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Bukit Canberra hawkers contractually bound to provide free meals under pay-it-forward scheme, lawyers say​

Despite the operator's public stance that participation is voluntary, lawyers say contractual obligations may still apply.



Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre. (Photo: Facebook/Ong Ye Kung)

14 Aug 2025

SINGAPORE: Hawkers’ participation in a scheme to provide free meals at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre is mandatory based on the language of their tenancy agreements, said lawyers consulted by CNA.
A 2024 version of the contract seen by CNA states that a stall tenant “shall participate” in the pay-it-forward programme “as implemented and/or directed by the company”, requiring them to set aside 100 meals at their own cost for the scheme.
Another clause requires the tenant to provide at least two menu items below S$3 and display them prominently. The tenant shall also offer a 10 per cent discount on their other menu items to CHAS Blue, Pioneer Generation and Merdeka Generation card holders, another clause read.
Managing partner of Lighthouse Law Adrian Wee said it does not appear from the wording of these clauses that the hawkers’ participation in the scheme is voluntary.
"The use of the word 'shall' suggests that the tenant is obliged to participate in the scheme and that this is one of the several obligations imposed on the tenant under the tenancy.
"The fact that the scheme has not yet started has no bearing on whether the tenant will eventually be obliged to participate if and when the scheme starts," he added.
Lawyer Chooi Jing Yen also agreed that the word "shall" means the hawkers legally have to participate in the scheme.
"Technically, if the hawkers fail to comply, that would be a breach of the contract," he said.
Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre is one of several social enterprise hawker centres in Singapore. In 2024, then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said that all social enterprise hawker centre operators must propose ways to ensure affordable food options are available as part of their tender proposals.
"So far operators have committed that all stalls in their centres will provide at least one value meal option. This is not an attempt to force hawkers to sell all of their dishes at low prices.
"Instead, the intent is for operators to work with hawkers to offer a range of food offerings at different price points," he had said at the time.
Value meals only account for about 5 to 20 per cent of meals sold in social enterprise hawker centres, he noted. "Hawkers are not expected to make a loss selling value meals."
The operator of Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre took to Facebook on Tuesday night to address the free meals programme. According to Canopy Hawkers Group, it received “overwhelming interest” during the stall application stage three years ago, and it was “not easy” to select tenants.
"Other than offering affordable and quality meals, we also incorporated into our selection criteria hawkers who shared our vision to pay it forward to the community, through the offering of free meals to the low income.
"As hawkers were selected on this basis, we incorporated Pay-it-Forward into the tenancy contract," the operator said in its post.
After the hawker centre opened, the operator discussed the programme with the stallholders further, and reduced the original arrangement of 30 meals per month to a total of 100 meals over the three-year tenancy period, the post read.
This revised arrangement was reflected in a contract variation around August 2023, said Canopy Hawkers Group.
In the Facebook post, it noted that the programme has not officially started and the preparatory work has not been done yet.
"So there is no obligation on the part of the hawkers, and no penalties to speak of.
"While hawkers have voluntarily agreed to participate at the point of selection, we also acknowledged the view that charity should not be contractual, and this is something to be reviewed again when the Pay-It-Forward programme is ready."
Member of Parliament for Sembawang GRC Ong Ye Kung had said on Monday that there are no penalties if hawkers "do not or are unable to provide the meals". The health minister also said the initiative had yet to start.
Mr Wee said if the tenants were selected on the basis that they were willing to participate in the programme to provide free meals, then it is not surprising that their participation is written into the tenancy agreement in the form of a "binding obligation".
"In general, if something is voluntary, meaning the tenant has the option of not doing it, then that choice should be reflected in the terms of the agreement between parties, or, better yet, omitted altogether," he said.
Mr Chooi pointed out that accepting tenants based on their willingness to participate in the programme and the operator’s decision not to enforce the scheme seemed contradictory.
If Canopy Hawker Group later decides to enforce the relevant penalties, hawkers may rely on the legal principle of “estoppel” as a defence, he added.
"(This means that) the hawkers can say, 'sorry, despite what has been written in the contract, you have separately and publicly stated that this is a voluntary obligation'," said Mr Chooi.
The fact that the hawkers are not providing free meals in accordance with the contract does not mean that the operator can penalise them for not keeping to the terms, he added.
From its post on Facebook, it appears that the operator has also acknowledged this point, Mr Chooi said.
He added that the post seems to imply that a voluntary charity scheme need not or should not have been included in the contracts in the first place, especially if they were not going to enforce it against the hawkers.
Amarjit Singh of Amarjit Sidhu Law said if the scheme is for charity, it should be voluntary.
“If hawkers agree to participate and set aside free meals, then it should be ok. But the imposition of penalties is unreasonable,” he added, noting that Mr Ong has also confirmed that the hawkers will not be penalised for not giving out free meals.
The terms of a contract need to be reasonable, fair and not onerous, and should not put either party at a disadvantage, he said, adding that in general, the courts would decide on the reasonableness of a contract.

