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31 March 2010
To: The Hon Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong
Dear Sir,
We are a group of “stayers” residing in condominiums across Singapore. We
treasure our homes. We wish to thank you for saying in a public speech
that “Property is for people to buy to live in, not for speculating” as
was reported in The Straits Times 22 Feb 10. This is exactly what we
believe too.
However, the en bloc phenomenon of recent years has caused much distress
to the many people like us who love our homes. As a result of the en bloc
legislation and the greed of developers and speculators, we no more have a
sense of security even if we own our homes. Our sense of belonging has
been badly shaken. On the one hand, we are exhorted by the government to
develop a sense of belonging to the community and country, to sink our
roots here, and to treasure our homes and not use them as an easy means to
make a quick profit. On the other hand, we face a constant threat of
having our homes sold en bloc and being effectively evicted against our
wishes.
The case that the government makes for allowing en bloc collective sales
is based on the need for urban renewal in land-scarce Singapore. We
understand the need for urban renewal. The case we are making is that
urban renewal should not be achieved simply through a laissez faire
approach to en bloc sales of private residential condominiums because
these are not just buildings but they are our homes and what many of us
see as the fruits of our nation-building efforts. There must be tighter
and enforceable laws to ensure that en bloc collective sales are conducted
in a way that does not go against the principle and core value that we as
Singaporeans are being exhorted to cultivate – that of treasuring our
homes.
We are very much saddened and dismayed by the way en blocs are allowed to
take place. The situation now is that many, if not most, en bloc attempts
are initiated by people with questionable motives. Some are out to get a
quick and easy profit – the very thing you say we should not do with our
homes. Some homeowners are not satisfied with simply selling their own
unit in the open market, but want a windfall and so seek an en bloc
collective sale by forcing others to sell even if the latter have no
desire to. Even property agents are feeding this greed by encouraging
homeowners to sell en bloc to collect the windfall. As reported in the
press, we also learn of well-heeled speculators, some buying units within
the same estate while others buying one unit after another in different
estates, so easily reaping multiple windfalls through the en bloc process.
It often has nothing to do with urban renewal. Our condominiums are
generally in a good state and there is also never an independent and fair
assessment that the buildings are a public eyesore or in danger of
crumbling or collapsing. But because they want to en bloc desperately,
those keen on en bloc try to convince the residents that “old is bad”, and
that the estate is in a state of bad repair. Worse still, because many of
these pro-en bloc residents are also in the management councils that are
supposed to take care of maintaining the estate, they deliberately and
perversely allow the estate to be run down to support their contention.
There are supposed to be laws and rules that govern the en bloc collective
sales of estates. However, many of them are flouted by the collective sale
committees, and the committees get away with it. Despite public feedback
that was given about the glaring conflict of interest arising when members
of the management council are also in the collective sale committee, even
spearheading the collective sale, no new laws were enacted to disallow a
subsidiary proprietor to be in both the collective sale committee and the
management council concurrently. Little has changed since the amendments
to the Land Titles (Strata) Act in 2007 were implemented. Time and again
we see the collective sale committees running rough-shod over the
owner-objectors and pushing through their resolutions with flagrant
disregard of common decency, statutory duty and the new laws which the
Ministry of Law passed in Parliament. The objectors are usually seen as
the “obstructionists” and in some instances have been treated roughly. You
may have read in the press about Laguna Park where vandalism was wrought
on en bloc-dissenters by the chairman of its collective sale committee.
This was by no means an isolated incident. Greed and rage against those
standing up for their rights can only be behind such anti-social behaviour.
It is also sad to see that in the case of Horizon Towers, the Strata
Titles Board had allowed the sale even though there was clear evidence
that the collective sale committee had not accepted the highest bid and
had concealed this from the subsidiary proprietors. The case went all the
way up to the High Court where millions were spent by both sides. Where
there is a dispute, not all of us have the deep pockets to take our case
to the High Court or further on appeal. We would like to propose that a
new tribunal be set up (e.g., perhaps along the lines of a Strata Living
Ombudsman or Strata Title Referee) to deal with the fallout from having to
deal with the greed and conflict which now pervades the affected estates.
A Strata Living Information Centre could also be set up to provide
information, resources and counselling to strata title proprietors and
strata residents.
