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THE owner of a five-room flat in Bukit Batok has made the unprecedented move of taking the Housing Board (HDB) to court over its acquisition of his flat for alleged illegal subletting.
Mr Chew Teck Fatt, 38, wants a judicial review to quash the HDB's decision, arguing that he has the right to be fully heard on all the evidence it has gathered.
The landmark case turns on this question: Do the courts have the power to review a decision by the HDB?
The Housing & Development Act suggests the answer is no, as it makes final the decision of the minister to reject an appeal and compulsorily acquire a flat.
Subletting an entire flat without approval is against the rules, and can lead to the HDB compulsorily acquiring the unit.
Mr Chew, a company director who is about to get married, bought the flat on the resale market for $480,000 in 2010.
In February last year, he let out one room to Mr Zulkeple Husin and his wife; the HDB, shown the tenancy agreement, approved the move.
The following month, he rented out a second room to a Taiwanese man whose child, a minor, was attending school here. This tenancy was also approved.
The month after that, HDB officers checked the flat and met the tenants. The officers took a statement from Mr Zulkeple, who said he had rented the flat from Mr Chew, and that Mr Chew did not live there. HDB officers met Mr Zulkeple at the flat in July.
Mr Chew denies renting out the whole flat, and says he kept the third room for his use. He says he made several appeals to the HDB against the acquisition, and went to his MP for help. When all this failed, he sought court action.
But the HDB said it had reaffirmed in ongoing correspondence in March this year that Mr Zulkeple had verified the statement as correct and had signed it, so the matter was now before the court.
In court papers filed, Mr Zulkeple denies knowing the contents of the statement he was supposed to have signed; he claims he had understood that the document he signed certified that HDB officers had visited the flat.
The HDB, in a letter last month to Mr Chew's lawyer, Mr Kirpal Singh, pointed out that Mr Chew had previously admitted to not living in the flat while it was sublet.
To this, Mr Chew said there were times he did not return to the room he kept for himself, as he slept over at his mother's flat in Jalan Bahagia.
These were times when he worked until late, or wanted to be with the family.
At issue is whether there must be continuous physical occupation of the flat, and whether Mr Chew can be said to have abandoned his interest in the flat and wholly sublet it illegally.
Among other things, Mr Chew questions the HDB's procedure in arriving at its decision; he claims it did not give him the chance to address the case as a whole.
The HDB on Wednesday declined to comment. Its lawyers from Allen & Gledhill are expected to file defence papers in due course. A High Court hearing is due this month.
When contacted yesterday, Mr Chew said he sought court action as a last resort. He added: "I've cooperated fully with HDB and hope to see this resolved."
The landmark case turns on this question: Do the courts have the power to review a decision by the HDB?
Breach of HDB lease conditions
MR CHEW Teck Fatt, 38, is understood to be one of 13 owners against whom the Housing Board (HDB) took action in the first six months of last year for subletting their entire flats without approval.
In the first half of this year, the HDB took similar action against eight flat-owners, said its spokesman.
"HDB flats are meant for owner occupation. However, we recognise that some flat-owners want to sublet their flats for supplementary income, or to help them through difficult times. Hence, HDB allows them to sublet their whole flats - after they have fulfilled the minimum occupation period."
The HDB makes it clear that those who sublet the whole flat without approval breach lease conditions and stand to have the flat compulsorily acquired.
Aside from routine inspections, the HDB invites calls on its hotline 1800-5556370 during office hours to report suspected cases of unauthorised subletting of flats.
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