New measure by NEA to deter high bids for hawker stalls

Hawkers who submit high bids for stalls from November's tender exercise will no longer see their rents drop immediately to market rates after their three-year tenancy, as is the case now.

- Ariel Yu

This is to encourage them to exercise restraint and prudence when making their bids.

The new initiative was announced on Nov 4 by the National Environment Agency (NEA) for stalls under its purview.

Existing hawkers will not be affected.

The Straits Times understands that about 200 market and cooked food stalls are put up for each tender exercise.

Over 6,000 cooked food stalls and more than 7,000 market stalls are currently under NEA's purview.

Currently, after hawkers pay their tendered bid price as monthly rental for the first tenancy term, which lasts for three years, they will see their stall rental rates adjusted to market rates, as determined by an independent assessor.

So hawkers in popular areas where bid prices are higher than market rates can expect their rates to come down immediately after their tenancy period ends.

The median assessed market rate (AMR) for non-subsidised cooked food stalls has remained constant since 2019 at about $1,200 per month.

With the new measure, NEA will be staggering the downward adjustment of tendered stall rentals over a longer period.