reporter2
11-08-19, 16:38
High rentals fuel demand for illegal ‘cubicle’ units in apartments
PUBLISHED 11 HOURS AGO
Calvin Yang
Four square metres - or just enough space to squeeze in a modest clothes rack, a creaky bunk bed with worn-out mattresses, and two unfussy occupants.
There is little room to stand and the air is heavy with the smell of damp clothes. A narrow window in the otherwise depressing cubicle home offers a glimpse of a noisy Chinatown, 20 floors down.
Forget about privacy. In the same apartment are six other box-like rooms - all up for short-term stays. This, despite stays of less than three months in private homes remaining illegal. Two no-frills toilets are shared by over a dozen people living there - more than the number of people allowed per unit, which is six.
The apartment in Chinatown is one of many carved up into smaller - and generally more affordable - rooms and let out to tourists, foreign workers and students.
The practice, which sees apartments partitioned to churn out many rental units, thrives here, partly due to high rentals and limited budgets, real estate agents told The Sunday Times.
The problem is especially prevalent in hot spots such as Balestier, Chinatown, Geylang, Lavender and Orchard Road. Some of these housing "solutions" have also sprung up near tertiary institutions and private hospitals.
WIN-WIN FOR OWNER AND TENANT
Instead of renting out an entire four-bedroom apartment to one tenant, for instance, an occupant might convert it into eight smaller units to rent out to more people - usually more than the allowed occupancy. The toilets and kitchen are shared.
It is a win-win arrangement - more money in total for the home owner and cheaper rent for the tenant.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim estimates that a three-bedroom apartment in a suburban area might fetch $3,000 a month if rented as a whole. But it could rake in $6,000 if it was divided into six units at $1,000 a month. "Essentially, you get more rent from renting out all the rooms than from renting out the whole apartment."
In some cases, it is to minimise the loss of rental income, said Mr Geryl Lim, associate marketing director at Century 21. "Landlords would rather collect a fractional amount than let the apartment be vacant most of the time," he added.
Tenants are drawn by what they view as a good deal - convenient locations, affordable rates, and for some, exclusive use of facilities such as swimming pools. Some partitioned rooms can be let out for as little as $300 a month.
There are some telltale signs when an apartment has been converted into a multi-room hostel, such as the sheer number of shoes outside a unit and the amount of laundry hung out to dry. To minimise detection, dark curtains shield the units from prying eyes.
Tenants are instructed not to keep the doors open and to keep the volume down. Many have also been told not to speak to strangers, as this reporter learnt after visiting several "hot spots" last month.
Most tenants seemed unaware they were breaking the rules.
For a private property, the maximum number of unrelated occupants cannot exceed six, no matter how big it is. Private homes also have a minimum stay duration of three consecutive months.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority said: "The occupancy cap remains, even if more partitioned rooms are added - it doesn't mean that if more rooms are created using partitions, we will allow more occupants."
For flats that are rented out, the Housing Board has also set caps - a maximum of six people for three-room and larger flats, and four people for smaller flats. The minimum rental period is six months.
It is not hard to see why those on a tight budget prefer partitioned rooms instead of large dorm-like quarters, which are often associated with the cheaper end of the rental market.
ST was shown one such quarters on the second floor of an Aljunied shophouse, where at least 15 foreign workers live in its three rooms. To avoid getting caught, the windows are covered, and the gate and door leading upstairs are always locked.
In one bedroom, six men were crammed together, with clothes and towels hanging haphazardly on three bunk beds. This reporter was offered a bed space for just $250 a month.
One Malaysian worker recently switched from a workers' quarters to a partitioned unit in Chinatown. The restaurant manager would not reveal how much he is paying, but told ST it is "only a bit more" than his previous rent of $400. "It is not as noisy, and I can rest without being disturbed," he said.
NOT FAIR, SAY RESIDENTS
Partitioned rooms for rent are also prevalent in older developments.
Mr Jeffrey Hong, chief executive of integrated real estate firm Sovereign Group, said: "Such units are partitioned due to the deteriorating state of the apartments. They are generally old, lack maintenance and are unable to compete with newer condominiums (for better rates)."
Contractors can charge more than $1,000 for the conversion, which involves erecting a partition wall, putting up a door and installing electrical points. One contractor, who claimed to have converted a three-room maisonette into 10 bedrooms, said it takes a few days to complete the job.
The plasterboard walls are usually 7.5cm thick.
At Kim Sia Court, which was completed about 50 years ago, holidaymakers dragging large pieces of luggage are a common sight. There are also medical tourists who seek treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, which is a few streets away from the property's Jalan Jintan location.
Scantily clad foreign women, who work at nearby nightspots, can also be seen walking in and out of units.
