Coming soon: Bill to prevent moneylenders from using HDB flats as collateral

'Then, when people sell the flats, they get nothing and still have to pay high interest on their loans. Some even become homeless,' Jurong GRC MP Halimah Yacob told the Straits Times on Friday.

This legal loophole allows these moneylenders to file a caveat on the flat, which ensures that they get first bite of the proceeds when the flat is sold.

As such, a bill to prevent licensed moneylenders from laying first claim to the proceeds of HDB flat sales will be rushed through the House when Parliament sits on July 19.

This will put a stop to the phenomenon of credit companies giving loans to homeowners using their HDB flats as collateral, said chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee on National Development Cedric Foo. MORE