Don’t pin the blame on HDB subletting

In his commentary, “Surge in subletting needs dealing with” (March 15), Mr Ku Swee Yong mentioned that subletting has reduced the number of Housing and Development Board (HDB) units available for resale.

Mr Wong Kum Chow shares this view in his letter, “Hold BTO prices, tighten subletting rules for more affordable housing” (March 20), and that subletting has forced resale prices to escalate.

Firstly, subletting is not a problem and not the cause of the resale flat shortage. The policy change requiring buyers to dispose of their private properties if they acquire HDB flats was what caused many to hold on to their flats.

Many HDB flat owners are unaffected by this policy now and can still buy private property. But they are reluctant to lose this privilege because the moment they sell their flats, the restriction would be imposed on them if they want to repurchase a flat later.

Secondly, Mr Wong’s idea of imposing punitive subletting taxes to force owners to sell their flats is unfair. Not all who sublet flats own private property. Many of them rely on the rental income for retirement and to supplement their income.

If this helps them to be self-sufficient, rather than to rely on government handouts, then this is a better outcome.

Thirdly, resale flats are in short supply now because the HDB built fewer flats earlier and only ramped up supply in the last couple of years. This was compounded by the increase in the number of migrants and private property owners downsizing after en-bloc sales.

This short supply is temporary and will disappear once the new flats come on stream after the minimum occupation period, and with the tighter immigration policy.

The resale shortage affects only those who cannot wait. With the building of new flats being ramped up, enough flats are now available.