat. You may have heard that many permanent residents made money when they sold off their HDB flat to return to their country. Those were cases in the past when the HDB resale market kept going up. It is no longer the case now.br data-tex......



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26 Jun 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 5
Choose maintenance-free options for HDB upgrading

Six blocks in my 34-year-old estate were selected by the Housing Board for a forthcoming home improvement programme. The toilet package includes new non-skid floor tiles, which have two varieties for selection: treated and non-treated. The non-treated tiles are regular non-skid tiles, while the treated tiles are chemically coated to give a rougher texture for better skid resistance. While the treated tiles give better pro......



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19 Jun 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 3
Nip corridor clutter problem in bud

I am glad the issue of corridor clutter in HDB dwellings has been given prominence (In a flutter over corridor clutter in HDB estates, and 'Clutter culprits' a bane to their neighbours, both June 17). It is a sheer waste of time and effort by the town council's officers who have to constantly attend to and monitor such an issue. There are already clear town council by-laws and Singapore Civil Defence Force's prohibitions against corrido......



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12 Jun 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 49
Childcare centres can help in situations where kids are home alone

It was heartbreaking to read about the six-year-old girl who fell to her death (Mother regrets not locking kitchen window, June 7). The girl's mother said that she would usually drop her daughter off at a childcare centre but, on that day, it was open for only half the day. Hence, she left her daughter alone at home. It is important for parents to remember to never leave their children alone at home. Childr......



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03 Jun 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 11
Enforce rules on corridor clutter for safety of residents

It is unbelievable that so many plants were allowed to remain in the corridor of an HDB unit for almost eight to nine years (HDB 'jungle house' in Pasir Ris, May 28). Why did the town council not take action earlier? Having so many plants obstructing the corridor is clearly a fire hazard and a safety violation. Should there be a fire, the neighbours would have problems evacuating quickly. And if a neighbour needs an ambul......



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03 Jun 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 6
Short-term home rentals: Don't apply law to only property owners

The Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA's) collaboration with the management corporation strata title of private residential estates to address the short-term rental problem does not address the issue comprehensively (Living among tourists, May 26). Business is as usual for the home-sharing sites and other brokers who facilitate the illegal activity, never mind URA's warning letters to some of the hosts. The same goes for those who dem......



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31 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 565
Difficult to sell a HDB flat more than 40 years old

Miss X has a HDB flat in Telok Blangah. In Dec 2017, She bought another HDB flat in Chua Chu Kang as it was near to her workplace. She wanted to avoid the long travelling time of 1.5 hours each way to get to work and back. It could take longer if there is a MRT breakdown. HDB gave her 6 months to sell her first HDB flat.  She engaged several agents to sell the flats at the then market valuation price of $322,000 (In Dec 201......



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14 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 295
Affordable housing

The prices of new HDB flats are too high. Even after a large government grant, the net cost to the buyer will take away a large part of the CPF savings and disposable income. One factor for the high price is the need to pay for 99 years of the lease of the flat.  The government can make housing affordable by adopting this approach: a) They can provide new or pre-owned HDB flats and offer them for rental at 15% to 20% of the income ......



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11 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 2
Review Home Improvement Programme processes

My precinct is currently undergoing the Home Improvement Programme (HIP). It surprised me that the renovation workers took 10 full calendar days to upgrade one toilet. The time taken is far too long, be it for one or two toilets, since an adult from each household needs to be physically present for the duration of the period. span style="font-size:16px;......



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08 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 10
Useful to share lessons learnt from Dakota relocation

I refer to Dr Ad Maulod's commentary (Who guards the bodyguard? The ethics of care for older adults, April 7) and the Housing Board's reply (HDB worked closely with Dakota residents for relocation, May 1). Dr Maulod is a member of the Cassia Resettlement Team (CRT) whose commentary was one of the articles published in the book, They Told Us To Move: Dakota - Cassia. The book highlights various issues affecting residents that started fro......



