MUIS defends policy of charging market-rate rent for wakaf properties

By charging tenants rent at market rates, wakaf properties can keep generating income for the causes they support, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) said on Feb 11.

- Syarafana Shafeeq

It was responding to public concern over its management of such properties in Kampong Gelam, where heritage businesses have reported being priced out of the area by rising rents.

A wakaf is an Islamic religious endowment comprising land or assets bequeathed by Muslims for religious or charitable purposes. In Singapore, these assets — including shophouses and commercial buildings - are managed by MUIS. The income goes to mosques, madrasahs, the needy and other charitable causes.

In Kampong Gelam, 26 shophouses are on wakaf land. There are more than 600 shophouses in the precinct.

In its Feb 11 statement, MUIS said that trustees of wakaf properties, called mutawallis, ensure that these properties are regularly maintained and rented out “at rates you'd expect to pay in the regular property market”.

This is so that properties can keep generating income for the beneficiaries specified in each wakaf deed.