SINGAPORE: Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor said on Tuesday that 58 percent of the 341 hawker stallholders whose tenancies were up for renewal between April and June this year had their rents lowered down to market rate (Jul 6). She said the monthly decreases for this group ranged from S$30 to more than S$2,500. A “vast majority” of hawker stalls saw their value drop in the 2021 financial year as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak.
She pointed out that between April 2020 and March 2021, rent hikes for hawker stalls were frozen.
According to Dr. Khor, 37% of those whose tenancies were up for renewal continued to pay the same rent, while the remaining 5% – or 17 of the 341 stallholders – had their rent increase between S$10 to S$300.
The median rental for the 17 hawkers who witnessed an increase was S$850. “Even the stalls whose rental was increased by S$300 are still paying at or below market value,” she continued. Dr Khor was responding to a question from Mr Melvin Yong (PAP-Radin Mas) in Parliament about financial aid for hawkers affected by a COVID-19 cluster, and how the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment (MSE) plans to help draw crowds back to the affected markets and hawker centres once the cluster has closed.
WATCH: Approximately 6,000 hawkers will receive rental waivers as a result of COVID-19 initiatives.
This comes after food blogger KF Seetoh claimed in a Facebook post that the rentals of some hawkers had been raised “by over 40%.”
He sent a photo of a notice from the National Environment Agency (NEA) to a hawker, indicating the increase in rent and rental agreement renewal.
“While we are all doing our best to #supportourhawkers, they are simultaneously hiking the hawkers’ rent by about 40%,” he wrote.
“Why, oh why, do I inquire?” You may need to claw back to replenish the national finances, but do your leaders realize how bad the timing is now? This hawker had been in sales limbo for the whole year.”
On May 16, 2021, the first day of Phase 2, tables and chairs were sealed off at a hawker centre in Toa Payoh (Heightened Alert). (Jeremy Long/File photo)
The NEA issued a statement on Facebook a day after Mr Seetoh’s Facebook post to “clarify” the situation.
“Rent revisions at tenancy renewals in our hawker centres have not exceeded S$300 in recent years. On the other side, tenancy renewals have resulted in rental reductions of more than S$300. “Looking at percentage increases alone is deceiving because a S$300 rise from a low rental will appear to be a high percentage increase,” the agency noted. “NO RENTAL MINIMUM” According to Dr. Khor on Tuesday, the median monthly stall rental of non-subsidised prepared food stalls across all hawker centres is S$1,250, which is “significantly lower” than those at commercially owned coffee shops and food courts. “When new hawkers gain vacant stalls in NEA-managed hawker centres through monthly stall bids, they pay the amount they tendered as rent. “There is no minimum rental,” Dr. Khor explained, adding that some successful bidders place hefty bids in order to get a preferable booth site. “This open tender method promotes transparency and fair pricing, especially for high-demand stalls, such as those in high-traffic areas.” She went on to say that these rentals are kept the same for the duration of the three-year tenure. “We don’t put up the occupied booths for tender when the tenancy expires because it would be disruptive to hawkers who have built their business and client base,” Dr Khor explained. “Instead, rentals are changed based on an impartial professional appraisal that takes into account elements including the center’s footfall, stall size, and current market conditions to determine the market rental.” The hawkers’ businesses were damaged when dining in was first halted during the “circuit breaker” time last year, according to Dr Khor. “Due to the adoption of group size restrictions and default working from home arrangements, this remained even when dine-in was reinstated later,” she noted.
To discourage people from dining in during Phase 2, tables and chairs at North Bridge Road Market and Food Centre have been blocked off (Heightened Alert).
(Gaya Chandramohan photo)
In 2020, the government would provide hawkers with a five-month rental waiver and three-month subsidy for table cleaning and centralised dishwashing expenses, according to Dr Khor.
When dining-in restrictions were reinstated from May 16 to July this year, the government also granted a two-month rental waiver and a cleaning service subsidy, she explained.
She also mentioned that in 2020, eligible hawkers will get S$9,000 in financial assistance through the Self-Employed Person Income Relief Scheme.
“AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TIME”
“We are conscious that, no matter how small the group, any rental rise, even if mitigated, is always sensitive, and that this is a difficult period,” Dr. Khor added.
Hawkers who are still having financial difficulties as a result of the recent two-month rental waiver from mid-May to mid-July can seek help from the NEA. She said that the NEA will conduct “a rigorous evaluation on a case-by-case basis.” “These steps, taken together, have helped our hawkers maintain their livelihoods at a challenging period,” Dr. Khor remarked. She told Parliament that occupancy rates for cooked food stalls in NEA-managed centers have “remained high” at around 97 percent.
On the first day of Phase 2 of Singapore’s reopening, June 29, 2020, patrons at Marine Parade Hawker Centre. (Photo courtesy of Tiffany Ang)
From 2020 to May 2021, an average of 16 stall tenancies were terminated every month, down from an average of 28 terminations per month from 2017 to 2019.
She stated that the government is looking into granting rental waivers to hawkers whose businesses have been closed as a result of COVID-19 clusters.
“Hawkers operating at the Bukit Merah View Market and Food Centre are already protected under the present rental waivers till mid-July,” Dr Khor said.
Hawkers who have been issued quarantine orders can apply for additional financial assistance through programs such as the Quarantine Order Allowance Scheme or the COVID-19 Recovery Grant, she said.
“It is critical for hawker centres affected by COVID-19 clusters to recover public confidence and reassure returning customers that sanitation and hygiene standards are not compromised,” said Dr Khor.
“NEA has been collaborating with stakeholders such as cleaning companies and city councils to ensure adequate thorough cleaning and disinfection of common areas, as well as the implementation of strong cleaning and sanitization workflows. And we shall do so in the future.”/n
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