SINGAPORE: Black-and-white houses have been in the spotlight, with two such properties along Ridout Road being rented to ministers.
The rentals of 26 and 31 Ridout Road by Home Affairs and Law Minister K Shanmugam and Foreign Affairs Minister Vivian Balakrishnan respectively have sparked interest in such houses.
Last month, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that an independent review of the rentals will be conducted, after both ministers called for it.
The topic will also be addressed during the Parliament sitting next week.
There are about 500 black-and-white houses in Singapore. They can be found across Singapore, in neighbourhoods such as Sembawang, Seletar, Tanglin, and Changi.
“These houses were once home to colonial mandarins, magistrates, magnates and towkays (local businessmen) in the early days of Singapore’s development,” wrote former Singapore Land Authority (SLA) chairman Lim Sim Seng in a publication in 2017.
“And within these corridors of power, through periods of triumph and turmoil, history was shaped and made.”
How much does it cost to rent black-and-white houses, and how do you rent them?
WHAT ARE BLACK-AND-WHITE HOUSES?
Black-and-white houses were built between 1903 and 1941, primarily serving as homes for European colonial and expatriate families, according to Roots.gov.sg, a website by the National Heritage Board (NHB).
They derive their name from the characteristic combination of dark timber beams and whitewashed walls.
The architectural style of these houses reflects the mock-Tudor tastes of the late Victorian era and its cross-pollination with indigenous Malayan features. Some of these houses have high ceilings and stilts for natural ventilation, as well as tiled roofs and deep overhanging eaves.
According to the Roots website, Singapore’s black-and-white chapter concluded abruptly at the outbreak of World War II.
Some of these houses were fortified and turned into defensive positions, and a few were damaged and destroyed during the war. Many of them were taken over by the invading Japanese force and used to house senior commanders. Others were placed under the control of the Kempeitai, the Japanese military police.
To preserve the heritage of these colonial houses, changes to the look and feel of these bungalows are not allowed.
But tenants often need to install additional fittings such as air-conditioning, carpentry works, and upgrade kitchens and toilets.
Many of these black-and-white bungalows are rented with the surrounding land.
Mr Shanmugam said in a written parliamentary reply to NCMP Leong Mun Wai (PSP) in August last year that the SLA managed 262 residential state black-and-white bungalows that exceed 20,000 sq ft in land area.
HOW MUCH IS THE RENT?
Properties managed by SLA are generally available for rental through an open tender. Those managed by agents, mainly residential and commercial, can be rented directly from the agents.
The guide rent is the “reserved rental based on market rates as determined by qualified valuers”, the authority told CNA previously.
In his parliamentary reply in August last year, Mr Shanmugam said that as of Jul 21, 2022, 236 of the 262 residential state black-and-white bungalows were tenanted. The median land size was about 38,000 sq ft and the median rent was about S$13,000 (US$9,700).
These bungalows are typically tenanted on two- or three-year terms. The rental prices are influenced by market conditions, and it is not advisable to compare them with the rental price of a private good class bungalow in different time periods, said the minister.
According to the State Property Information Online (SPIO) website – the SLA portal that shows state properties available for rent – a house at 2 Seton Close in Orchard was tenanted for S$42,800 per month.
It has an estimated gross floor area of 4,629 sq ft and a land area of 36,705 sq ft.
With seven bedrooms and six bathrooms, the detached house attracted two bids – the other being S$35,000. Bidding closed on Feb 10.