Braddell View estate has obtained the required 75 per cent majority support from flat owners to proceed with the privatisation, said the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in a press release.

With effect from Friday, it will be converted into a strata-titled estate under the Land Titles (Strata) Act, which means it will no longer be governed by the HUDC Housing Estates Act.

Braddell View, which comprises 918 flats and two shops, is the largest among 18 estates that were introduced by the then Housing and Urban Development Company in the 1970s and 1980s for middle-income families.

In 1995, it was announced that HUDC estates could be privatised, as part of the Government’s effort to meet the rising aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing. It also gives flat owners greater control over the management and maintenance of their estate.

HDB said that with the privatisation of Braddell View, individual owners in the estate will own their respective strata units as well as the common property as tenants-in-common.

It added that “as provided under the Land Titles (Strata) Act, the existing Management Committee assumes the role of the council of the Management Corporation, and the committee members are deemed to have been elected as the council members”.

Braddell View was the last such estate to be offered privatisation as amendments to the HUDC Housing Estates Act needed to be made for residents to have that option.

This is because the estate was built in two phases, in two land parcels with two land expiration dates. Residents will need to top up the lease tenure of the land parcel with the shorter lease to align it with the longer one.

The amendments to the Act, which were passed in 2012, allowed the Braddell View body corporate to levy contributions on the flat owners in order to pay HDB the lease top-up premium, as well as determine how much of the premium each flat owner has to pay.

HDB said that a total of 7,731 dwelling units have now been privatised, marking the closure of the Government’s privatisation programme for HUDC estates.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 17 Mar 2017

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This means that the Aljunied-Hougang-Punggol East Town Council is no longer responsible for managing and maintaining the common properties of the estate, which comprises 286 units of flats at Blocks 344 to 350 Hougang Avenue 7.

The Management Corporation Strata Title Plan No. 4013 will be constituted to take over the management and maintenance of the estate’s common properties. Individual owners in the estate will own their respective strata units, as well as the common property such as car parks and open landscaped areas, as tenants-in-common, the HDB said in a statement.

Among the 18 HUDC estates in Singapore, 16 have completed the privatisation process. For the remaining two estates, Potong Pasir is currently undergoing privatisation, while Braddell View has just obtained the support level for privatisation.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 13 Jun 2014

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The Housing and Development Board said in a statement on Thursday the estate will be converted into a strata-titled property under the Land Titles (Strata) Act.

The privatisation is initiated by residents and a requisite 75 per cent majority support was subsequently achieved by them, the statement added.

Serangoon North HUDC Estate comprises 244 units of flats at Blocks 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133 and 134 Serangoon North Avenue 1.

HUDC flats were built in the 1970s and 1980s as a housing option for middle-income citizen families.

HDB phased out the building of HUDC flats in 1987 as their demand declined.

Privatisation of HUDC estates was announced in 1995 as part of the government’s effort to meet the rising aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing.

It also enables the owners to have better control over the management and maintenance of their estate.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 8 May 2014

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This is already more than the 75 per cent mandate required for privatisation.

Residents have to pay a top-up to harmonise the two leases on which the estate is built, which have different expiry dates.

The committee said according to the chief valuer from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA), the indicative top-up value given in September last year was S$13.47 million.

Braddell View was put up for privatisation by the government last week. It is the last HUDC estate to be put up for privatisation.

The management committee had started getting consent for privatisation after its Extraordinary General Meeting held in November last year.

This was after more than 98 per cent of those who attended approved the resolution.

There are 918 flats and two shops in the estate.

Alice Liew, who has lived at Braddell View for 27 years, said: “We will feel more comfortable that it’s our own estate finally, and hopefully, the property price may go up a bit.”

One issue that has to be resolved before privatisation could take place is the different expiration of the two leases. They have to be topped up so that they both expire in 2080.

Based on the indicative valuation, owners of flats built on the older land parcel, or Phase One, are expected to pay S$12,000. Residents under Phase Two will pay S$8,000.

The management committee plans to meet with the Housing and Development Board next week to discuss the next step and get a definitive top-up price.

The committee said it hired two private valuers in 2012, who both gave an estimate of S$8 million for the top-up, compared to the S$13.47-million figure it received from the SLA chief valuer.

Alex Teo, chairman of the Braddell View management committee, said: “According to present circumstances, the economy and property prices, everybody is keeping their fingers crossed — (for)… a much lower top-up price.”

The committee said there have also been some owners who had raised concerns about paying the top-up premium.

