Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on making mediation before the Community Mediation Centre a mandatory measure in the resolution of neighbourly disputes between dwellers or owners of HDB flats

Mar 2, 2021

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry and HDB can consider making mediation before the Community Mediation Centre a mandatory measure in the resolution of neighbourly disputes between dwellers or owners of HDB flats.

Answer:

Neighbours should accord mutual respect and consideration to one another. When disputes occur, as they sometimes do, they are often best resolved by neighbours coming together to understand and try to resolve the cause of the friction between them.
 
Where neighbours are unable to resolve the dispute themselves, the Government has created avenues to help neighbours work out their disagreements. Under the inter-agency Community Dispute Management Framework (CDMF), most disputes between neighbours in HDB estates can be resolved amicably with some help from grassroots leaders and community partners.  If the dispute persists, the neighbours will then be advised to seek mediation at the Community Mediation Centre (CMC) to reach an amicable resolution. If there is no improvement after mediation attempts, the relevant parties will be advised to file a case at the Community Dispute Resolution Tribunal as a last resort.

MCCY is leading a review of the Community Dispute Management Framework to strengthen measures such as referral protocol among frontline agencies, mediation and legal recourse. This is a whole-of-government approach that seeks to enhance the management of community disputes in both private and public housing estates. MND is part of the inter-agency committee led by MCCY, which is also looking at encouraging greater use of mediation to resolve neighbour disputes. 

We thank the Member for his suggestion on mandatory mediation, which we will carefully consider as part of the review.