Why should we bear the burden of budget meals and app discounts, some hawkers ask​

Hawkers at Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre are expected to offer app discounts and budget meals.

Aug 20, 2025

SINGAPORE – When Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre’s management announced it would scrap clauses requiring hawkers to provide free meals for the needy at their own cost, the update was met with relief by hawkers. But many question why they continue to be called upon to provide budget meals and discounts to diners who pay using operator apps.

The Pay-it-Forward initiative by Canopy Hawkers Group, which manages the Socially-conscious Enterprise Hawker Centre (SEHC), initially required stallholders to contribute 100 free meals over three years.

It was criticised by veteran food critic K.F. Seetoh in an Aug 8 Facebook post that described it as “forced charity”. Health Minister Ong Ye Kung – who oversees the ward where the hawker centre is located – waded into the debate on Aug 11, writing on Facebook that hawkers did not face penalties if they did not provide the meals.

However, copies of the contract shown to the media, including The Straits Times, indicated that hawkers could chalk up demerit points for failing to provide the meals. The management team later said on Aug 15 that it would not enforce the obligation in the future.

“Some stalls are not doing well, so it’s better not to force them,” says John (not his real name), a hawker in his 50s, who runs one of the 44 stalls there. Like many of the tenants ST spoke to, he declined to reveal his name for fear of repercussions from his operator.

Another hawker, who is also in his 50s, adds: “Doing charity is voluntary, not by force.”

But many hawkers lament that they are still obliged to provide budget meals under $3.50 and pay for discounts given to diners using operator apps.

A 2022 version of the contract seen by The Straits Times states that hawkers could face three demerit points and $30 in liquidated damages for “failure to use Bukit Canberra HC mobile apps for customers to place orders, make payment”.

Hawkers say the app was intended for the convenience of customers and should be a value-added service by the operator.


“Its cost should not be passed on to the tenants,” says John, who has to absorb the 10 per cent discount customers get from the Food Canopy app. “Hawker prices are controlled and many have thin margins due to rising costs. This just makes things harder.”

In response to ST’s queries, Canopy Hawkers Group says the loyalty programme, which provides a 10 per cent rebate for customers paying through its app, is meant to encourage repeat customers and support hawkers’ business.

A similar arrangement has been rolled out at hawker centres run by FairPrice Group and Timbre Group.

Customers who pay using the app enjoy a 10 per cent discount on meals at One Punggol Hawker Centre and Yishun Park Hawker Centre, according to Timbre Group’s website.

“We lose a thousand dollars every month from the Timbre app,” says a 42-year-old who wanted to be known only as Rahman. He sells rojak and prata at One Punggol. However, he concedes that it was something he had agreed to when signing the contract.

Mr Yasser Farag, who runs Arabica Kebab stall in the same centre, was also prepared to offer concessions to customers, though the number of discounts caught him by surprise.


“I knew I had to keep prices low, but I didn’t expect so many people to have the app,” says the 58-year-old, who maintains that his experience at the hawker centre has otherwise been smooth.

Another hawker, who is in her late 50s, says prevalent usage of the app costs her around a thousand dollars each month. With the price of ingredients and utilities rising, her earnings have been shaved by a fifth. “I can’t afford to raise prices either, because I empathise with customers,” she adds.

Echoing the same sentiment is Ms Kumiko Tan, 44, owner of Hakka Leipopo, a chain with outlets in SEHCs, such as Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre and Punggol Coast Hawker Centre, both run by FairPrice Group.

“Times are hard for everyone. We won’t change the price of food to account for the discount,” she says. The cost of her dishes remains consistent across all outlets, even the one at the Tanjong Pagar Town Council-run Bukit Merah View Market & Hawker Centre.