Mr Teo said: “A lot of these retirees have been living quite some time without jobs and without income. These retirees don’t have any children around. We’ll try to figure out how to help these residents.”

The committee plans to hold a financial seminar once the final top-up value is determined to educate and present owners their financing options — which include tapping their CPF or taking a loan from banks.

It also plans to use part of the estate’s sinking fund to subsidise some of the costs.

There is currently around S$6 million in the fund.

Teresa Ng, who has been a Braddell View resident for almost 19 years, said: “The sinking fund can help close to half of the deduction of the privatisation fee so that it’s affordable.”

The whole privatisation process is expected to take about 15 months, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 3 Feb 2014

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Of the 13 HUDC estates that have been legally privatised so far, only five have successfully completed the en bloc deal.

Braddell View is the last of 18 HUDC estates to be announced for privatisation.

Analysts said that should it go through, residents will have greater flexibility in the management of the estate.

But those hoping to cash in on the en bloc market within the next few years could be disappointed.

Ku Swee Yong, CEO of Century 21 Singapore, said: “Braddell View apartments have been transacting in the last year around plus, minus S$800 per square foot (psf). So if they successfully privatise and went into an en bloc exercise, within the next two years, there have got to be developers who are willing to pay to each home owner a premium that is well above the S$800 psf mark that they could achieve by themselves selling individually.

“If the developers are only willing to pay let’s say S$900 psf, then that premium of 12-15 per cent is probably not attractive enough for 80 per cent of the owners to sign up for the en bloc.”

Privatised HUDC projects like Laguna Park, Tampines Court and Eunosville have been launched for collective sale in recent years, but there have been no takers.

To date, only five have been successful.

They include the S$1.3 billion Farrer Court site where CapitaLand’s d’Leedon is now situated, Amberville, Gillman Heights, Minton Rise and Waterfront View Estate.

Analysts said developers still have a strong appetite for land, looking at the number of bids from recent government land tenders.

But in view of the current market conditions, they said developers are likely to prefer smaller plots, as well as the comparatively hassle-free land acquisition process under the Government Land Sales Programme.

Market watchers said larger sites with an asking price of over S$1 billion would be a tough sell, and presently, the sweet spot for en bloc transactions is probably under S$200 million.

Donald Han, managing director of Chesterton Singapore, said: “The majority of these HUDC sites would probably, upon completion, see 1,000, 1,500 maybe 2,000 units. A lot of developers are not comfortable to enter in a market where you probably see a 30 per cent drop in volume of sales year-on-year.

“A lot of developers would probably want to see higher uptick in terms of your take up, new home sales and then you will see risk coming back for some of the larger sites, for developers to take risk and partake into such large HUDC sites that offer thousands of units into the market.”

Meanwhile, Channel NewsAsia understands that residents at Eunosville have lowered their initial asking price of S$688 million for the site, and are in the midst of signing the collective sale agreement.

A resident shared that the sales committee has obtained approval from about 40 per cent of the owners.

Its marketing agent Jones Lang LaSalle said it is unable to comment on both the pricing and the sale process.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Jan 2014

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Speaking in Parliament on Monday, Minister of State for National Development Lee Yi Shyan said: “Privatisation will allow Braddell View flat owners to own private housing and have control over the management and maintenance of their estate.

“However there’s also cost involved, hence it’s important that the Braddell View flat owners consider the benefits of privatisation against its cost and decide whether they wish to take the next step to privatise.”

“The CPF Board has agreed to allow the owners of Braddell View estate to use their savings in the CPF ordinary account to pay the lease top up premium and the related stamp legal and survey fees incurred in the privatisation of the estate,” he added.

Braddell View is the only HUDC estate that has not been offered privatisation under existing law.

The estate was built in two phases, in two land parcels and has two land expiration dates. Residents will need to top up the lease tenure of the land parcel with the shorter lease to align it with the longer one.

The changes will allow the Braddell View body corporate to levy contributions on the flat owners in order to pay HDB the lease top up premium, as well as determine how much of the premium each flat owner has to pay.

This will be done through a meeting convened by the body corporate and the decision will be made through special resolution.

Payment also has to be made within 30 days of HDB’s written request for payment, or within such extended time allowed by HDB.

MP for the area Hri Kumar Nair supported the move but also raised concerns.

“This bill is only the first step, it remains for the residents to collectively decide how it can be achieved fairly and there will no doubt be some who will not see this as being in their interest, that is their choice to make,” he said.

“From my interactions with residents, it’s clear to me that most do favour it. However there’s a real risk that many of them may nonetheless feel constrained to vote against privatisation for practical difficulties. Chief of these will be the premium they have to pay.

