There is no need to lower rates for rental flats as they are already very affordable, said Minister for National Development, Mr Mah Bow Tan in Parliament yesterday.

"Rental flats are already heavily subsidized. There is no need to revise the rent structure as the rates are low, and are affordable to even the very low income," he said.

Households with less than $800 in monthly income pay an average of $30 per month for a one-room flat.

Those earning between $800 and $1,500 per month pay 30 per cent of the market rate. Their rents have been frozen at $110 per month for a one-room flat since 2005.

For rental households in severe financial difficulty, HDB will extend more help, as appropriate. For example, an instalment plan can be worked out to help those in rental arrears.

For those earning more than $800 per month but are in hardship due to large family size or medical bills, HDB will not impose the higher-tier rents on them.

HDB will also refer needy cases to Community Development Councils(CDCs) or Family Service Centres for help.

His response was in response to a questions from Mr Lim Biow Chuan, MP for Marine Parade GRC, on whether the government will review the household income ceiling for rental flats to take into account the increased cost of living.

He also asked the Minister how many tenants have been evicted from HDB rental flats for the past 12 months due to illegal subletting or inability to pay their rental.

In the past 12 months, HDB has terminated the tenancies of 185 tenants who illegally sublet their rental flat.

Minister Mah revealed that HDB has caught illegal subletters renting out their one-room flat for as high as $1,000 per month.

"They have abused Government subsidy and deprived the truly needy of a rental flat. We need to send a clear signal that such behaviour is not acceptable," he said.