SERS AND THE SINGLETONS
If the Housing Development Board (HDB) announces that your housing estate has been chosen as the latest Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) site, you will probably receive a barrage of congratulatory messages from envious friends. After all, according to the HDB, “Only about 5 per cent of all HDB flats are suitable for redevelopment under SERS, and most of these projects with high redevelopment potential have already been selected for the scheme. To date, more than 41,000 households in 82 sites (including the latest site) have benefited from SERS.”
However, not everyone feels like a lottery winner, as evidenced by the reception from residents living in Blocks 562 to 565 at Ang Mo Kio Ave 3. In particular, senior citizens who had already paid off their flats were upset about taking on new financial burdens at their age. The chance to move out from an old flat with just 57 years left on the lease to a ‘more valuable’ new home with a 99-year lease may not appeal to them, who don’t see themselves outliving
