Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions on Hawker Stall Rental

Oral Reply to Parliamentary Questions on Hawker Stall Rental by Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) what is the median rent for hawker stalls tendered out in the last two years, excluding stalls that have had their rents adjusted after their three-year tenancy period; and (b) whether the National Environment Agency has any plans to review the duration of the initial tenancy period to discourage disproportionately high rental bids.

Mr Melvin Yong Yik Chye: To ask the Minister for Sustainability and the Environment (a) when did the National Environment Agency last reviewed the way hawker stalls are tendered out; (b) whether a ballot model at a fixed rental rate targeted at cost-recovery have been considered; and (c) if so, what are the reasons for not moving to such a model.

Answer:

1 The National Environment Agency (NEA) lets out vacant hawker stalls through monthly tender exercises, which are transparent and fair. After the first tenancy term of three years, tendered rents are adjusted towards an assessed market rent determined through independent professional valuation.

2 Since 2012, NEA has removed reserve rent and does not set a minimum bid price for hawker stall tenders. As such, tenderers can secure stalls at lower-than-market rent for the first tenancy term. This would not be attainable under a model where stalls are allocated at fixed rental rates.

3 About 1 in 5 cooked food stalls were awarded at tender prices at or below $500 in 2023. The median successful tender price for cooked food stalls across hawker centres was about $2,000 in 2022, and $1,800 in 2023. While some stalls at popular locations have attracted higher bids, such tender prices are not the norm. NEA is reviewing relevant policies at hawker centres to ensure that the system remains effective while keeping hawker food affordable.

4 Hawkers face various cost pressures such as raw material and manpower cost. To address manpower challenges, NEA has provided support through measures such as the Productive Hawker Centres (PHC) programme and the Hawkers' Productivity Grant to help stallholders improve productivity and reduce reliance on manpower.

5 We are also looking at other ways to further ease manpower challenges. Currently, only Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents can be stallholders or work as stall assistants in hawker centres managed by NEA and NEA-appointed operators. These measures help to safeguard and preserve the local identity of our hawker culture. NEA exercises some flexibility by allowing stallholders to appoint their spouses who are Long Term Visit Pass (LTVP) or LTVP-Plus holders with Letter of Consent (LOC) or Pre-approved LOC as their stall assistants, given their familial ties to the hawkers.

6 To provide additional support to stallholders at hawker centres managed by NEA or NEA-appointed operators, we will further relax our policy to allow hawkers to hire LTVP or LTVP-Plus holders with Letters of Consent (LOC) or Pre-approved LOCs to work as their stall assistants. This policy will be effective from 1 Jan 2025.

7 We are also studying other support measures for hawkers and will share the details when ready.