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http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/home-sharing-take-action-against-offenders
Home sharing: Take action against offenders
Dec 10, 2016
It is most unfortunate that I live in one of the estates plagued by eager participants of this "new" home-sharing economy ("S'pore Airbnb host 'makes about $5,000 a year'"; Dec 6).
Home sharing makes good financial sense.
Being part of the black market economy, the income derived from it is tax free.
With rentals being inversely proportional to lease duration, the rates derived from such short-term leases are also far ahead of the regulated leasing models.
Furthermore, as the transient occupier does not officially exist, owners enjoy preferential owner-occupier property tax rates.
Given all the financial benefits of home sharing, it is hardly surprising that only the more law-abiding residents will opt for the traditional landlord-tenant scheme.
To address the influx of transient occupants in my estate, a group of residents submitted an appeal to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Building & Construction Authority and Ministry of National Development.
However despite home sharing being an illegal practice, we were presented with a series of administrative hoops before receiving vague promises of enforcement.
We were expected to provide details of the offending units as well as "clear and irrefutable" evidence of the offence in exchange for promises of enforcement.
Delegating the burden of proof to the community is exactly the sort of inaction that encourages vigilantism.
The authorities, through their inaction, appear to be defending those who are blatantly flouting URA and Housing Board regulations.
Bennette Teoh Liy Ben
Interesting letter indeed.
I remember reading in the news that when people asked why the government/URA/HDB is not taking action against Air-bnb and the like etc for listing and advertising private properties and HDB flats for short-term lease (since enforcing and acting against the source of advertisement/listing (e.g. Air-bnb) is the best way to kill short-term rental once and for all, and the evidence is just there, so clearly right in their face once such a unit is being listed on Air-bnb etc for short-term rental!), and the newspaper quoted somebody in the government telling us that we should embrace new economy like Air-bnb and hence they should not take action against them.
Given such stance, I am not surprised to hear this because since URA/HDB refused to take action against Air-bnb for listing private properties and HDB flats for short-term lease, it is clear to me that that they are in a sense trying to tolerate them (as long as nobody complains). The best way to not take action or delay taking action indefinitely is to ask you people to go find the evidence yourself before they take action! When you have evidence, then they have no choice (because current law is against it!). However, they also understand that that for every 100 units being complaint against, probably also 1 you will be able to /bother to find irrefutable evidence while the rest goes scotch-free!
Even the white paper regarding short-term rental after public consultation has been delayed, and I would hazard a guess that they are interested in legaling short-term rentals (as the news quoted them saying they wanted to tolerate Air-bnb etc), but there are probably too many objections from actual owners and hence they are still back in the drawing board about how to deal with the objections from so many owners if they legalize short-term rentals?
Also, 1 of the most damning thing is about health hazards, e.g. if there is another SARS etc, how they going to trace the people who are in contacts if they allow short-term rentals without proper documentation etc? (And we can be DAMN SURE that there will never be proper documentation with short-term rentals because most trying to avoid taxes etc!)
So Somebody just need to be responsible right? So is URA/HDB after legalizing short-term rental going to push responsibility to MOH when another SARS etc occur in Singapore? How MOH is going to do contact-tracing with legalized short-term rentals? I suppose MOH should and can throw the "babies" (damning responsibilities) to URA/HDB to do the job since they legalized short-term rentals and create the mess and inability to do contact-tracing of foreigners in contact with SARS etc right?
http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/home-sharing-take-action-against-offenders
Home sharing: Take action against offenders
Dec 10, 2016
It is most unfortunate that I live in one of the estates plagued by eager participants of this "new" home-sharing economy ("S'pore Airbnb host 'makes about $5,000 a year'"; Dec 6).
Home sharing makes good financial sense.
Being part of the black market economy, the income derived from it is tax free.
With rentals being inversely proportional to lease duration, the rates derived from such short-term leases are also far ahead of the regulated leasing models.
Furthermore, as the transient occupier does not officially exist, owners enjoy preferential owner-occupier property tax rates.
Given all the financial benefits of home sharing, it is hardly surprising that only the more law-abiding residents will opt for the traditional landlord-tenant scheme.
To address the influx of transient occupants in my estate, a group of residents submitted an appeal to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), Building & Construction Authority and Ministry of National Development.
However despite home sharing being an illegal practice, we were presented with a series of administrative hoops before receiving vague promises of enforcement.
We were expected to provide details of the offending units as well as "clear and irrefutable" evidence of the offence in exchange for promises of enforcement.
Delegating the burden of proof to the community is exactly the sort of inaction that encourages vigilantism.
The authorities, through their inaction, appear to be defending those who are blatantly flouting URA and Housing Board regulations.
Bennette Teoh Liy Ben
Gov is encouraging more startup and fintech so may not take decisive action againts popular one like airbnb.
We should and must embrace the new economy. It's pointless fighting against the future which will only render us a dinasour sooner rather than later. Once we become a dinasour, nobody would be interested to even come to rent our places.
