Collective sale process should be fairer, more transparent... A letter in Forum section of Straits Times
The article, Going en bloc: The long road (May 6), failed to
fully highlight the plight of stayers living with the constant fear of losing
the roofs over their heads. They feel helpless against a phalanx of property
agents, lawyers and developers with financial muscle, not to mention being
treated as pariahs in their communities.
I'm a member of an "informal alliance" of stayers,
and we hope the Government will set up a committee to explore how the
collective sale process can be made fairer, more transparent and less
disruptive.
For a start, we would like to see a minimum age before
estates become eligible to be sold en bloc.
The formula to trigger a sale should not be a
one-size-fits-all approach, but calibrated based on the percentage of genuine
home owners. Those who own multiple units should be limited in their number of
votes.
Instead of the usual bedlam at extraordinary general
meetings, where the voices of minority owners are often ignored, we would like
to see a more even-handed process where everyone has a chance to have their
queries answered on an online forum before owners decide whether to set up a
collective sales committee (CSC).
If more than 20 per cent of home owners are against the
sale, the process should be halted and not be allowed to drag on for 12 months.
But if the green light is given, the CSC should clearly
spell out the steps ahead, and those not in favour must be allowed to post
their alternative views.
Management committees should allow equal access to
noticeboards for all parties. Currently, this is often disallowed, if not
outright forbidden, for those against collective sales. Their efforts at
putting up posters and distributing fliers are deemed as acts of vandalism and
littering.
The rush to join the collective sale bandwagon only plays
into the hands of developers who will build progressively smaller and costlier
homes. In the long run, this will place a greater financial burden on the later
generations of home owners. It may also affect the health of many elderly
citizens dislodged from familiar surroundings and caring neighbours.
Let's not breed a corrosive national mindset that values
property above family ties and community bonds. That should not be our legacy
for future generations.
Philip Leow Aik Jiang
SPH Digital News / Copyright © 2018 Singapore Press Holdings
Ltd. Co. Regn. No. 198402868E. All rights reserved
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