Roughly 80 per cent of her customers at Anchorvale Village and Punggol Coast pay with the FairPrice Group app, which yields a 10 per cent discount. She adds: “I don’t think many of them know that the discount is paid for by the store owner. They think maybe it’s from the Government or the operator.”



Discounts offered through FairPrice Group app on display at Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre.

ST PHOTO: CHERIE LOK

But some hawkers, like a 38-year-old man operating a stall at Anchorvale Village Hawker Centre, feel the 10 per cent cut is fair, as the app helps boost business. “It’s a perk that, in a way, attracts customers,” he says.

The discount, however, cannot be applied to budget meals, which are low-cost dishes that tenants at SEHCs are obliged to offer – contractually, in the case of Bukit Canberra Hawker Centre’s tenants, at least.

At hawker centres operated by FairPrice Group, these affordable options are usually priced between $3 and $3.50, according to checks by ST.

Adam (not his real name), a hawker who runs a stall at Hawker Centre @ Our Tampines Hub, says that $3.50 is a manageable price point for budget meals. When

ST spoke to him in June 2024, his budget meals were fixed at $2.80.

Back then, a spokesperson for operator FairPrice Group confirmed budget meals at that particular hawker centre cost $2.80, but that the company was conducting a review.

Since the budget meal price has increased to $3.50, Adam says it is “much more reasonable”. “At least now, I can make around 20 to 30 cents in profit for each meal,” he adds. He previously told ST it was “impossible to make a profit” from $2.80 meals.

“I can’t make money off of it, but maybe only five to 10 people each month buy my budget meals, so still can tahan (endure in Malay),” adds a 45-year-old hawker, who wants to be known only as Hasan, at Buangkok Hawker Centre.

But Penang Alley’s $3.20 budget meals are snapped up by some 50 customers each month. Mrs Eileen Leong, the 57-year-old owner of the Buangkok Hawker Centre stall, says such meals, which consist of mainly eggs and kway teow, are “unsustainable”.

She tried asking her operator, Fei Siong Social Enterprise, to increase the budget meal price to $4 without success. With operation costs spiking 50 per cent and footfall down three-quarters by her estimates, she is seeking a reprieve.

In response to queries from ST, the National Environment Agency (NEA) reiterated what then-Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Koh Poh Koon said in a November 2024 parliamentary address: Such value meals only account for 5 to 20 per cent of meals sold in SEHCs.

Portions, according to hawkers, tend to be smaller and often omit more expensive proteins such as meat.

“Hawkers are not expected to make a loss selling value meals as they would have taken into the consideration of its impact in their rentals when applying for the stalls. Moreover, SEHC operators can propose to revise the price of such value meals options, which NEA will review based on the market situation and stallholders’ ability to make a fair livelihood,” said NEA’s spokesperson, citing the case of Ci Yuan Hawker Centre in Hougang, where the price was reviewed and adjusted based on feedback from operators and hawkers.

Canopy Hawkers Group, likewise, adds that food prices are adjusted from time to time, in discussion with tenants.

According to NEA, in 2023, the median monthly stall rental at SEHCs and non-subsidised stalls at comparable NEA-managed hawker centres were $1,700 and $1,625 respectively. Ancillary costs at SEHCs, such as table-cleaning and centralised dishwashing fees, are comparable with similar NEA-managed hawker centres, it added.

The agency also assists hawkers financially through schemes such as the Hawkers’ Productivity Grant, which provides 80 per cent co-funding for hawkers to buy kitchen automation equipment and digital solutions such as queue management systems.

ST has contacted the relevant operators for more information. Timbre Group declined to comment, while FairPrice Group and Fei Siong Social Enterprise did not respond by press time.

Aug 28, 2025, 04:17pm



Submitted by Stomper
Anonymous
Welcome to Stomping Ground - a space where Stompers share reflections, personal essays and social commentaries that spark conversation and insight.

Singapore is progressing, but are its people prospering along with it?

One citizen, who asked to remain anonymous, feels like he is being passed over and left behind despite decades of contributions - and penned his thoughts in an open letter.


Here is the letter in full:

I'm an ordinary Singaporean who has quietly spent decades contributing to our systems. I modelled security over glamour, responsibility over ambition.

