Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Law in each year of the past five years (a) what proportion of rent collected from residential properties managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) was spent on maintenance and safety inspections; (b) what safety incidents were there; and (c) how regularly are safety inspections conducted.
Mr K Shanmugam: The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) manages a wide portfolio of state properties ranging from commercial buildings, former school compounds, to apartment blocks and heritage properties. The properties are mostly old properties. They are usually returned by various Ministries and agencies to SLA for management and are put to a variety of uses, including commercial, residential and social and community. In addition, the maintenance and inspection requirements for each property will vary depending on the specific context, such as the age and condition of the building, the use of the property and different levels of maintenance or repair may be required. SLA can provide the aggregated cost of maintenance and inspection and rent, but it will not be a meaningful comparison.
SLA and its appointed managing agents, conduct safety inspections on the residential state properties periodically as part of the maintenance regime. They also ensure that the properties comply with the requirements imposed by the regulatory authorities.
It is difficult to be comprehensive on the kinds of safety incidents handled by SLA and their managing agents, but some examples include the deterioration of the timber structures and the presence of asbestos in older state properties. Where these safety issues are identified, SLA will take steps to quickly address them, including taking advice from relevant professionals and carrying out the necessary rectification works; for example, replacement of timber structures, asbestos control measures.
