Rising rents lead some Siglap Drive shops to close

At least 3 have shut since 2024; increase in mortgage rates cited as factor for rent hikes

- Isabelle Liew

Rental hikes at a stretch of 16 shophouses in Siglap Drive have driven at least three tenants to close down since 2024.

Another two businesses told The Straits Times they will follow suit before the end of 2025.

One of the business owners, Ms Heidi Tan, said she did not expect the quiet enclave of private homes—which does not get high foot traffic and is a distance from the nearest MRT station—to attract such high rents.

Ms Tan, who has run cake shop Flor Patisserie there for 12 years, will move out by early July because her landlord intends to raise the monthly rent from $5,400 to $8,500—a 57 per cent increase.

"If I were to take on $8,500, my only choice is to increase our prices, and that will only alienate my customers more. It is a lose-lose situation where the only winner is perhaps the landlord," said Ms Tan, who took to social media in April to highlight what she called an "exorbitant" rent increase.

The post, which drew public attention and was picked up by various media outlets, highlights the situation as an example of how businesses in many areas are trying to cope with rising rents.

When ST visited the stretch of shophouses on May 16, it found six of the 16 units there vacant.

Checks with former tenants found that three of the units had closed over the past year after their rents were raised.

In one particular case, a landlord had asked for rent to be doubled from $5,000 to $10,000.