Flats near former rail station for rent
Two blocks of flats, which once housed staff of Malaysia's railway operator, will be offered for rental to lower-income households next month.
The 318 units near the now-defunct Tanjong Pagar Railway
Station will be leased out under the Housing Board's Public Rental Scheme (PRS)
and Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme.
The flats have been left vacant for about a year after train
services between Malaysia and Singapore were relocated to Woodlands in July
last year.
Painting and refurbishment works are being carried out in Blocks 1 and 2 in Spooner Road which comprise one-, two- and three-room flats.
Painting and refurbishment works are being carried out in Blocks 1 and 2 in Spooner Road which comprise one-, two- and three-room flats.
Of the 318 units, 208 are one- and two-room flats which will
be offered under PRS. The remaining 110 are three-room flats which will come
under the IRH scheme.
The move is part of HDB's drive to increase the supply of
public rental flats to 57,000 units by 2015.
Such flats are heavily subsidised and targeted at
lower-income households.
Households earning $800 or less pay between $26 and $165 in
rent each month.
Those earning between $800 and $1,500 pay $90 to $275.
The flats - with a tenancy period of two years and subject
to renewal - will be allocated to applicants on the HDB's waiting list, said a
spokesman.
The IRH scheme is targeted at households currently in the
queue for public rental flats and which need urgent accommodation.
The scheme is also for households which need some time to
work out their finances before they are able to afford open-market rents or to
buy smaller flats.
The flats under this scheme will be rented out for one year.
Households will each pay about $300 per month in rent, and
two families usually share one unit. Families are matched according to race,
religion and family size.
In addition to the two blocks of flats, the Singapore Land
Authority is inviting interested parties to bid to rent a bungalow in the area
- for uses such as a childcare centre or eldercare facility.
The area around Spooner Road has been earmarked for
residential use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 2008 Masterplan.
A URA spokesman said it has not yet determined when
redevelopment will begin.
Source: The Straits Times – 9 October 2012