Question No: 238 

Question by: Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim 

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB systematically tracks tenure duration and ethnicity of tenants for open-market rentals; (b) if not, how does HDB ensure rentals remain short-term and do not significantly alter block or precinct ethnic composition; and (c) if so, whether violations of the Ethnic Integration Policy have been detected. 

Answer: 

The Ethnic Integration Policy, or EIP, seeks to ensure that our HDB estates remain diverse and inclusive, and applies to the sale and purchase of all HDB flats, as well as the allocation of HDB public rental flats. For EIP-constrained flat owners with extenuating circumstances, HDB has been exercising flexibility and provides a range of assistance measures on a case-by-case basis. 

Tenants who rent HDB flats on the open market are not subject to the EIP. The majority of these tenants are non-citizens from diverse ethnic backgrounds and countries. Their stays are typically temporary in nature, and do not affect the ethnic proportions in our public housing estates over the long term. 

To prevent the formation of foreigner enclaves and maintain the Singaporean character of our HDB heartlands, HDB introduced the Non-Citizen Quota in 2014, which caps the number of flats that can be wholly rented out to non-Malaysian Non-Citizens within each block and neighbourhood.  

Eligible HDB flat owners must have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period before renting out their whole flats. They are also required to seek HDB’s approval and meet the Non-Citizen quota. The rental period is capped at two years when owners rent out their flats to non-Malaysian Non-Citizens. If irregularities are detected, HDB will take appropriate enforcement action against the flat owner.