Oral answer by Ministry of National Development on taking further measures to assist stallholders of coffee shops who are facing increasing rentals and other business overheads

Feb 7, 2024

Question No: 5693

Question by: Ms Yeo Wan Ling

To ask the Minister for National Development with regard to keeping food prices affordable in the heartlands, whether the Ministry will consider taking further measures to assist stallholders of coffee shops who are facing increasing rentals and other business overheads.

Answer:

         There are currently 776 HDB coffee shops in HDB estates, in Singapore, of which 374 are owned by HDB and rented out to operators, and 402 are sold and hence privately-owned. 

2.       HDB is committed to ensuring that rents payable by operators of HDB rental coffee shops remain stable.

3.       Over the last 5 years, HDB did not increase the rent for 97% of HDB rental coffee shops at renewal. The increase in the median rent of HDB rental coffee shops was limited to 1.6% during this period. This is part of HDB’s efforts to help operators and stallholders in a rising cost environment. Further, to help all HDB rental coffee shop operators transition to providing budget meals by 2026, HDB offers a rental discount of 5% for a period of one year, subject to verification that the new budget meals and drinks have been implemented. For sold eating houses, HDB does not regulate the stall rentals that owners charge as these transactions are private commercial agreements between the coffee shop owners and the stall operators.

4.       Coffee shop operators and stallholders may tap on schemes such as the Heartlands Go Digital Scheme which supports enterprises in adopting digital solutions and improving their productivity. Business owners can visit the GoBusiness portal (gobusiness.gov.sg) for more information on the Government schemes available.