“This will be exacerbated by the sum some of them may have to pay, to top up the lease for phase one of the estate to make up for the difference in the two phases,” he explained.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 9 Jul 2012

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Braddell View – the only HUDC estate left governed by the act – was developed on two different land leases with separate expiry dates.

In order to privatise the estate, the different dates need to be harmonised.

The existing act empowers the body corporate of Braddell View HUDC Estate to collect contributions from all its flat lessees in equal proportion, but Phase 2 lessees may not agree to pay the same amount as Phase 1 lessees.

The proposed amendment will allow Braddell View’s body corporate to determine the share of the premium to be paid.

The Amendment Bill will be tabled for a second reading at the next Parliament sitting.

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The route towards a possible collective sale of the HUDC estate looks like a long and bumpy one, with the unique status of the development throwing up obstacles along the way.

Braddell View while having facilities such as a clubhouse and swimming pool – suggesting a private condominium-like status – is the only remaining HUDC estate out of 18 such estates that has yet to be privatised or earmarked for privatisation.

This means the 30-year-old estate, with an area of 106,000 sq m, cannot be put up for collective sale yet. But some property agents have been highlighting its en bloc potential in their listings, hoping to attract buyers looking for capital appreciation.

According to The Straits Times, Braddell View has not been designated for privatisation yet as it was developed in two phases, with each phase being issued a separate state lease with a different expiry date – about 21/2 years apart.

The issue of lease harmonisation has to be resolved before the estate can be privatised.

Ms Leong Pat Lynn, a partner at Rodyk & Davidson LLP’s real estate practice group, suggested that one way the two leases can be brought in line with each other is by the Housing Board working with the SLA to either surrender or top up the lease difference.

But this will mean that the two authorities have to work together to resolve any payments needed to achieve the purpose.

In a normal situation, if a lessee decides to top up its lease, it might have to pay the SLA, and if it surrenders part of its lease term to the SLA, it may receive payments instead, Ms Leong said.

Braddell View – consisting of more than 900 high-rise apartments, low-rise apartments and maisonettes. They are considered private property as they are not sold under the Housing and Development Act.

They are also unaffected by policy revisions that affect Housing Board flats, such as the ethnic and permanent resident quotas.

Assuming the leases are harmonised, for Braddell View to be considered a full-fledged private property and be eligible for a collective sale, the titles of its flats, which now fall under the HUDC Housing Estates Act, need to be first brought under the Land Titles (Strata) Act.

This is done through the privatisation process which converts the existing leases to strata titles. But the process itself presents another hurdle as it requires the support of at least 75 per cent of the residents before it can proceed.

Property agents said serious buyers are mostly aware that Braddell View cannot go en bloc as yet. But many are also drawn to the good location and large unit sizes of the development.

DTZ Sherry Tang, who markets units in the estate, said there has been ‘very healthy interest’ in the development.

‘The possibility of a collective sale is still there and the lease situation is likely to be resolved one day… so buyers think that, since Braddell View is well-located and of a good size, they can at least enjoy the space and facilities while waiting,’ she added.

Prices at the estate have moved upwards in the past year, in line with the booming property market.

In the first six months of this year, 18 units were transacted at an average unit price of $706 per sq ft (psf), according to caveats lodged, compared with the 26 transactions at a lower average price of $604 psf last year.

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With the privatisation, the individual owners of the 330-unit estate now own their respective units, as well as the common property such as the car parks and open landscaped areas.

HDB said the Marine Parade Town Council will therefore cease its responsibility in the management and maintenance of the common properties of the estate with effect from Wednesday.

It will be done by a management corporation which was formed on Wednesday.

Privatisation of HUDC estates was announced in 1995 as part of the Government’s effort to meet the rising aspirations of Singaporeans to own private housing.

It also enables the lessees to have better control over the management of their estate.

Privatisation will proceed if lessees of at least 75 per cent of the flats support it.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 1 Jun 2011

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They are blocks 344 to 350 in Hougang, Avenue 7.

In the mandate exercise conducted in February, 81.5 per cent or 233 units voted for privatisation.

The results were announced by the protem committee at Hougang Community Club on Saturday.

The road to privatisation took two-and-a-half years.

The People’s Action Party’s (PAP) candidate for Hougang in the upcoming General Election, Mr Desmond Choo, said he will help residents sort out existing issues with the privatisation exercise. This includes working with current MP Low Thia Khiang.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 16 Apr 2011

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