This letter is my reflection, unfiltered, from the ground up. It's anonymous - and it's heartfelt.

We built this nation, but now we're part of the silent majority risking everything and we're quietly being pushed aside.

As a born-and-bred Singaporean, I write not out of anger, but from exhaustion and a quiet desperation shared by many like me.

For decades, we toiled, contributed, adapted. We upgraded. We reskilled. We stayed the course. But today, our voices are increasingly drowned in policies and promises that rarely reflect the daily realities on the ground.

We are told Singapore has no natural resources - but we, the people, have always been the nation's greatest asset. Yet many of us now feel like disposable parts in an overcrowded machine.

Yet today, we're told to reskill again and again, accept decreasing wages, to compete not only with each other, but with new immigrants, permanent residents (PRs), foreign PMETs (professionals, managers, executives and technicians), and even long-term visit pass holders for roles we once filled."

And while we struggle, we're told this is progress.

Meanwhile:

• Housing, healthcare and daily expenses keep rising.
• MRTs break down and our once-proud identity fades.
• Our birth rate halts as too many of us cannot afford to raise a child here.
• Our sandwich-class families are stuck under unending debt.

The steady influx of new immigrants, PRs, foreign PMETs and long-term pass holders has intensified competition not only in jobs but across all facets of daily life: housing, education, healthcare and basic living standards.

The Singapore We Remember… and Miss

We remember:

• Neighbours who greeted one another, not strangers packed in silence.
• MRTs that ran on time, without fear of sudden breakdowns.
• National Day when flags flew proudly outside HDBs - not as an obligation, but a true celebration.
• Jobs that gave meaning, not anxiety.
• We were once proud of our clean streets and cohesive society.

Today?

• We were once proud of our clean streets and cohesive society.
• We're packed shoulder-to-shoulder in trains, struggling to afford homes with shrinking space and rising prices.
• Our children compete in an overstretched school system, while elderly Singaporeans clean tables and push trolleys just to make ends meet.
• Our voices feel drowned out by imported noise.
• Our tiny dot feel overcrowded, but our hearts feel empty.
• We are working longer, harder, but falling behind.

All in the name of economic growth.

But who's really growing?

The Price We Pay

• Sandwich class families suffocate under the weight of expectations.
• Our birth rate drops, because raising a child feels like a financial risk.
• Owning a flat means 20/30 years of loan chains, not pride.
• Healthcare is top-tier - if you can afford it.
• The poor suffer quietly; the rich get louder.

Retirement? It's not a dream. It's a deadline we can't reach.

All of this, while we're told to be "resilient," "adaptable," "grateful."

But can resilience be eaten?

We're told to keep upskilling. But no certification can undo the bias that comes with age or the invisible wall that appears when an employer opts for a cheaper foreign hire.

We Deserve Better in Our Golden Years

We're not asking for handouts. We're asking for dignity:

• Local-first hiring that truly prefers locals.
• Affordable living, not inflated metrics to mask hardship.
• Retirement with security - not working till our bodies break.
• Long-term immigration policy that values local lives, not just GDP growth.
• To not be pushed into gig work or dishwashing at 65.
• To not constantly fear retrenchment because we're "overqualified" or "too expensive."
• To not watch others leapfrog into the jobs we once fought so hard to get.

We built this place. Brick by brick. Shift by shift. Don't treat us like we're replaceable.

We're not angry because we hate Singapore. We're heartbroken because we love it - and it feels like it stopped loving us back.

Worse, our voices are often dismissed. Raise a concern, and you're labelled resistant to progress, anti-globalisation or simply "not competitive enough." But this isn't about fear of foreigners. It's about dignity, fairness, and the right to a livelihood in our own country.

What Do We Ask For?

• Policies with empathy, not just efficiency.
• Real local-first hiring, not tokenism or checkbox compliance.
• Affordable living, not inflated metrics hiding uncomfortable truths.
• Retirement dignity, not working till our bodies collapse.
• A system that values contributions, not just qualifications.

We ask only for policies that protect Singaporeans first, not last. We want transparent hiring practices, fair wage protections, and limits on how foreign hiring is managed in essential roles like sales, marketing, admin, and customer service etc. Jobs that do not need "talent" to do it.

Is this too much to ask?

