‘Small proportion’ of shophouse leases in Kampong Gelam saw rent increases of 25% or more: Syed Harun

While the median rent of historic shop houses in the Kampong Gelam district increased at a moderate pace, a small proportion of leases signed between 2023 and 2025 saw higher rental increases of 25 per cent or higher, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for the Ministry for National Development Syed Harun shared in Parliament on Feb. 3.

This includes leases along streets with high footfall, like Haji Lane or Bali Lane.

Syed was responding to supplementary questions raised by Jalan Besar GRC MP Denise Phua.

Phua represents the Kampong Gelam ward of Jalan Besar GRC.

Some leases saw 25 per cent rent increase

Responding to questions raised in Parliament, Syed explained that the majority of leases in Kampong Gelam saw moderate rent increases below nominal GDP growth and were comparable to the central area.

This was about 2 per cent per annum.

However, he noted that rental "might not be homogeneous across the entire district".

He then shared that a small proportion of leases, particularly those in high footfall streets like Haji Lane and Bali Lane, signed between 2023 and 2025 saw higher rental increases of 25 per cent or higher.

"Some of these leases were previously contracted at below market rates, and therefore, subsequent to that, they may have experienced a larger increase from their low base when the rates normalised towards the prevailing market rates," he further explained.

However, their rental rates remained around 20 to 60 per cent below that of conventional retail spaces in the central area.

Syed also mentioned that some data cited in media reports may be based on "anecdotal or incomplete data", and they may not be representative of the overall rental situation in Kampong Gelam.

Rent increase comparable to central area

Earlier in the exchange, Phua asked about initiatives to moderate rent increases in heritage districts such as Chinatown and Kampong Gelam.

Aljunied GRC MP Fadli Fawzi also asked if the government was aware of bidding wars and subletting driving up rents in Kampong Gelam.

Taking the questions together, Syed noted that rents in areas such as Kampong Gelam, Little India and Chinatown have increased at a moderate pace comparable to that of conventional retail spaces in the central area.

The rate, 2 per cent per annum, is lower than nominal GDP growth in the same period.

Syed also noted the recent closure of the long-time nasi padang eatery Warong Nasi Pariaman in Kampong Gelam and highlighted that a family representative said the closure was unrelated to rent increases.

Phua then pointed out that the central district is "big", and asked if the central areas used to compare with rents in the heritage district were the "appropriate segment".

She also asked Syed to provide the data source, which he cited.

Top image via Wikimedia Common