Many letters have been written in the Straits Times Forum Page about the
negative social impact of en bloc and the concerns we have regarding the
way it is conducted. (We have attached some for your easy reference.)
However, it seems that no one is really listening to us in our plight and
we are getting very frustrated. That is why we are bringing our case
directly to you, in the hope that you will listen and help us. Some of us
want to remain living near schools and other educational institutions
close to our estates rather than be forced to relocate. Others have family
members living nearby due to earlier design. Having to move home can be
one of the most stressful and traumatic events in a person’s life, next to
the loss of a loved one. It is more stressful for those who are affected
by en bloc sales, especially the senior citizens and retirees as well as
those with special needs. According to Minister for National Development
Mah Bow Tan, when speaking on the HDB Lease Buyback Scheme, it is
important “to create an environment where our elderly can ‘age in place
comfortably’….to enjoy living in familiar surroundings and among friends
and neighbours”. It begs the question – how will we be able to “age in
place comfortably” in our own homes when faced with the constant threat of
eviction as a result of the en bloc process?
We sincerely hope that you will understand our desire to live in peace and
enjoy the nest we have made for ourselves over the years. If ever an
estate is to undergo en bloc, it must be for the correct reasons, and
there must be strict laws and regulations as well as powers to ensure that
the building or estate is truly in a dangerous state and beyond simple
repair work, and that the en bloc process is carried out according to the
law. In this respect, we hope for a rapid revision of laws that set
tighter conditions under which an estate can be put up for an en bloc
collective sale with more safeguards for those who do not wish to sell,
e.g., (a) require reasons to be given for demolition, and obtain an
independent and fair assessment to determine whether the reasons given for
demolition to achieve urban renewal are valid; (b) restrict the frequency
of en bloc attempts in an estate within a given period or provide for a
minimum gap between each attempt so that they cannot be held
consecutively; (c) raise the minimum consent quota from 30% to 60% before
each en bloc collective sale attempt; (d) disallow members of the
collective sale committee to also be in the management council and
disallow the use of MCST funds and assets for en bloc purposes, with
tighter financial and other reporting requirements for both bodies; (e)
limit the tenure of a collective sale committee to one year; and (f)
invest authority in an agency/ministry to take an active role to check and
follow up on complaints especially when they can be substantiated. These
and other thought-out measures will help us. The more resident-friendly
legislative scheme for collective sales in Hong Kong could be examined and
used as a benchmark when tightening the legislation here.
Many of us have tried to dialogue on these matters through the newspaper
forum pages and other avenues to no avail. The responses from the
ministries have generally been unsympathetic and disappointing. We wish to
express our views to you as a matter of last resort. Unless you personally
pay attention to this issue, and unless there are policy and legislative
changes, the legal tribunals will simply “give effect to parliamentary
intention” and make it very easy to en bloc estates so completely
railroading over our common ideal that “property is for people to buy to
live in, not for speculating”.
We are very concerned about our homes. Our children’s heritage is the
values that we uphold today – and it all starts with our home. Our home is
where our heart is, and where we build our sense of community and
belonging. We are the “stayers” and nation-builders who did not look for
greener pastures in other countries. As a Straits Times reader said in his
letter to the forum page headlined “Collective sales bad for those who
treasure home” on 18 Sep 06, “their roots are deeply planted there, as
much as their roots are in Singapore, their nation…..What does this sense
of belonging to a place mean when one can be booted out just because
others with a bigger collective voice then say so….?”
Please would you look into and address our concerns. We would be grateful
to hear from you, Sir.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
STAYERS
cc
DPM and Minister for Defence Teo Chee Hean (MP, Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC)
Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports Dr Vivian
Balakrishnan (MP, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC)
Minister for Law and 2nd Minister for Home Affairs K Shanmugam (MP,
Sembawang GRC)
Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan (MP, Tampines GRC)
Minister of State, Ministry of Community Development, Youth & Sports Mrs
Yu-Foo Yee Shoon (MP, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC)
Mr Chan Soo Sen (MP, Joo Chiat)
Mr Christopher de Souza (MP, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC)
Miss Indranee Rajah (MP, Tanjong Pagar GRC)
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