Checks by ST also found that the living rooms of some units have been divided into bedrooms. At least two apartments in the estate have partitioned units. Some rooms have assigned numbers on their doors, possibly for short-term stays.
One long-time resident said the freehold development has lost its exclusivity.
"Skimpily dressed girls would knock on my door in the middle of the night. Some wear only their underwear when they go from floor to floor.
"Once, a Vietnamese girl walked right into my living room for some unexplained reason," said the 62-year-old, who estimates that there are at least 30 foreign working girls - including from Eastern Europe - staying there.
An Orchard Towers resident said owners would have to bear the higher cost of maintenance, because of the excessive use of the lifts and common areas.
The freehold development has at least one partitioned unit.
A 73-year-old resident claimed that her neighbour, who moved in two years ago, divided a four-bedroom apartment into at least seven rooms to house Vietnamese working girls.
"You see different faces every day," she said. "They leave the apartment in the evening and return only early in the morning."
On several occasions, the retiree, who has lived there for over 20 years, was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the sound of doors slamming. Sometimes, strange men could be seen entering and leaving the neighbouring unit.
At these places, warning notices against short-term stays and closed-circuit television cameras have been put up.
Some residents have also resorted to hiring private investigators to check on their neighbours.
In his 17 years of practice, private investigator James Loh has been engaged several times to look into such cases, after residents suspected their neighbours were using their units as hostels or brothels.
Residents also fear overcrowding may result in issues with safety and hygiene.
Over the years, various organisations have advocated for improvements in housing standards as a result of such partitioned units.
Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) executive director Bernard Menon said: "From our experience, the existence of makeshift or even semi-permanent partitioning within a residential unit almost always points to non-compliance of the maximum occupancy guidelines."
In its most severe overcrowding case to date, MWC said it has come across a three-storey Geylang shophouse unit partitioned to make 22 rooms housing 66 migrant workers.
Mr Menon said: "Not only did this flout housing rules, but it also threatened the safety and well-being of the migrant workers staying there.
"The partitions were made of wood and other flammable materials, and there was overloading of basic amenities such as power sockets, and sanitary and cooking facilities. The unit was a fire hazard."
In 2014, four Malaysian workers died of smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at the Lorong 4 Geylang unit they were living in. Described then as the worst fire in 10 years, the unit had been partitioned into an illegal workers' dormitory using combustible material.
PUBLISHED 11 HOURS AGO
Calvin Yang
Four square metres - or just enough space to squeeze in a modest clothes rack, a creaky bunk bed with worn-out mattresses, and two unfussy occupants.
There is little room to stand and the air is heavy with the smell of damp clothes. A narrow window in the otherwise depressing cubicle home offers a glimpse of a noisy Chinatown, 20 floors down.
Forget about privacy. In the same apartment are six other box-like rooms - all up for short-term stays. This, despite stays of less than three months in private homes remaining illegal. Two no-frills toilets are shared by over a dozen people living there - more than the number of people allowed per unit, which is six.
The apartment in Chinatown is one of many carved up into smaller - and generally more affordable - rooms and let out to tourists, foreign workers and students.
The practice, which sees apartments partitioned to churn out many rental units, thrives here, partly due to high rentals and limited budgets, real estate agents told The Sunday Times.
The problem is especially prevalent in hot spots such as Balestier, Chinatown, Geylang, Lavender and Orchard Road. Some of these housing "solutions" have also sprung up near tertiary institutions and private hospitals.
WIN-WIN FOR OWNER AND TENANT
Instead of renting out an entire four-bedroom apartment to one tenant, for instance, an occupant might convert it into eight smaller units to rent out to more people - usually more than the allowed occupancy. The toilets and kitchen are shared.
It is a win-win arrangement - more money in total for the home owner and cheaper rent for the tenant.
ERA Realty key executive officer Eugene Lim estimates that a three-bedroom apartment in a suburban area might fetch $3,000 a month if rented as a whole. But it could rake in $6,000 if it was divided into six units at $1,000 a month. "Essentially, you get more rent from renting out all the rooms than from renting out the whole apartment."
In some cases, it is to minimise the loss of rental income, said Mr Geryl Lim, associate marketing director at Century 21. "Landlords would rather collect a fractional amount than let the apartment be vacant most of the time," he added.
Tenants are drawn by what they view as a good deal - convenient locations, affordable rates, and for some, exclusive use of facilities such as swimming pools. Some partitioned rooms can be let out for as little as $300 a month.
There are some telltale signs when an apartment has been converted into a multi-room hostel, such as the sheer number of shoes outside a unit and the amount of laundry hung out to dry. To minimise detection, dark curtains shield the units from prying eyes.
