SINGAPORE: Outdoor display areas at Housing and Development Board (HDB) shops are being offered for rent on platforms such as Carousell and Facebook, despite it being against HDB rules.

These spaces – known informally as yellow or red boxes – can be as small as 2 sq m and typically line corridors outside HDB shops.

The listings showed the areas were being sublet for as high as S$180 (US$140) a day.

Shop owners must apply to rent the space outside their shops from town councils, and the spaces can cost shop owners S$10 per square metre a month.

Yellow or red markings are used to demarcate the space as part of fire safety regulations to ensure clear escape passages for emergencies.

Under HDB rules, unrelated trades are not allowed at these spaces as they are meant to be used as an extension of the existing shops’ operations.

Some town councils' application forms for shops also stipulate that such areas should only be used by the shop, and that they should not transfer, assign or sublet the area.

Town councils are in charge of enforcing HDB's rules on yellow boxes. One town council told CNA the punishment could include revocation of the outdoor display area permit.

However, CNA found at least 10 listings on Carousell and at least 20 posts on Facebook advertising spaces for rent at various estates across Singapore.

INFORMAL MARKET

Most of the spaces were offered for short-term rent, with options to let for a day, a week or a month.

The rates varied from S$30 per day to up to S$180 per day, depending on size, location and day of the week.

Shops that offered these spaces for rent included a hair salon, a bubble tea shop and a pawn shop.

There were generally no restrictions on what could be sold, although a couple of listings indicated that the sale of food and beverages, as well as fruits such as durian, was not allowed.

On top of the rental of the space, one listing indicated that interested parties would need to top up S$20 for the rental of a table and chair, and S$35 for an electrical power supply.

CNA responded to some of the listings on Facebook and Carousell, posing as an interested renter.

One Carousell user who posted an advertisement for a yellow box in Bedok said that town council approval was not needed.

When asked who the rental arrangement was with, the user said it would be with the shop owner and that rents should be paid via PayNow.

When asked what would happen if town council officers checked, the user said “no problem”.

Another person who posted an advertisement on Facebook for a space in Bishan said the rent would have to be paid to a "landlord".

When asked whether town council approval was needed, she responded: "No need. Landlord is renting the space from HDB. It's a sublet."

She added that an agreement with the landlord would need to be signed, and that there would be "no issue" as the landlord would inform the town council.

In terms of payment, another user offering the space in front of a drink store chain in Ubi said that the rent can be paid in cash daily.

The advertiser said that the space was near two salons and had a coffee shop opposite, adding that the office crowd was good during lunch time. 

Some advertisers were agents acting on behalf of the shop owner, while others appeared to be shop owners. 

When CNA asked the advertisers for comment, one said the landlord had decided to use the area for their own use and to "disregard the listing". Another two advertisers did not reply.

"CONVENIENT" ARRANGEMENT

When CNA visited Kovan on a weekday evening, there were three sellers in the area selling unrelated trade items at outdoor display areas.

A seller said she has been renting such spaces for over 20 years, selling a variety of items such as home decorations.

When asked if she had sought approval from the town council, she said she was not sure, as the arrangement was handled by an agent. She finds spaces to rent through a WhatsApp group chat, she said.

The seller noted that rent for yellow boxes has increased significantly over the years, with some costing S$200 for half a day’s use. At Kovan, she pays around S$70 a day.

“In the past, it used to be very affordable, now it’s so expensive,” she said in Mandarin.

Another seller who sold accessories and jewellery outside an optical shop echoed that rental prices for such spaces have doubled in the past five years. She rented the space for two days at about S$90 a day.

“Renting yellow boxes is very convenient … there’s more freedom. And as one person roaming around it’s better, it’s less stressful than having a (permanent) store,” she said in Mandarin.

She added that both she and the optical shop owner were permitted to carry out this arrangement.

At Ang Mo Kio, there were at least a dozen stores selling goods of an unrelated trade in yellow boxes, including accessories, plants and bedding. When approached by CNA, a few sellers said that they were part of the main shop.

A seller who rented the outdoor display area outside an optical shop said a constraint about the arrangement is that she had to sell similar items.

TOWN COUNCIL’S MANAGEMENT

In response to queries from CNA, HDB directed CNA to a parliamentary speech in March 2023.

Then-Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann said during the Committee of Supply debate that under current guidelines, unrelated trades are not allowed at outdoor display areas as these are primarily meant as an extension of the existing shops’ operations, to draw crowds into the shops.

She was responding to a question from Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh on whether there were exceptions to the rules to allow itinerant traders to sell their goods at outdoor display areas. 

Ms Sim noted that while HDB has issued guidelines on the management of these areas, town councils are “empowered to manage” these outdoor display areas as part of common property.

“The foremost consideration is to ensure public safety and tidiness of these common areas. Hence, we require clear and open passageways, and for the local shop operator to manage the outdoor display area operations directly outside the shop,” she said.

She added that while itinerant retailers can add vibrancy and variety, the proliferation of commercial activities, if left unchecked, might lead to excessive noise and crowding and unfair competition to local shopkeepers.

It is the role of town councils to enforce against the improper use of outdoor display areas, she said.

“We know that town councils have many roles and responsibilities to discharge and we leave it to the town councils to decide how to prioritise amongst these different responsibilities,” she said, adding that if there are instances of violation that need to be reported, HDB should be informed.

CNA contacted several town councils of estates where such listings were posted and where people were selling goods of unrelated trades at outdoor display areas. 

The town councils are: Ang Mo Kio, Aljunied-Hougang, Chua Chu Kang, East Coast, Marine Parade-Braddell Heights, Bishan-Toa Payoh and Nee Soon.

A spokesperson for Marine-Parade Braddell Heights Town Council said that the terms and conditions governing the use of outdoor display areas are made clear to applicants at the point of application, and that subletting or renting out the space to third parties is not permitted.

Where a shop owner is found to have breached any permit conditions that include unauthorised subletting or is causing obstruction, disturbance, or disamenities, the town council may take enforcement action, the spokesperson said.

This includes revocation of the outdoor display area permit without further notice, as well as barring the applicant from using the area in future.

Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council and Nee Soon Town Council declined to comment, while the other town councils did not respond.