HDB: Collecting $$ for nothing...

bic_cherry SG

HDB: Collecting $$ for nothing...

Scrap the flat fee of $10

Thursday June 28, 2007

Letter from Ong Wee Ann

I recently got married and my wife and I have been looking to buy a flat near our parents' homes. We have yet to be selected by the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) computer system to purchase a flat, even after faithfully participating in new-flat launches.

During a walk-in-selection exercise this year, we queued early only to find that the number given to us was much higher than the number of available flats.

We have paid the $10 application fee three times but have yet to have the opportunity to even choose a flat. The rules state that any interested applicant has to pay a $10 fee regardless of whether there are enough flats to meet the demand for a particular exercise.

In a recent balloting exercise, 3,955 people submitted their applications but only 922 flats were available for selection. This means that it is possible that more than 3,000 applicants could have paid the $10 fee without having the chance to select a flat.

I recommend that the HDB revise its policy of collecting the $10 application fee from every applicant. This fee should only apply to successful flat applicants.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

http://www.todayonline.com/articles/196989.asp

Mid9Sun SG

make sense....also i feel ya frustrations

robertteh SG

In selling the HDB flats, lands were already paid for by citizens through taxation or government surpluses in the first place and should not have been charged.

HDB at the most should just recover the construction costs. So in sale of HDB flats car park or land costs should not have been charged but HDB is charging the so-called the low-cost housing against HDB Act and contrary to the purpose of Land Acquisition Act at market price with no subsidy at all, except for superficial discount.

HDB does not pay again for the lands or car park which were paid for or covered by purchase price and so can easily be allowed for free parking by purchasers.

Yet HDB uses its power to retain the car park and charge car park fees at S$70.00 pm. Is the HDB flat sale and collection of car park charges entirely a profiteering scheme.

Medicated Oil SG

Come on, peasants.

Did all of you not realised the emperor have been travelling frequently on peasants money with no official reasons or benefit ?

Not forgetting the amount of medical and security staffs that they are bringing along.

What about the clown prince and his billon dollar wife ?

They are also going around the world and eating wind.

So, how else do you think the money come from ?

Every expenses here is never transparent or accountable.

Just pay as the LAW say so.

Lowclassman SG

These freaking elites carrying balls of the govt. Trying hard to please the people up there. By charging us on anything. To show those people up there very capable of making more money or cutting costs.

All on the peasants' expense!!! Mad

bic_cherry SG

Nothing may be free, but not at slighest excuse to charge!; please cut waste, only do eligibility check on 'successful appln' to cut costs.

$10 admin fee covers cost of processing, says HDB
Letter from Tay Koon Quie, Deputy Director (Sales) for Director (Estate Administration & Property) Housing & Development Board
Voices // Tuesday, July 10, 2007

I REFER to the letter from Mr Ong Wee Ann, "Scrap the flat fee of $10" (June 2 Cool .
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) collects an administrative fee of $10 from those applying to purchase a flat from us. The fee is collected to help cover the costs of processing the flat application, which includes eligibility checks on the applicants, the balloting process and notifying applicants of the results, and so on.
HDB is unable to waive the fee for unsuccessful flat applicants as it would have incurred similar costs in processing the application regardless of the outcome.
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/199123.asp

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bila_prem SG

Paper,pen, ink + people to do the job cost $10. Does it makes sense?

TooFree SG

In my humble take on this. HDB basically have two options to better utilised the land. Either it can developed the land on its own or to sold out the land to private developer. In choosing the former option, the government is in a better position to earn revenue to offset or to suppress the rising taxation than to leave it to the private developer which often charge at prevailing market rate.

How to you propose to recovery the money other than levies method? Neutral

dragg SG

they need to pay good remuneration to attract talents.

Laughing

mancha SG

This issue was brought up long ago.

I think the reply is that the $10 fee is to deter frivolous applications.