We are tired. Not lazy, not ungrateful - just worn out from trying to survive in the very country we helped build.

Let our voices be heard - not just on National Day, not just when it's convenient, but in the daily decisions that affect our future. Because Singapore doesn't need to be No.1 in the world. It just needs to be home for the ones who have given it everything.

Let us age with grace, not with fear. Let us rest, not rust. Let us hope, not hustle forever. Let us grow old in peace, with basic income, security and a home to rest our bones. Let us spend time with our grandchildren, not a lifetime of sacrificing just to stay afloat.

We built Singapore. Now please don't make us feel replaceable.

Lastly, wishing Singapore a happy SG60 birthday

- A Singaporean who still believes in dignity over drive. A worried and worn-out but still hopeful Singaporean.

Rents for privately held HDB shops double in past year; prices hold steady for those leased from HDB​

HDB shop units can either be rented from private owners or the state.

Sep 01, 2025

SINGAPORE - Rental rates have more than doubled for privately held HDB shop units, particularly over the past year, while rents for shops directly leased out by HDB have mostly held steady.

Median rentals for heartland shops held by private landlords rose from $3.51 per sq ft (psf) in the second quarter of 2024 to $7.34 psf in the second quarter of 2025.

This is the highest ever rental rate for privately held HDB shops, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s Realis data that dates back to 1999.


Meanwhile, shops directly rented out by HDB have seen rents rise at a more gradual rate.

HDB said rents for nine in 10 of such shops have remained largely unchanged over the past five years.

Property analysts and agents attributed the rise in rental rates for privately held HDB shops to increased demand for such units after consumer sentiment improved post-pandemic, even though there are signs that this demand is now moderating.

HDB shop units can either be rented from private owners or the state. The Housing Board said there are about 8,500 privately held HDB shops, while the remaining 7,000 shop units are directly rented out by the Government.


In 1998, the Government stopped selling HDB shop units to private owners, and the board now rents them out directly.

HDB said this gives it the “flexibility to better curate the trade mix of shops” and respond to residents’ needs.


The rising rents are squeezing some shops in the HDB heartland, leading them to relocate, downsize or close altogether.

To cope, some business owners have been subletting a part of their HDB shops.

For instance, Mr Ken Seng Guan’s bakery chain carved out a roughly 250 sq ft space from its 600 sq ft Pek Kio outlet and has sublet it to various shops over the 10 years it has operated the space – from a bubble tea store to a stationery shop, and now, a hair salon.

The Bakery Cuisine director said his rent – currently $12,000 – has gone up by about 40 per cent over the past decade, or about 10 per cent every three years.

The roughly $3,800 in monthly income from subletting has helped Bakery Cuisine continue running the privately held Pek Kio store despite rising overheads, said Mr Ken.

Mr Ken’s business also sublets some of its HDB-owned shops in Punggol and Pasir Ris, where rentals have hovered around $4,000 to $5,000 over the 10 to 20 years he has run them.


While rents for his HDB-owned stores have held steady, Mr Ken said he continues renting from private landlords because these stores – built before 1998 – tend to be near town centres, where footfall is higher.

There is no available data on how many tenants of privately held HDB shops sublet their units.

About 4 per cent of the 7,000 shops rented out by HDB are subletting their units, the board said. This excludes about 500 coffee shops, markets and market-produce shops.

Other businesses said they have had to downsize to smaller units.


In March 2024, mobile phone retailer Erajaya moved from its 500 sq ft unit in the atrium area of HDB Hub in Toa Payoh to a smaller 300 sq ft unit in a nearby block, after its private landlord asked for a 20 per cent to 30 per cent increase in rent. The business was paying about $28,000 a month.

Mr Jeff Ho, the store’s operations manager until early August, said the hike would have been unsustainable.

“We are just getting by. Our margins are small given the high rental,” said the 45-year-old.



Commuters passing by Singtel mobile phone retailer Erajaya’s shop in a row of HDB retail units at the foot of Block 190 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh during the evening rush hour on June 19.

ST PHOTO: MARK CHEONG

He added that rent for its current shop at Block 190 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh is about 20 per cent lower, but the trade-off is having less room to display products and serve customers.

Retailers in the same row of shops as Erajaya said at least five shops there have shuttered or downsized in the past year because of rental hikes and poor business.

