The National Environment Agency ( NEA ) manages all 120 hawker centres in Singapore, comprising more than 14, 000 stalls.
Dr Koh said that based on NEA’s study,  , on average, hire forms less than 10 per share of the running costs for stallholders, compared to raw materials and labor which accounted for 56 per share and 20 per share of operating costs both in 2022.
There are methods to average stalls barn prices, Dr Koh said, and these include , not setting a supply book for tenders and forbidding subletting.  ,
After the first three centuries of the lease period, he noted, tenanted prices are adjusted to the market price determined by an impartial professional assessment.  ,
The median monthly fee for a non-subsidized cooked foods barn across our stalls centers is approximately S$ 1, 250, and it has remained this low since 2015, according to Dr. Koh.  ,
He noted that the Marine Parade Central Market and Food Centre barn attracted more than 40 proposals, which was “quite aggressive.”  ,
Ultimately, this is a very well-liked center because it is opened for three meals per day, has great footfall, and is well-suited for visitors, particularly given the recent opening of a fresh MRT place and other developments close by, said Dr. Koh, referring to the beginning of Marine Parade MRT place on June 23 just next to the hawker center.  ,
While hawkers that saw an increase in sales, a dozen said the rise was temporary.  ,
In a follow-up problem, Mr Yip asked , how the government assessed the effect of increasing stalls barn leases on small business owners and aspiring peddlers, and what kind of aid will be given to them.  ,
Dr. Koh remarked that subletting or assigning stalls was against the law, in order to stop stallholders from “rent-seeking behavior,” where they pass on the high rent to the subleting stall. He continued, noting that reserve rent has been eliminated since March 2012 in the tender for vacant stalls to allow stall , rentals to “reflect fully the market conditions based on what people tendered.”
” Only about 4 % of cooked food restaurants in hawker centers are paying rent that is above the assessed market rent. For the remaining over 6, 000 stallholders, they are paying rent no higher than the assessed market rent”, said Dr Koh.  ,
He added that NEA will consider tender proposals “holistically,” including the total cost that hawkers will bear, before tenders are given to the operator, for new hawker centers under the socially conscious enterprise hawker center management model.  ,
The successful tenderer is then required to keep the same rates as the stallholders throughout the tenancy term.  , So there’s more cost certainty to many of the store operators”.