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S$8,000-a-month HDB flat rent ‘mistake’ prompts questions on data integrity

Eyebrow-raising transaction entry changed to S$900 a month, but amendment raises concerns about data going into HDB records, analysts say

Ry-Anne Lim
Published Fri, Sep 27, 2024 · 08:06 PM
    • At S$8,000 a month, the rental in Bukit Merah would have set a record for the priciest rent for a public housing flat.
    • At S$8,000 a month, the rental in Bukit Merah would have set a record for the priciest rent for a public housing flat. PHOTO: KEZIA KOO, BT

    THE head-turning rental of S$8,000 a month for a three-room Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat in Bukit Merah turned out to be a “mistake”, and the record in the official database has since been amended to S$900 a month. 

    In response to queries from The Business Times, HDB said: “Upon further checks, the owner clarified that a typographical mistake was made in the application form, listing a rental rate of S$8,000 per month for the entire flat, instead of S$900 per month for a single bedroom rental, as intended.”

    BT had earlier reported that the anomalous figure turned up in data on rentals signed in August, and was recorded in the HDB’s rental market statistics.   

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