WHILE Mr Wong Shih Shen's comments may make sense in many instances ("Look at big picture, work towards mitigating risk"; last Friday), the sad fact is that there is no one solution to the concerns of safety, security, peace and property damage expressed by the opponents to short-term rental.
There are many private condominiums, not to mention landed homes which are built very close to one another, in Singapore.
The authorities have limited options to intervene if an owner has a complaint against a neighbour who is a lessee. The situation is worse if the lessee were on a one- or two-day contract.
The issue is not whether the Government can come up with a set of regulations to ring-fence the risks. What if your neighbour lessee were to hold a wild party in your estate? What if the same person were to damage common property out of spite? How can the authorities intervene when the visitor has already left the country?
The true economic beneficiaries of short-term rental are probably absentee property owners who have invested in property, for example, shoebox apartments, and now want to recover their investment.
All the talk about cross-cultural interchange is a red herring, because there are other ways of achieving the same objective. For example, there are apps that enable owners to exchange stays with like-minded owners from other countries.
Christopher Tang Wei Ling
There are many private condominiums, not to mention landed homes which are built very close to one another, in Singapore.
The authorities have limited options to intervene if an owner has a complaint against a neighbour who is a lessee. The situation is worse if the lessee were on a one- or two-day contract.
The issue is not whether the Government can come up with a set of regulations to ring-fence the risks. What if your neighbour lessee were to hold a wild party in your estate? What if the same person were to damage common property out of spite? How can the authorities intervene when the visitor has already left the country?
The true economic beneficiaries of short-term rental are probably absentee property owners who have invested in property, for example, shoebox apartments, and now want to recover their investment.
All the talk about cross-cultural interchange is a red herring, because there are other ways of achieving the same objective. For example, there are apps that enable owners to exchange stays with like-minded owners from other countries.
Christopher Tang Wei Ling
