We might have to start paying more for Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) due to increasing costs of… well, basically everything.
Here’s what S&CC are and what the Government is doing to manage this.
What’s S&CC?
S&CC is something that every HDB resident needs to pay. It covers estate cleaning, landscaping, refuse collection, pest control, and the maintenance of mechanical and electrical fixtures like your lifts, lights, and water pumps.
Different town councils charge different S&CC rates, which are also different based on what kind of flat you’re living in. There are also “Reduced” and “Normal” rates: reduced rates apply to HDB units where at least one owner/tenant or occupier is Singaporean, and none owns private property.
These charges were last raised in 2017 by $1 to $17.
Currently, it seems like S&CC ranges from $20 for 1-room reduced rates to over $100 for executive units. The town councils are evaluating their finances to decide how much they’ll increase the S&CC.
Rising Cost Pressures
Ah, rising cost pressures. The main character appearing in every aspect of our lives.
There has been a constantly rising cost of materials and services globally, and Singapore is not exempt from this trend. According to PAP town councils’ chairman Lim Biow Chuan, increasing cost pressures are coming from energy prices, manpower costs, and maintenance costs.
Let’s take the example of a lift breakdown. To fix the lift, lift technicians are called in, which incurs labour costs. Due to the Progressive Wage Model, these technicians’ wages are higher now, contributing to cost pressures.
Additionally, materials to fix the lifts are facing rising costs too. Even energy prices are rising, with an increase of 23% since 2018.
All of these increases in costs are just from one situation. When we extend that to the many things S&CC covers, like cleaning contracts, it’s no wonder there needs to be an increase to cover the rising costs of everything.
Mature HDB estates also face higher maintenance costs than newer ones since there are simply more things to fix due to wear and tear.
Ways to Manage Cost Pressures
Of course, the town councils have been trying to manage cost pressures. For instance, they constantly seek productivity improvements to control expenditure.
Additionally, the Government has also been providing regular support. The Ministry of National Development provides regular grants totalling $240 million yearly for town councils’ operations, which helps them to maintain the S&CCs at a lower level.
In their April parliamentary reply, the MND also said they’d provided additional funds to town councils in 2022 to help cope with cost increases. Those funds went to the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme and Community Improvement Projects, which improve facilities like covered walkways, footpaths, cycling tracks and playgrounds.
Minister for National Development Desmond Lee stated that residents would be provided temporary support to help us deal with the higher fees. These would be “time-limited, special funding support”.
Additionally, the Government gives out rebates in every year’s Budget to help offset S&CC costs. Singaporean households will receive one and a half to three and a half months’ worth of rebates, according to Budget 2023.