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Apr 13, 2011
Illegal subletting: HDB seizes 39 flats
More neighbours blow the whistle; board gets tough on blatant abuse
By Jessica Cheam, Housing Correspondent
HDB officers checking a flat to see whether it had been sublet illegally. The board carried out 7,000 inspections last year, up from 3,000 in 2009. -- PHOTO: ST FILE PHOTO
FLAT owners who lock up one room to pretend they are living there, while illegally subletting the rest of their Housing Board (HDB) flats, are now less likely to get away with it.
The HDB said yesterday that it has more than doubled its enforcement checks, and a fast growing number of whistle-blowing neighbours is making its work easier.
Some 95 flat owners found this out the hard way last year when they were caught by the HDB.
Of these, 39 had their units compulsorily acquired immediately because they had 'blatantly infringed' the subletting rules, it added.
They included an owner of a flat at Pinnacle@Duxton who rented out his entire flat shortly after getting his keys.
Owners must live in their flats for five years before renting the whole unit out.
Read the full story in Wednesday's edition of The Straits Times.
