Previously a post by Makansutra founder Kf Seetoh when viral after he highlight that rental is increasing and it is the worse time to increase rental rates amid Covid-19.
He posted a letter from NEA which includes the rental terms and revised rental rate and miscellaneous payments and an increase in “40%” rental.
In his Facebook post he said:
“Here we all are doing our best to #suppprtourhawkers , and there they are at same time raising the hawkers rent by almost 40% . I removed all names and numbers so this hawker need not be identified as he has dutifully accepted his fate and moved on.
Why oh why I ask. You may need to claw back to top up the national coffers but do your leaders even know it’s a horrible timing to do so now. This hawker had been languishing in sales this whole year.
Even with this 2 people rule ( even with the promised 5 people rule next month), things aren’t looking rosy for them. Lotsa folks are buying online and WFM, a seductive and convenient culture ingrained into us over the last year and many offline hawkers are left to dry out. Two to a table with 3 turns at peak lunch hour is only 6 dishes n drinks, that’s just scratching at hope’s door. Top that up with this “professional valuers” decree that rents must be raised now, it is another death knell for the #supportourhawkers movement.
Say, did these pro valuers value the pricing of our affordable hawker food and suggest it should also be raised by 40% and recommend a campaign to inform public they should all, well heeled and disadvantaged, be paying lots more for the makan..to be in line with world standards? Selling food at such low prices to keep the less blessed well fed in fully developed Singapore..is a compassionate duty and responsibility.”
NEA explains after the post went viral
“In recent years, rental revision upwards at tenancy renewals in our hawker centres have not exceeded $300. On the other hand, there have been rental revisions downwards of more than $300 upon tenancy renewals. It is misleading to look at percentage increases alone as a $300 increase from a low rental will appear as a large percentage increase.”
