HDB Refused to Reduce Monthly Rent of My HDB 1-Room Rental Flat Despite Repeat Appeals

Subject: HDB Refused to Reduce Monthly Rent of My HDB 1-Room Rental Flat Despite Repeat Appeals

Today is 2nd Jan 2021 Saturday.

Please be aware that HDB 1-room rental flats are for people in Singapore who live in extreme poverty and who are in the lowest rung of society.

For your information, I am born in the year 1978. I am 42 years old now.

When I was attending Hua Min Primary School in Yishun more than 30 years ago, I recall my mother having schizophrenia (hearing menacing/threatening/harassing voices). She always always think that her neighbors are scolding her, every day, every minute. Because of her mental condition, my family had to move from place to place frequently. Due to frequent selling and buying of HDB flats, my family has been reduced to extreme poverty. Within a span of a few decades, we have moved from Bedok North to Yishun to Bukit Batok to Bedok Reservoir to Toa Payoh. Wherever we moved, my mother always think that her neighbors are scolding her every day. The voices had ***TRICKED*** my mother into selling and buying HDB flats frequently. The objective of the voices is to make us live in extreme poverty.

Shortly after graduating from National University of Singapore with a Bachelor's degree in December 2006, I also began hearing menacing/threatening/harassing voices like my mother (schizophrenia). When my father had used up his CPF savings, I found that I could not afford to pay monthly installments of $800+ for a HDB 3-room flat, because I could not concentrate and sustain any job. In the year 2011, we had to give up our HDB 3-room flat in Bedok Reservoir and move to a HDB 1-room rental flat in Toa Payoh. At a montly rent of $26.

For the past 14 years after graduation from NUS, I was FREQUENTLY fired/terminated from employment. Repeat for emphasis: for the past 14 years after graduation from NUS, I was FREQUENTLY fired/terminated from employment. For the past 14 years after graduation from NUS, I face extreme under-employment. Repeat for emphasis: for the past 14 years after graduation from NUS, I face extreme under-employment. Why do I know this? Because I have been asking around. My 56 year old friend Roger, who is working as a camera man with the National Broadcaster, earns about $4000 per month. At age 56, he told me he has more than $300,000 in his bank account. Some time ago, I saw a Caucasian man using the ATM machine in Singapore. He has $260,000++ in his bank account. From what I gather, most average people at my age (42 years old) should have about $300,000 in their bank account AND about $300,000 in their CPF account. My facebook friend Gerald Tan has more than $700,000 in his CPF account. In contrast, I only have slightly more than $10,000 in my bank account and only about $74,000 in my CPF account. As you can see, my personal savings and monies in my CPF account are mediocre/meagre/peanuts. Mrs Goh Chok Tong once said that $600,000 is peanuts. What I have is a lot far worse than peanuts.

For HDB 1-room rental flats, we need to renew the tenancy agreement every 2 years. In October 2020, I renewed my tenancy agreeent for another 2 years, effective 1 Jan 2021. Upon the renewal of my tenancy agreement, HDB had increased my monthly rent from $26 to $333. This is a 13x increase! In December 2020, I sent an email to HDB appealing for the reduction of my monthly rent. After my appeal was rejected by HDB, in the same month, I approached my Member of Parliament The Honourable Saktiandi Supaat MP for help. My MP had agreed to intervene on my behalf. Nonetheless, his appeal was also rejected by HDB. My monthly rent was increased from $26 to $333 because I have found a job as an IT consultant with a System Integrator/computer firm in Singapore on 15 June 2020. I have already communicated to HDB that my probation was extended twice. On 15 September 2020, my father passed away due to stage 4 lung cancer, which spread rapidly to his brain. He was 76 years old. My father did not leave me with anything as he was an extremely poor man himself. There is no HDB flat for me to inherit. I took leave for 2 weeks, starting on 15 September 2020. As a result, my probation was extended for 2 months. On 17 November 2020, my probation was extended again for the second time until 15 February 2021. Despite knowing that my employment situation is uncertain and it is highly improbable/unlikely that I should pass my probation, the HDB repeatedly rejected my appeals to reduce the monthly rent.

Is it fair for the HDB to increase the monthly rent for my HDB 1-room rental flat from $26 to $333 given the fact that I am frequently fired/terminated from employment for the past 14 years after graduation from NUS? I never have a chance to rise up the social ladder at all. Whenever I got fired and found another job, my monthly salary always stays below $3000 for the past 14 years. I know people who are working as managers. They earn from $6000 to $9000 per month, depending on their seniority. I know a guy called Jon. He is working as a Cybersecurity Director. He told me his monthly salary is close to $20,000. He hails from Penang, Malaysia. On the other hand, my life spiralled downhill after I began hearing menacing/threatening/harassing voices in 2007.

How can I get the HDB to reduce my monthly rent? Please advise.

Thank you very much. 

Mr. Turritopsis Dohrnii Teo En Ming (Zhang Enming) @ Time Traveller

Singapore Citizen

BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore (Graduated Dec 2006) (2:2)

Diploma (Conversion) in Computer Networking, Singapore Polytechnic (Graduated 2017) (4 Distinctions, 1 Grade A for Project)

Diploma in Mechatronics Engineering (with Merit), Singapore Polytechnic (Graduated 1998)

GCE "O" Level Top Student, Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School (Graduated 1994) (7 A1s and 1 A2)

2nd Jan 2020 Saturday

REFERENCES

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[1] http://lists.linuxfromscratch.org/pipermail/lfs-chat/2021-January/029180.html