Hawkers Required To Operate Stalls Personally To Prevent Subletting: NEA

Those unable to do so can appoint a joint operator or nominee, says agency

- Rhea Yasmine

Hawker centre stallholders are required to operate their stalls personally as a measure to prevent subletting, said the National Environment Agency (NEA).

This comes after hawker Noorman Mubarak complained in a Feb 18 Facebook post that he was forced to make his heavily pregnant wife stand in their nasi lemak stall at Yishun Park Hawker Centre.

They had received an NEA warning for violating the tenancy agreement on account of his wife, the registered stallholder, not being physically at the stall.

He noted that according to the tenancy agreement, stall owners must manage their stalls personally, but took issue that this means being physically present at the stall.

Responding on Feb 20, an NEA spokesperson said subletting a hawker stall would "drive up rental prices and food prices to the detriment of Singaporeans".

If stallholders are unable to operate their stalls personally, they can appoint a joint stall operator or a nominee to do so, NEA added.

Besides this, NEA also offers support to those who have to temporarily close their stalls, such as through rental rebates, the spokesperson said.