Tenants are instructed not to keep the doors open and to keep the volume down. Many have also been told not to speak to strangers, as this reporter learnt after visiting several "hot spots" last month.
Most tenants seemed unaware they were breaking the rules.
For a private property, the maximum number of unrelated occupants cannot exceed six, no matter how big it is. Private homes also have a minimum stay duration of three consecutive months.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority said: "The occupancy cap remains, even if more partitioned rooms are added - it doesn't mean that if more rooms are created using partitions, we will allow more occupants."
For flats that are rented out, the Housing Board has also set caps - a maximum of six people for three-room and larger flats, and four people for smaller flats. The minimum rental period is six months.
It is not hard to see why those on a tight budget prefer partitioned rooms instead of large dorm-like quarters, which are often associated with the cheaper end of the rental market.
ST was shown one such quarters on the second floor of an Aljunied shophouse, where at least 15 foreign workers live in its three rooms. To avoid getting caught, the windows are covered, and the gate and door leading upstairs are always locked.
In one bedroom, six men were crammed together, with clothes and towels hanging haphazardly on three bunk beds. This reporter was offered a bed space for just $250 a month.
One Malaysian worker recently switched from a workers' quarters to a partitioned unit in Chinatown. The restaurant manager would not reveal how much he is paying, but told ST it is "only a bit more" than his previous rent of $400. "It is not as noisy, and I can rest without being disturbed," he said.
NOT FAIR, SAY RESIDENTS
Partitioned rooms for rent are also prevalent in older developments.
Mr Jeffrey Hong, chief executive of integrated real estate firm Sovereign Group, said: "Such units are partitioned due to the deteriorating state of the apartments. They are generally old, lack maintenance and are unable to compete with newer condominiums (for better rates)."
Contractors can charge more than $1,000 for the conversion, which involves erecting a partition wall, putting up a door and installing electrical points. One contractor, who claimed to have converted a three-room maisonette into 10 bedrooms, said it takes a few days to complete the job.
The plasterboard walls are usually 7.5cm thick.
At Kim Sia Court, which was completed about 50 years ago, holidaymakers dragging large pieces of luggage are a common sight. There are also medical tourists who seek treatment at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, which is a few streets away from the property's Jalan Jintan location.
Scantily clad foreign women, who work at nearby nightspots, can also be seen walking in and out of units.
Checks by ST also found that the living rooms of some units have been divided into bedrooms. At least two apartments in the estate have partitioned units. Some rooms have assigned numbers on their doors, possibly for short-term stays.
One long-time resident said the freehold development has lost its exclusivity.
"Skimpily dressed girls would knock on my door in the middle of the night. Some wear only their underwear when they go from floor to floor.
"Once, a Vietnamese girl walked right into my living room for some unexplained reason," said the 62-year-old, who estimates that there are at least 30 foreign working girls - including from Eastern Europe - staying there.
An Orchard Towers resident said owners would have to bear the higher cost of maintenance, because of the excessive use of the lifts and common areas.
The freehold development has at least one partitioned unit.
A 73-year-old resident claimed that her neighbour, who moved in two years ago, divided a four-bedroom apartment into at least seven rooms to house Vietnamese working girls.
"You see different faces every day," she said. "They leave the apartment in the evening and return only early in the morning."
On several occasions, the retiree, who has lived there for over 20 years, was awakened in the wee hours of the morning by the sound of doors slamming. Sometimes, strange men could be seen entering and leaving the neighbouring unit.
At these places, warning notices against short-term stays and closed-circuit television cameras have been put up.
Some residents have also resorted to hiring private investigators to check on their neighbours.
In his 17 years of practice, private investigator James Loh has been engaged several times to look into such cases, after residents suspected their neighbours were using their units as hostels or brothels.
Residents also fear overcrowding may result in issues with safety and hygiene.
Over the years, various organisations have advocated for improvements in housing standards as a result of such partitioned units.
Migrant Workers' Centre (MWC) executive director Bernard Menon said: "From our experience, the existence of makeshift or even semi-permanent partitioning within a residential unit almost always points to non-compliance of the maximum occupancy guidelines."
In its most severe overcrowding case to date, MWC said it has come across a three-storey Geylang shophouse unit partitioned to make 22 rooms housing 66 migrant workers.
Mr Menon said: "Not only did this flout housing rules, but it also threatened the safety and well-being of the migrant workers staying there.
"The partitions were made of wood and other flammable materials, and there was overloading of basic amenities such as power sockets, and sanitary and cooking facilities. The unit was a fire hazard."
In 2014, four Malaysian workers died of smoke inhalation after a fire broke out at the Lorong 4 Geylang unit they were living in. Described then as the worst fire in 10 years, the unit had been partitioned into an illegal workers' dormitory using combustible material.