Last four privately owned HDB wet markets to be refreshed after leases expire by 2027

SINGAPORE – Residents in four neighbourhoods can look forward to renovated wet markets in the coming years, with ownership of the markets returning to the Housing Board after 30 years in private hands.

The markets are located in Fajar Shopping Centre, Yew Tee Square, Bukit Batok West Shopping Centre and Woodlands North Plaza, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling in a Facebook post on May 9.

The leases of the four markets end between September 2026 and February 2027, said the HDB on May 14 in a statement to The Straits Times.

Citing two other wet markets in Keat Hong and Serangoon that were taken back by the HDB and renovated after the end of their leases, Ms Sun said residents living near the four wet markets can “look forward to a similarly better shopping experience close to home”.

Five of these six markets – excluding the one in Woodlands North Plaza – were at the centre of a public debate in 2009 when supermarket chain Sheng Siong bought the wet markets, with plans to convert them into air-conditioned markets. This triggered concerns about the shrinking number of wet markets in Singapore.

Government leaders and the HDB stepped in to stop this from happening. Although the sale eventually went through, Sheng Siong was required to retain the wet markets.

The forthcoming lease expiries of the four wet markets close the chapter on private ownership of HDB-managed wet markets. It owns another 13 markets, all of which are rented out to private operators.

The bulk of the other 80 markets or so in Singapore are managed by the National Environment Agency.

The Keat Hong and Serangoon wet markets were returned to HDB after their leases expired and then refurbished. New master tenants were appointed by the board to oversee market operations.

Kopitiam, which is part of the FairPrice Group, now manages Keat Hong Food Centre and Market, which reopened in October 2024, while Singapore Pools manages Serangoon Central Village, which reopened in January.

Ms Sun, who visited the Serangoon market on May 8, said the market is cleaner and brighter following its refurbishment, and has a new eating house, as well as a community space on its second floor where young people can study, connect and participate in activities.

The market is an example of how HDB refreshes wet markets that were formerly privately owned after their leases expire, said Ms Sun.

“HDB takes back the ownership of the wet market, and uses the opportunity to revitalise the spaces to ensure that our heartland retail spaces better meet the residents’ needs and preferences,” she said.

HDB said in its statement to ST that market owners will be offered a one-year interim tenancy period upon the expiry of their lease “to ensure a smooth transition and keep services running for residents”.

“During the interim tenancy, they will be required to pay rent to HDB at market value as determined by HDB’s professional valuers,” said the board, which added that the owners must also continue to offer tenancy to their existing stallholders and maintain the stallholders’ rents as per the last rental rate during the 30-year lease.

The board said that during the 30-year lease, private owners of wet markets have full property rights and can decide their own letting arrangements, including the choice of stallholders and the rents charged.

It added that master tenants are responsible for renting out the individual stalls, as well as managing the upkeep and day-to-day operations of the market.

HDB said markets are typically tendered out to a master tenant for a three-year term, with the board using what is known as a “price-quality method” to ensure a good trade-mix that meets the residents’ needs.

The board added that during the new three-year tenancy, the master tenant is required to maintain rents at the same rate as before, for stallholders that were operating under the private owner, if they wish to take up tenancy under the master tenant.

“For vacant stalls, the master tenant may set rents based on market demand,” HDB said.

For instance, during the period of their ownership, private owners can change trades or tenants, or raise their rents based on free market negotiations, based on HDB’s website.

A spokeswoman for Singapore Pools said in response to queries that rental arrangements vary depending on the type of space and tenancy agreements.

“These are determined based on a range of considerations, including operational and market factors, while balancing affordability and sustainability for tenants.”

HDB’s requirement for returning stallholders to pay rent that is kept at the rate they were paying before the ownership transition for at least three years was applied to the Serangoon wet market.

She said that maintaining a vibrant and community-oriented environment in Serangoon Central Village – which has other commercial spaces in addition to the wet market – is also under Singapore Pools’ purview.

To this end, Singapore Pools collaborated with TOUCH Community Services to set up the community space that Ms Sun mentioned, where youngsters can take part in programmes such as barista, art and music workshops, and speak with youth mentors.

Mr Rajendran Sagu, 41, who sells halal meat at the Serangoon wet market, said business has not been as brisk since the market was refreshed, and customers have said they can get cheaper groceries else­where.

Another stallholder, Mr Aaron Aw, 30, said the renovated market is much cleaner and looks newer.

Mr Aw, whose father founded Aw’s Market – a business that distributes fresh produce, meat and seafood, and also operates several wet market stalls – said the new eating house, which is located next to the wet market, helps to bring in customers.

Mr Wilfred Chan, who visited the market on May 12 for the first time since it was refurbished, said: “I think it’s great. The whole area is very clean, very spacious and it’s quite an interesting concept where the market and the cooked food are in the same area.”

Mr Chan, 38, who had moved elsewhere in 2018 after living in Serangoon for more than two decades, said he felt it is easier to move around the market now with its new layout, but noted that some stalls did not return to the market after the refresh.

At the wet market in Woodlands North, Ms Annie Lee, a stallholder there of about 15 years, said the last two-year lease extension she signed with market operator Ai Muay Management runs until December 2027.

Ms Lee, 62, who sells fresh flowers and tidbits, said she is hopeful rental rates may come down when the market’s ownership returns to HDB, but noted that the board may be more stringent with guidelines on the types of goods sold in shops.