Enbloc Refugees

From TODAY article dated 27 Dec 2007

HELP, WE ARE ENBLOC REFUGEES

BY LUCY HUANG

"WE HAVE been “en-blocked” for a second time. On both occasions, we were reluctant sellers. People tell us we are lucky because we are getting a lot of money from the enbloc sale. But in reality, we have had to downgrade each time — from private and freehold, to HUDC and leasehold. And now, it looks like we will have to either go HDB or move to the edges of Singapore — away from our doctors, dentist, friends, church and clubs. To make matters worse, at almost every prospective home we have checked out, we have been told that there is a good chance of the place going en bloc. Our housing agent has told us that if we want to live in a condominium, we have to face the fact that sooner or later the owners will try to go en bloc. We were in our late 60s the first time we were forced out of our home. Now, we are in our late 70s. The next time, we will be in the same boat as two of our neighbours, who are in their 90s but still have to uproot. Is this the way we are going to pass our twilight years? Always faced with the prospect of having to sell our home? The experience is very stressful. Losing one’s home ranks alongside losing one’s spouse, child or parent. It can be traumatic and mentally debilitating. We have two other options. First, we can buy an HDB resale flat, which may not have the benefits a condominium offers in terms of security and facilities. Second, we can consider landed property, which would cost a lot more. And, as old people, we will have to hire someone to help maintain it because we will be unable to do so on our own. Of course, we could also choose to rent a home. However, this would put us at the mercy of landlords who may decide to raise the rent to an unreasonable level, or decide to take the property off the rental market, which would mean more packing, moving and house-hunting. Even with landed property, we wouldn’t have complete peace of mind. The Government may decide to redevelop the estate, or our neighbours may band together to sell. After working all our lives and raising our children, we had hoped to pass our twilight years in peace and relaxation. Instead, what can we look forward to? The constant fear of some bright (and greedy) spark rallying all the neighbours to put the entire estate up for sale to a developer? And if at first they don’t succeed, they will try and try again! As en-bloc refugees, we are appealing to the Government to come up with a solution, which will allow us to live the rest of our lives without the fear of losing our home — again."

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Today Online article: Allow only one en bloc shot

Today Online article: A tripartite effort is vital