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Thread: Govt taking back 191 homes in Geylang when lease ends

  1. #1
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    Default Govt taking back 191 homes in Geylang when lease ends

    Govt taking back 191 homes in Geylang when lease ends

    JUN 21, 2017

    There will be no extension; private terraced houses must be vacated by end-2020

    Ng Jun Sen


    In a first for residential properties in Singapore, 191 private terraced houses in Geylang Lorong 3 will be returned to the state when their leases run out at the end of 2020, with no extension allowed.

    For the 33 home owners who are still residing there, time is running out. They will have to hand back vacant units to the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) when their leases run out in 31/2 years, with no compensation.

    Each of the 191 units will be assigned a dedicated SLA officer who will be the home owners' point of contact with the authorities, the SLA said in a statement yesterday.

    Yesterday morning, 16 SLA officers went knocking on doors of the houses, which were sold to residents on a 60-year lease term in 1960, to introduce themselves to the owners and guide them through the process.

    The last transaction, in December 2015, was for an 854 sq ft unit that cost $88,000.

    Only 33 units are owner-occupied. The remaining units are used for religious activities or are rented out to foreign workers when the homes' original owners moved out over the years.

    Owners will have to remove all their belongings and terminate their utilities and services. They will also have to pay all outstanding bills, said the SLA.

    This is the first time that a residential plot of land will reach the end of its lease.

    Unlike land acquisition by the Government, where compensation is given for the remaining lease, Geylang Lorong 3 residents will not get any since the lease will have run out in 2020, said the Law Ministry's deputy secretary Han Kok Juan.

    The 2ha plot of land in Geylang Lorong 3 will be earmarked for future public housing, but the SLA did not give a timeline for when the redevelopment process will start or be completed.

    SLA's chief executive Tan Boon Khai said: "As a general policy, upon lease expiry, the state land and the property will revert back to the Government. In this case, there are exciting plans to rejuvenate the Kallang area, and this site will be slated for public housing."

    SLA said owner-occupants will not be left without options for alternative housing.

    Owners can buy a Housing Board flat or private property if they do not already have alternative housing. They can also choose to rent a home.

    The Straits Times reported on the impending lease expiry at Geylang Lorong 3 in April, with several residents expressing their concern that they will have no place to relocate to.

    One resident told reporters yesterday that she only learnt about the lease expiry issue from the ST report.

    Said Madam Tan Whay Seok, 69, who works as a hawker nearby: "We are now very anxious because we don't know where to go after this. Recently, we spent a lot of money on my husband's leg surgery, so we do not have a lot of savings left.

    "I now hope that we can be allowed to live nearby."
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  2. #2
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    State to take back Geylang plot for redevelopment

    Current leases of the terrace houses in Lorong 3 Geylang expire at end-2020; the land will be used for future public housing, says SLA

    June 21, 2017

    LEE MEIXIAN


    THE Singapore Land Authority (SLA) on Tuesday said that the land occupied by 191 private terrace houses at Lorong 3 Geylang will return to the state when the current leases expire on Dec 31, 2020. The government has slated the land for future public housing.

    SLA said this is the first time that a private residential plot's land lease is expiring and is being returned to the state. The next major estate to be affected by lease expiry will be Fuyong Estate in 2046.

    The private terrace houses currently located at Lorong 3 Geylang are on 60-year leases which started in 1961.

    Most of the current owners of the 191 houses have moved out and are letting out their units to foreign workers and other occupants who use them for religious activities. Only about 33 households continue to live in these premises.

    The government on Tuesday said it plans to rejuvenate the two-hectare site with new public housing options.

    The area is about 900 metres from Kallang MRT Station and 500 metres from the new Geylang Bahru MRT Station which will open this October.

    Under the Master Plan 2014, Kallang will offer housing, green spaces, water bodies, more leisure options and new transport facilities to residents.

    Around the vicinity, there will also be new public housing developments in Boon Keng, Bendemeer and around Kallang MRT Station, as well as new private residences in Kampong Bugis.

    The plot is also situated along Kallang River, falling within the 10-kilometre stretch from Lower Peirce Reservoir to Kallang Basin for which the government is picking the public's and private sector's brains on how to revitalise.

    SLA said it is committed to helping owners still occupying their units through the lease expiry process. Each owner will be assigned a dedicated SLA officer, who will guide them through the process over the next 31/2 years.

    But the reality remains that owner-occupants will have to look for a new home, either by buying a Housing & Development Board flat or private property, renting on the open market or living with their family members.

    For elderly owner-occupants, some may be eligible to buy the short-lease two-room flats which are cheaper to purchase under the HDB scheme.

    As for employers of foreign work pass holders, SLA suggested for them to relocate their workers to other approved housing such as purpose-built dormitories.

    Temple operators on the premises can also consider co-locating with religious organisations operating in other areas, or renting a space from commercial and industrial premises which allow a portion of the gross floor area for religious purposes, it said.

    According to media reports, the last transaction along the lorong was a 854 square foot plot for S$88,000 in December 2015.

    JLL national director for research and consultancy Ong Teck Hui said that is like paying a monthly rental of S$1,400 to S$1,500 for the remaining five years of the lease.

    "That's another way of looking at it. It is no longer an investment good, but a consumption good. You forgo your S$88,000; you won't get anything back."

    He added that redeveloping the area could also help to clean up the neighbourhood by removing the workers' accommodation and temple operators, especially if the existing premises are dilapidated and badly kept.

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