SINGAPORE: Successful bidders of all new Housing and Development Board (HDB) shop tenders must now commit to their rent for six years, or two tenancy terms, up from the current three years.
"By requiring tenderers to commit to tendered rent over a longer period, our aim is to encourage tenderers to bid prudently," HDB said in a media release on Saturday (Jan 10).
This new measure, which kicked in on Saturday, followed concerns over rising rental bids for shops in HDB estates, after a record-high S$52,000 monthly rental bid was made for a Tampines GP clinic.
The successful bid for the ground floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 by I-Health Medical Holdings in January last year was the "highest per square foot rent that HDB has received for GP and dental clinics of this size to date", HDB said in June.
Previously, when a three-year tenancy was due for renewal, professional valuers appointed by HDB would assess the rent for the next tenancy period as part of measures to keep rents stable, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a parliamentary reply last September. HDB is a statutory board under MND.
The assessment would take into account "recent rents of comparable premises in the vicinity, as well as prevailing market and local conditions", said MND then, adding that rental rates in 90 per cent of HDB rental shops did not rise in the last five years.
There are about 15,500 HDB shops in Singapore as of August 2025. Of these, about 7,000 are rented out by HDB, and about 8,500 are privately owned, said MND. HDB stopped selling HDB shops in 1998, and now rents them out to businesses directly.
Rental rates for privately owned HDB shops are set by their respective owners, and the ministry said then that it was aware of a steep increase in the per square foot rents for those shops.
There are about 740 privately owned HDB shops sold on 30-year leases, of which over 80 per cent have less than 10 years' lease left. These shops will progressively be returned to HDB and rented out.
The remaining privately held HDB shops, numbering about 7,700, were sold on 99-year leases and have over 30 years of lease left.
"HDB will continue to provide new shops in new public housing developments. We will also inject new retail supply to meet demand in existing estates, where necessary, including the option of selectively acquiring privately held HDB shops if needed," said MND in its parliamentary reply.
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"By requiring tenderers to commit to tendered rent over a longer period, our aim is to encourage tenderers to bid prudently," HDB said in a media release on Saturday (Jan 10).
This new measure, which kicked in on Saturday, followed concerns over rising rental bids for shops in HDB estates, after a record-high S$52,000 monthly rental bid was made for a Tampines GP clinic.
The successful bid for the ground floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 by I-Health Medical Holdings in January last year was the "highest per square foot rent that HDB has received for GP and dental clinics of this size to date", HDB said in June.
Previously, when a three-year tenancy was due for renewal, professional valuers appointed by HDB would assess the rent for the next tenancy period as part of measures to keep rents stable, said the Ministry of National Development (MND) in a parliamentary reply last September. HDB is a statutory board under MND.
The assessment would take into account "recent rents of comparable premises in the vicinity, as well as prevailing market and local conditions", said MND then, adding that rental rates in 90 per cent of HDB rental shops did not rise in the last five years.
There are about 15,500 HDB shops in Singapore as of August 2025. Of these, about 7,000 are rented out by HDB, and about 8,500 are privately owned, said MND. HDB stopped selling HDB shops in 1998, and now rents them out to businesses directly.
Rental rates for privately owned HDB shops are set by their respective owners, and the ministry said then that it was aware of a steep increase in the per square foot rents for those shops.
There are about 740 privately owned HDB shops sold on 30-year leases, of which over 80 per cent have less than 10 years' lease left. These shops will progressively be returned to HDB and rented out.
The remaining privately held HDB shops, numbering about 7,700, were sold on 99-year leases and have over 30 years of lease left.
"HDB will continue to provide new shops in new public housing developments. We will also inject new retail supply to meet demand in existing estates, where necessary, including the option of selectively acquiring privately held HDB shops if needed," said MND in its parliamentary reply.
Continue reading...