10% of elderly flat owners rent, sublet units
By Shabnam Muzammil:
A recent study by the Ministry of National Development (MND) has revealed that one in 10 elderly HDB owners rent out their entire flat or part of it for extra income.
26,000 senior citizens aged 55 and above living in three-room or smaller flats, rent to gain additional income for retirement, or to sustain their medical and daily expenditures.
One room is likely to be rented out for about S$600 while a three-room flat is sublet for S$2,000.
Aside from HDB data, the study also surveyed 1,243 elderly flat owners and there were focus group discussions with real estate agency executives.
Meanwhile panellists at a dialogue session on Wednesday urged the HDB to create simple and accessible schemes that will help seniors to acquire income from their flats.
Experts argue that the current terms and concepts are often hard for the elderly to understand. To date, there are three main options for seniors to get cash out of their flats – renting, the HDB's Silver Housing Bonus or the Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme.
The Silver Housing Bonus allows seniors to sell the flat back to the housing board in exchange for a S$20,000 bonus for topping up their CPF account.
Meanwhile, the Lease Buyback scheme enables three-room or smaller flat owners to sell part of their lease to HDB while living in the same flat for the next 30 years.
Shabnam Muzammil, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email shabnam@allproperty.com.sg
Related Stories:
HDB living a very Singaporean way of life: Khaw
Upgrading works 'notice' not official: HDB
8000 HDB flats in May's sales launch
More from PropertyGuru:
HDB living a very Singaporean way of life: Khaw
Upgrading works 'notice' not official: HDB
8000 HDB flats in May's sales launch
HDB celebrates LIFE in the heartlands
