CRITICISM OF COST INCREASES
Another stallholder estimated a 10 per cent drop in sales after Punggol Coast’s opening.
She said that when she suggested Timbre do more marketing for One Punggol, she was asked what kind of marketing she hoped to see.
“If we know what to do, we will do it ourselves already,” said the hawker, who requested not to be named as she said stallholders had been told not to speak to the media.
She also criticised higher costs charged by Timbre when stallholders renewed their licences in 2024, saying they had “no choice” but to accept the charges.
The higher costs were laid out in a letter from Timbre to the hawker dated Aug 13, 2024, which was seen by CNA.
In the letter, Timbre wrote that the increase reflected current market conditions and that it was still subsidising “overall costs at the centre level”.
“We recognise the potential impact on stallholders and have therefore implemented the increase in two phases to help mitigate the effect,” stated Timbre.
It also reserved the right not to renew the licence for stallholders with outstanding costs not paid before Aug 14, 2024.
In the first phase from Aug 15, 2024 to Aug 14, 2025, non-variable charges rose by a total of S$480 (US$370) a month from the initial term beginning on Nov 1, 2022.
Rent rose from S$1,620 to S$1,800, service and conservancy (S&C) charges went up from S$150 to S$250, and table cleaning fees jumped from S$500 to S$700.
Variable charges also increased. Dishwashing initially cost 12 cents a piece, capped at S$1,000. This rose to 20 cents a piece, capped at S$2,000.
Use of the kitchen exhaust fan started out free, but a monthly charge capped at S$150 was introduced with the licence renewal.
In the second phase from Aug 15, 2025 to Aug 14, 2027, only the S&C charges increased by S$100 to S$350.
Mdm Lim said that over the past year, she paid S$2,100 to S$2,200 a month for table cleaning and dishwashing.
In 2023, the median monthly stall rent was S$1,700 at SEHCs. The median rent for all non-subsidised cooked food stalls in hawker centres managed by NEA was around S$1,250 between 2015 and 2023.
Mdm Lim described her S$2,000 monthly rent as a “very good rate”, provided that the hawker centre’s management supports the stall’s needs.
“I hope there is a better management (that) comes in to help us to solve the problem we’re facing,” she said.
