To Mr. Desmond Lee; Minister for National Development (MND)

5 Maxwell Road, #21-00 & #22-00 Tower Block, MND Complex, Singapore 069110

Sir,

I write to express concerns about housing and property affordability for Singaporeans and wish to urge you or any savvy policy-makers to tackle this issue more seriously. I am confident that any party that takes a clear and aggressive policy on housing/property prices and rent would stands to gain disproportionately more supporters.

My story

I write this as a concerned citizen who has spent over a decade in service to Singapore’s healthcare system. As the Head of Research & Development for a community-based health provider, my work supports clinicians in both hospital and community settings to design programmes and understand patient needs through data. My educational background includes psychology, philosophy, public health and healthcare economics. Like many in the non-profit and healthcare sectors, I earn a median-range income (inclusive of CPF) — enough to survive, but far from enough to secure housing in today’s market.

My concerns about housing is deeply personal. I was offered a small Merit Award at the age of 15 to study in Singapore. My family encouraged me to take it so that I can escape an escalating-ly bad family situation. Since then, I have lived in borrowed or rented rooms. I had to move frequently and leaned heavily on the generosity of others for shelter.

Even now, after ten years of stable work and diligent saving, I still cannot afford a permanent place to call home. When I started working in 2017, I had hoped that, by working hard and by saving aggressively, I could build a small war chest to eventually afford a home. Even when my rent consumed $900 every month, which was 30% of my income at the time, I was still able to save 40-50% of my take-home pay. I had felt secure that by the time I reached 35, I would be able to buy a modest unit and later form a family.

However, property prices have increased dramatically all across Singapore, and with it rent and cost of living. Financial institutions like DBS or POSB recommend that one should spend no more than 30% of their income on housing or rent. However, the current rental price for just a single room averages at 35-40% of a median earner’s take-home pay. Day by day, median savings fall increasingly behind. How can we ever catch up? It seems increasingly to me that the simple dignity of secure shelter for all Singapore —something I had believed was possible— is dead.

Even though I am proud of my current work, and I cherish the relationships and communities I have built over 10 years in my current space, I feel increasingly forced to abandon all of it – my job, my neighbourhood, and my connections to the community to pursue profit-oriented jobs. I increasingly feel that I have to choose between my life of service and my future survival. This feels deeply immoral to me, it’s anti-thetical to Singapore’s core belief in community.

The current government narrative is not helpful

When I approached my MP in Jalan Besar for help, I was told that - because of my salary - I would not qualify for any meaningful assistance. Moreover, at my current age (32 years), I am not able to quickly apply for housing before prices balloon further. My MP tried to give me ‘advice’ that I found incredibly unhelpful: banding with friends to rent a whole unit, asking to rent from a friend at lower prices, etc.

I must highlight just how disconnected these sorts of “suggestions” are from the real issues at hand. These are not real solutions, but workarounds that place individual burden onto those of us already left behind by housing policy. First, sharing a unit with unrelated flatmates has already been my default for over 15 years, and it is the default for the majority of renters. Such arrangements mean constant uncertainty of your living arrangements and the lack of privacy. Secondly, it is unreasonable to expect perpetual goodwill and turn every social relationship into a financial negotiation; friends have their own families to care for, and space is increasingly scarce as modern designs are increasingly more compact (or “cosy” if you are a realtor).

My situation, and that of many other residents, is not the result of individual choice or lack of effort, but of structural failures: options and assistance are gated by income and age thresholds; Stable housing is treated as a privilege for households that fit policy moulds. What of the rest of us, us who do not have a family to turn back to, and us who cannot form families because we do not have the homes to do so? We do not need sympathy, we need action.

Our impending housing and property crisis and the dangers it poses

I am bitterly disappointed by the (frankly) lack-lustre and weak attitudes you and your administration have taken towards housing and rent. It undermines the belief Singapore Residents’ have in the country’s commitment to meritocracy. When property prices and rents are high, it is no different from feudalism - where the haves profit off the labour of the have-nots.

This current state of housing shows a dangerous lack of long-term foresight from MND and a crippling of HDB’s mandate. The volatility of housing and rent directly forces higher spending, incentives productivity loss, and incentivizes radicalization. To only speak of the obvious problems:

First, time and energy are taken away from work to continually hunt for reasonable rentals. I can personally attest that searching for rentals, vetting the validity and safety of the space, comparing options and negotiating with owners and agents can take multiple hours and days. All this time must be spent every year to guard against sudden changes to the lease.

Second, it can be demoralizing for workers to see that our pay can only afford increasingly poorer conditions. Why should people bother when their money and energy will go nowhere?

Third, this volatility fractures communities. When people are pushed away from finding homes in their communities due to price and rent, communities are poisoned and eroded over time. People will focus on the value of their house, rather than the quality of their neighbourhood.

Fourth, there are also hidden, and additional costs related to the need to frequently change address and move to different rooms; it encourages a vicious cycle of spending just for immediate relief.

Finally, when there is no hope of planting roots in housing, people with some money, some energy, and a lot of resentment, will be incentivised to turn to extremist causes - causes that promise them homes and communities and rewards for sacrificing everything.

Policy proposals

I chose to become a Citizen because I deeply believed that I belonged in Singapore. Perhaps I was mistaken; perhaps I have been too naive to hope that people like me can ever achieve that dignity of having a home here. But I would want the government, in whatever form it takes after the 2025 election, to seriously relook at how housing is governed in Singapore. Housing should not be a speculative commodity - it is a matter of life and death, and of dignity and belonging. Prioritize housing and properties as social infrastructure first, and profit centres second; protect the backbone of our economy by really assuring people that at least we will have shelter and space.

It is not controversial to take a stance against housing and space being used for speculation and profiteering. I urge all parties to advocate for the following policies:

Housing

First, Develop more robust public rental options and non-profit housing models. Interim housing options such as government-funded co-living spaces can reduce the burden on those who are forced to rent.

Second, Incentivise owners to behave like property managers rather than landlords: Reward owners who maintain rent increases ≤ government-set fair-rent index; provide perks and recognition to owners that provide reasonable notices, contributes to the neighbourhood, and are responsive to maintenance requirements.

Third, Decouple housing from wealth accumulation: Reject policies and lobbies that incentives the treatment of homes and locations as speculative assets. Cap the prices of units, or cap the profit earned when a unit is sold by having the government absorb excess. Moreover, introduce progressive property taxes for owners of multiple properties, vacancy taxes to deter hoarding, and stricter capital gains taxes on short-term property flips.

Commercial

First, Rent stabilisation for commercial properties/retail spaces - Guarantee local or long-running tenants the right to keep their leases at stabilised rates and give long-running tenants first-bids to purchase their leased premises if the landlord sells at subsidized rates.

Second, Restrict ownership of small storefronts to individuals or local businesses and block institutional investors.

Third, Heavily penalize landlords who hold vacant lots over long durations, while incentivising those who lease to independent businesses, cultural institutions or social enterprises.

How we address housing today will determine the strength and unity of our society tomorrow. I urge you to restore faith in Singapore’s social contract by placing people, not profit, at the centre of our housing policies. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

A Singaporean asking for shelter