SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has seized four flats that had been sublet without permission. Another six home-owners have been fined between S$4,200 and S$14,400.
Last year, only two flats were seized by HDB.
Under its rules, owners can only sublet their flats after they have stayed a minimum of 3 or 5 years, depending on the subsidies received.
In the cases where the flats were seized, three of the homeowners did not meet this requirement. One even sublet her unit to members of a religious group, who stayed in it and used it as a meditation centre.
In the fourth case, the owner had used his 3-room flat as loan collateral to a moneylender, who then rented it out.
The case came to light after the moneylender changed the locks, forcing the flat owner to ask HDB for help.
HDB said it only takes back flats if – among other things – the owner had no intention of staying in it.
HDB had conducted 2,600 checks between January and May, four times more than the five months before that.
1,860 cases arose from HDB’s routine inspections, while 740 cases were based on feedback from members of the public.
Of these, 2,300 were found to be false alarms, while another 59 were suspected to have flouted the law.
Authorities are also paying more attention to those who rent rooms in HDB flats, after problems with loan shark harassment surfaced.
New rules introduced earlier this year require flat owners to register these tenants within seven days.
Cases where flat owners lock up one room and sublet the rest of the flat without physically staying in the unit will be treated as unauthorised subletting if home owners do not meet the minimum occupation period and did not seek HDB’s approval to sublet their flats.
Source: Channel NewsAsia