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Singapore – A member of the public took to Facebook to share their woes on rent during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) requesting for full payment from the tenant using the S$600 payout from the Government.
“HDB is very cute,” began Azhari bin Adam on his post uploaded on Wednesday (April 29). He shared that after the increase of rent on their flat from S$185 to S$333 due to an excess to the maximum margin by S$50, the HDB requested for a full rental payment. The HDB said that the family could use the S$600 received from the Government to pay.
All Singaporeans aged 21 and above are eligible to receive a one-time payout of S$600 from the Government to help cope with the Covid-19 crisis. The S$600 Solidarity Payment is set to be fully rolled out by April 2020.
According to Mr Azhari, they have informed the HDB that they could not afford the S$333 rent a month and have appealed twice to a Member of Parliament to try and bring their rate back down to S$185. “We tried our very best to pay S$250 each month,” said the tenant.
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“As the balance now is S$909, they keep saying that we should use the payout to pay,” added Mr Azhari. “Dear HDB, please understand that as our work is being affected, we really need that every cent to survive till next paycheck,” wrote Mr Azhari in hopes of receiving some assistance on the matter. He also called on Government officials to advise HDB in properly replying to concerns, given the current situation. “Please don’t give comments like why don’t we pay full amount after receiving payout,” said the concerned tenant. “Don’t they have a heart during this pandemic situation.”
Netizens agreed that the matter was handled unprofessionally, although some added the reality is that “HDB doesn’t care.”
For those who wondered why the rental rate was so high, Mr Azhari explained that it was increased as their family’s gross salary went up.
Photo: FB screengrab/Azhari Bin Adam
Anh Hung Zhuo suggested that HDB “should waive rental for the circuit breaker period.” Another netizen noted that other developers had allowed deferred payments for six months “so HDB rental should allow too.”
Fortunately, members from the online community were supportive and gave numerous suggestions to the family.
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