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05 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 103
Unfair to disallow singles to buy HDB flats

Most people may not be aware of the unfairness of the HDB policy towards singles. They are forced to contribute a large part of their earnings as savings towards the CPF. About half of the CPF savings is meant to be used for home purchase, primary a HDB flat.  But singles are barred from buying a HDB flat until they are 35 years and then, they can only buy a resale flat which is usually more costly than a new flat. However, the act......



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04 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 23
Consider an HDB enclave for singles

Singapore is a pro-family nation, with many government policies to encourage marriage. But many people are single not by choice, but due to lack of opportunity to find their right life partners. I suggest the Government build an HDB enclave for singles. It should be in a convenient location and have various flat sizes, such as studios to five-room flats, to suit different budgets and lifestyles. Only singles older than, s......



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01 May 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 375
Abandoned houses in Japan

10 million homes in Japan are abandoned, representing 15% of all houses in Japan. They have no value, even though they are freehold. Remember, properties in Japan used to be very expensive and a great investment. See this report https://blog.gaijinpot.com/buy-abandoned-house-in-japan/ This is a lesson for Singapore. Do not com......



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11 Apr 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 11
Make decisions with community consensus

It is disheartening to learn that the Housing Board has rejected a flat owner's appeal to keep his koi tank (HDB rejects owner's appeal to keep koi tank outside flat, April 10). HDB said that "there is a more fundamental reason to turn down the request", which is that the stairway area outside the unit is common property. This makes little sense to me, since who would regard the stairway right in front of a residential unit as common pr......



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03 Apr 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 332
Dealing with the HDB Mess (2)

I offer the following suggestion to solve the HDB mess: a)  Do not restrict the use of CPF on the purchase of HDB flats above 40 years. Let the same rules apply, regardless of the age of the flat. This ensure that market value of the old flats will fall gradually, rather than suffer a large drop after 40 years. This allows the owner to sell the old flats at a fair price, and downgrade to a smaller flat or rent a flat.  b) ......



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02 Apr 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 706
Dealing with the HDB Mess

I discussed with my friend about the HDB  "mess". Suddenly, people realize that the HDB flat will have no value at the end of the lease. They have paid a large sum for a HDB flat thinking that it is an appreciating asset.  To make matters worse, the HDB flat now suffered a sharp decline when it passed the 40 year mark. An old flat, with less than 60 year lease, suffered a large drop in market value (more than 20%) as there are restrictions o......



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02 Apr 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 5
Season-parking holders help pay for upkeep of carparks

I read with disappointment that Mr Tan Kay Khoo would use environment issues as a reason for removing lower-floor parking priority for season-parking motorists (No compelling reason to reserve lower floors for season parking, March 28). The Housing Board designs and sells a......



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20 Mar 2019
Housing Development Board
Feedback View - 75
Liberalise CPF to buy HDB flats

The liberalisation of CPF to enable elderly people to buy older flats that was recently announced in Parliament by Lawrence Wong. In my opinion, this is a most irresponsible and despicable policy. It is suicidal to say the least.  To begin with, old people do not have many more economically productive years left in them. When their CPF savings are used to buy an already old flat, they deplete their retirement funds much further to buy a depreciat......



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20 Mar 2019
Housing Development Board
Negative View - 102
Why leave lights on in new, unoccupied blocks?

I live near the upcoming Bidadari Housing Board estate, in which some blocks seem to have been completely built. Every night, when I look out of my windows, I see that the lights in the completed blocks, as well as in the multi-storey carparks are fully lit. This has been happening for some time. Given that the first residents will not move in till the third quarter of this year, why does HDB deem it necessary to keep the......



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22 Feb 2019
Housing Development Board
Suggestion View - 408
Depleting value of HDB flat

When HDB flats were first build, the flats were sold at very low prices. In subsequent years, under the Asset Enhancement Policy of the government, the prices of the flats appreciated many times. The people who bought their flats earlier enjoyed a large gain. Those who bought the flats at the higher prices were still able to enjoy the appreciation as long as the flats continue to increase in price.  The government leaders also advised the citizen......



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