[EvertonDiehard]

hundred percent.....time for pappies to come clean on actual percentage of home ownership in singapore

The fundamental differences between a condo and a HDB flat are neither academic nor insignificant. Since buyers of HDB units have only purchased a 99-year lease, they have no share of the land where their blocks stand on and no strata title. Even though residential properties with leases lasting 99-years or shorter can be found in countries such as Australia, leasehold land tenure over there may take the form of Term, Perpetual or Freeholding leases. Owners of leasehold properties there possess a strata title similar to that of condo owners in S'pore. Over in China, the relatively recent privatisation of housing under lease agreements, does not accord buyers complete ownership. This legal void leaves owners of residential properties with a great deal of uncertainty over their rights. In any case, the HDB should not be comparing our lease agreements to a communist country where there are gaps in legislation. The HDB should instead consider carefully how the current lease arrangement fits in with the Govt's asset-enhancement policy for public housing.