According to Realis data, median rents for privately held HDB shops in Toa Payoh rose by 58.6 per cent from $4.91 psf in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $7.70 psf in the second quarter of 2025.

Even though rents for privately held HDB shops may be more volatile, property agents told The Straits Times many businesses still opt to lease from private landlords as their shops are located in older estates built before 1998.

Privately held HDB shops can also be rented out to any business, as long as they are on HDB’s list of allowable trades.

In comparison, units rented out by HDB are bound to specific trades under the tenancy agreement – for example, a unit that HDB has marked out for a medical facility cannot be rented out to a cafe owner.

The supply of privately held HDB shops that the Government stopped selling in 1998 is expected to become tighter because these units typically have 30-year leases, said Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg.

This means the lease for the last HDB sold shop with a 30-year lease could expire in 2028, he said.

“Going forward, the Government will be the main landlord of HDB shop units. Hence, it will be up to the Government to manage the rental costs of tenants in state-owned HDB shop units,” said Mr Mak.

HDB had in 2022

extended the leases for some 730 privately held HDB shops with expiring tenancies by at least a year

. During the extension, they could make new business plans or bid for a new tenancy.


Meanwhile, businesses that rent from the Government said rents have held mostly steady.

Data provided by HDB showed that the average rent for medical facilities rose to $8.71 psf in 2024, up 13 per cent from $7.68 psf in 2020.

The average rent for food and beverage shops was $7.66 psf in 2020, compared with $8.12 psf in 2024, while those for essential services – minimarts, provision shops and supermarkets – went from $5.15 psf in 2020 to $5.36 psf in 2024.

Unlike URA’s Realis, which gives rental data for privately held HDB shops in median values – the middle point when rents are arranged from lowest to highest – HDB provides rental data using average values. This is calculated by taking the mean of all the rents.

Mr Darren Tan, who runs bakery chain iCakes, said stable rental is a major perk of leasing a shop in Buangkok from HDB, for which he pays about $5,000 a month in rent.

The 35-year-old said rent for the roughly 500 sq ft unit had increased by about 10 per cent over the seven years he has operated it, which he said was reasonable for a mature estate.

Mobile phone retailer Yeo Siew Ngee said rental for a 150 sq ft shop he leases from HDB in Toa Payoh has been more reasonable than what private landlords are charging him for another two shops of the same size in the area.

He said HDB has increased the rent by about 5 per cent to 10 per cent in the decade that he has operated the store, whereas private landlords have raised rentals by 20 per cent to 30 per cent over the same period.

“The rent increases for my HDB shop are minimal, and that has helped me to sustain the business. For my other two stores, I have to sublet a part of the space to make sure we can afford the rent,” said Mr Yeo, 51, who declined to give specific figures.


But some business owners said HDB-owned shop units can be difficult to secure because of high bids.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) physician Tan Yuan Ming said he was edged out of a public tender for an HDB retail unit in Sengkang in March by bids that were twice his own.

Mr Tan made a bid of $4,700 for the 527 sq ft unit, but saw that successive bids on HDB’s online bidding portal hit five-figure sums.

The unit at Block 279 Sengkang East Avenue was awarded to Q & M Dental Centre, which had placed a $14,000 bid. There were 21 bidders for the unit, who submitted bids ranging from $3,850 to $14,000.

Mr Tan, 32, has since 2023 been looking for a retail unit to grow his business The TCM Folks, a mobile TCM clinic he founded in 2022. It currently makes house calls as it does not have a brick-and-mortar space.

“I’d thought it’d be cheaper to rent a shop from HDB, but it turned out that the bids still went way above what we can stomach as a small business,” he said.

That said, property agents said there are signs that rents for HDB shops are cooling. They attributed this to an uncertain economic outlook, which has spooked businessmen from opening new stores.


Business owners are also more cautious about committing to high rents, causing rental growth to moderate slightly in 2025, said ERA property agent Patrick Poh.

With businesses also facing greater cost pressures – from manpower to utilities – landlords are also becoming slightly more flexible in rental negotiations, Mr Poh added.

Mr Alex Wong from PropNex Realty said: “In 2024, it was more of a landlord’s market, when the sentiment among businesses was bullish.

“Today, it’s become more of a tenant’s market, as inquiries have dropped and landlords seem more willing to negotiate offers that do not meet their asking prices.”