Responding to questions from Members of Parliament on rent for hawker stalls, Dr Koh said NEA is reviewing relevant policies at hawker centres to ensure that the system remains effective while keeping hawker food affordable.
In July, a hawker submitted a bid of S$10,158 (US$7,770) to rent a vacant stall at Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre. It was the second-highest bid for the unit, and reportedly the highest for a hawker stall in the last six years.
Dr Koh reiterated that high tender prices are not the norm for hawker stalls.
About one in five cooked food stalls were awarded at tender prices at or below S$500 last year. The median successful tender price for cooked food stalls across hawker centres was about S$2,000 in 2022, and S$1,800 in 2023, he added.
Vacant hawker stalls are put up for bidding through monthly tender exercises conducted by NEA, which Dr Koh said were “transparent and fair”.
After a first tenancy term of three years, tendered rents are adjusted towards assessed market rents determined through independent professional valuation, he said.
Since 2012, NEA has removed reserve rents and does not set a minimum bid price for hawker stall tenders, he added.
“As such, tenderers can secure stalls at lower-than-market rent for the first tenancy term. This would not be attainable under a model where stalls are allocated at fixed rental rates,” said Dr Koh.
