Written answer by Ministry of National Development on budget meal criteria in new lease renewal requirements for HDB rental coffee shops

Mar 20, 2023

Question No: 2861

Question by: Assoc Prof Jamus Jerome Lim

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what is the dollar amount that is deemed as a budget meal under the new lease renewal requirements for HDB rental coffeeshops; and (b) in view of the new requirement to provide four budget meals spread across different stalls, what is the motivation behind the decision to reduce the number of meals from six to four.

Answer:

The price of the budget meal is proposed by the operator and reviewed by HDB to ensure they are reasonable and remain affordable in reference to nearby options. This strikes a balance between the operator’s business sustainability and the needs of residents for affordable food options. Rental coffeeshops leased under the Price-Quality Method tenders typically provide budget food options with prices at around $3 to $3.50, across the estates.

2        Existing coffeeshop operators who successfully tendered to rent their coffeeshops under the Price-Quality Method will continue to provide six budget meals and one budget drink, as stipulated in the conditions of their original tender bids. However, operators of coffeeshops who did not tender to rent their coffeeshops under the Price-Quality Method will require time to make the transition with their stallholders. Hence, we will only require them to provide four budget meals and two drinks as a condition for the renewal of the coffeeshop tenancy, until further review. To further ease the transition for operators and stallholders to offer the budget meals, HDB is offering them a 5% discount on the renewal rents for a period of one year.