Instead of pushing the blame to the authorities, might as well propose solutions. Contact tracing is easily resolved by requiring tourist to strictly state the address of accommodation in Singapore and not just the type, e.g. 1 Marina Sq instead of 'Hotel'. This is practiced in many places and enforced at point of entry strictly.
Require tourists?
Unlikely to work, definitely!
Think about it, how would tourists know your rules?
Why should they follow your rules with no penalties?
If have penalties you scare away the tourists!
Require landlords to follow?
Also they unlikely to follow, many trying to avoid taxes and also can claim owner-occupied property taxes (unless government do away with dual taxes for owner-occupied and tenanted ones).
So, when problems comes if short-term rental allowed, MOH better ask URA/HDB to shoulder responsibility for contact tracing.......... :chuncky:
As to the argument of embracing new economy, and not to fight it and not to render us a dinasour, if we are going to follow like that blindly,
then Singapore government should also legally allow:
1) LBGT
2) same sex marriage
3) same sex couple's adoption of children
4) legalize medical cannibalism / marijuana
5) Scrap rules that penalize anal penetration
6) allow pornograpy
7) reduce age when people can vote from 21 years old to 18 years old
8) Allow people to smoke from 18 years old (and not 21)
9) .......(what else).......
Looks like Singapore government already act like "dinosaur" already though (for a very very long time) based on your argument....... :crushed:
We should and must embrace the new economy. It's pointless fighting against the future which will only render us a dinasour sooner rather than later. Once we become a dinasour, nobody would be interested to even come to rent our places.
Instead of pushing the blame to the authorities, might as well propose solutions. Contact tracing is easily resolved by requiring tourist to strictly state the address of accommodation in Singapore and not just the type, e.g. 1 Marina Sq instead of 'Hotel'. This is practiced in many places and enforced at point of entry strictly.
The current administration is very weak on enforcement. So different from LKY or GCT time.
Is it weak in ability to enforce or they set some laws but yet unwilling to enforce?
These 2 are quite different issues...... 1 is incapable, the other is double-standard........ So which is true?
The current administration is very weak on enforcement. So different from LKY or GCT time.
I think they actually want to legalise a degree of home sharing but are thinking about how to overcome the problems and objections.
A bit like Uber and Grab.
But it's complicated as HDBs are implicated. The effect is likely resentments against frequent strangers as well as pushing up of asset prices. It pays to consider carefully.
Personally I feel the traditional mode is better for passive income.
it's impossible to make everyone happy. There's about 50-50% supporting or against airbnb, both side of arguments actually make sense :). So will need a policy to minimize the impact should short rental allowed.
For me i would suggest to have an agreement between gov and airbnb to share data for control and taxing.
Also the policy should not benefit mostly investors with many rental houses, put some condition to only allow airbnb rental if the owner is staying on that unit.
The scary thing is haven't even legalised and its already adopted and objected.
If legalised really wonder how to police or monitor whether any rules adhered to.
The current administration is very weak on enforcement. So different from LKY or GCT time.
maybe perhaps the kpi or emphasis is on coming out with more policies rather than operationalising them or enforcing them.
maybe perhaps the kpi or emphasis is on coming out with more policies rather than operationalising them or enforcing them.
That is the hallmark of a lousy administration. No point coming up with policies when they are inoperable or there is no will to enforce.
Or come out with policies that will have serious repercussions later on (e.g. SARS or similar comes again) BUT it is not their Ministry's jobs to clean up the shit (because shit has been thrown and yet it is MOH's job to do contact tracing and hence they throw shit for MOH (another board) to clean up)???.............
That is the hallmark of a lousy administration. No point coming up with policies when they are inoperable or there is no will to enforce.
Require tourists?
Unlikely to work, definitely!
Think about it, how would tourists know your rules?
Why should they follow your rules with no penalties?
If have penalties you scare away the tourists!
:
Teddy, don't worry....I'm now in Oz. On the arrival card, i only stated the town i'm going. Immigration officers demanded my actual accommodation address. I had to retrieve my itinerary to fill it in and they also demanded to see my reservations. No penalities, just some delay (5min?). Did it scare me? Am i enjoying my holiday? Yeah! Will I come again....sure!
AirBnb is good for all investors and home owners. Only those who MTB KPKB coz it supports ppty prices.
What if the tourist has no accommodation address? Or they move from place to place after showing accommodation address for their 1st night (or they change later)???
So what you advocated doesn't solve any problem at all....
Don't know whose stupid idea is it that showing and recording accommodation address at immigration counter will solve contact tracing problem???
Teddy, don't worry....I'm now in Oz. On the arrival card, i only stated the town i'm going. Immigration officers demanded my actual accommodation address. I had to retrieve my itinerary to fill it in and they also demanded to see my reservations. No penalities, just some delay (5min?). Did it scare me? Am i enjoying my holiday? Yeah! Will I come again....sure!
AirBnb is good for all investors and home owners. Only those who MTB KPKB coz it supports ppty prices.
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