For the first year of the hawker centre’s operations, the stallholders will pay 80 percent of the rentals and 90 percent in the second year, under a scheme unveiled by the National Environment Agency (NEA). 

Stallholders at new hawker centres will benefit from lower rentals during the first two years of the centre’s operations under the staggered rent scheme unveiled by the National Environment Agency (NEA) on Monday (26 August).

For the first year of the hawker centre’s operations, the stallholders will pay 80 percent of the rentals and 90 percent in the second year.

The scheme will apply to the 13 new social enterprise hawker centres (SEHCs) set to be completed by 2027, with the upcoming hawker centre at Bukit Canberra being the first to benefit from it.

“In our regular review of hawker centres, a key learning point is that new hawker centres take time to establish themselves,” said NEA.

“Time is generally needed to raise potential patrons’ awareness of these new centres and for the stallholders at the centres to build up a regular clientele and stabilise their businesses.”

Meanwhile, three new SEHCs at Yishun Park, Pasir Ris Central and Jurong West will also benefit from a rental remission of 10 percent for six months. Stallholders who start their tenancy between 1 September 2019 and 29 February 2020 are eligible for the rental remission.

NEA revealed that it is also fine-tuning the criteria for evaluating tender proposals from socially-conscious enterprises keen on operating the upcoming hawker centres.

Currently, operators proposing lower stall rents and operating costs are considered more favourably.

“In future tenders for new hawker centres, even greater consideration will be given to the proposed total costs to stallholders,” it said.

“At the same time, on the business side, proposed initiatives that drive footfall to the hawker centre will also be considered in the tender evaluation, as footfall will ultimately drive patronage and the business success for the hawkers.”

NEA noted that the staggered rent scheme will come on top of the subsidy for centralised dishwashing service which has been in effect since 1 January.

Source: 27 Aug 2019, CommercialGuru