Relook Joint Singles Scheme for rental flats

The findings of the street survey appear to point towards a lack of social services for homeless men (180 found living on the streets; Oct 7).

I agree that these issues are complex and should be addressed collectively by society.

One of the findings was that a number of those surveyed had a rental flat under the Joint Singles Scheme.

Under this scheme, two single tenants rent a flat together. Often, they are strangers who were placed together.

This is a weakness in our Housing Board public rental policy.

The scheme glosses over the differences the two singles might have. This often results in conflicts and one of the tenants moving out.

The HDB might want to consider relooking its housing policy and assess if it can be loosened to include these singles who have fallen through the gaps.

More crisis shelters are also needed for men, as there are very limited avenues now for them to get help practically.

Fang Xinwei

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 13, 2017, with the headline Relook Joint Singles Scheme for rental flats. Subscribe