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SINGAPORE – Approximately 4,600 families in public rental housing have become Housing Board (HDB) apartment owners in the past five years through various housing plans and grants.
By 2023, HDB will offer assistance to about 1,000 families to do the same.
Among the 4,600 households, three out of four bought a flat directly from HDB, while the rest bought a resale flat on the open market, the HDB said on Sunday (Feb 7).
More than half of these households bought a three-bedroom apartment, while a quarter bought four-bedroom apartments, he added.
About two-thirds of rental households that purchased an apartment had turned to housing grants like the CPF Improved Housing Grant (EHG), which was introduced in September 2019 and dispenses up to $ 80,000 in grants to eligible buyers.
Others had also turned to the CPF Additional Housing Grant (AHG) and the CPF Special Housing Grant (SHG), which awarded up to $ 40,000 in grants each. These two grants are now superseded by the EHG.
Families with at least one child under the age of 18 who live in public rental flats and who had previously purchased a subsidized flat can also purchase a two-bedroom flex flat through the Fresh Start housing scheme.
About 100 families have been included in the scheme since it began in December 2016, the National Development Ministry said in a parliamentary response written last Monday.
There are currently around 50,000 households living in public rental flats.
By 2023, around 1,000 rental homes that have been preliminarily assessed for potential and are ready to purchase an apartment will be contacted by HDB’s Home Ownership Support Team (HST) via phone calls, presentations and other media, the HDB said.
Factors such as income stability and the household’s ability to pay for an apartment are taken into consideration when HDB conducts such assessments.
The HST was created in 2019 to guide public rental families through their homeownership journey, from planning and budgeting for the purchase of their apartment to the moment they collect the keys to their home.
By the end of 2020, the team has contacted 654 rental households.
Of these, 50 families, or 8 percent, have reserved flats and 177 families, or 27 percent, should be ready to apply for a flat in the next one or two years.
The remaining homes are in the evaluation process or are not ready to apply for a short-term flat.
The team will continue to track the progress of the remaining households and help them move into home ownership, when feasible, the HDB said.
Technician Jumali Remin, 43, is among the 4,600 families who now own an HDB floor.
Jumali and his wife, who is a child care educator, along with five children between the ages of one and nine, moved into their four-bedroom HDB resale apartment in Punggol last month, after seeking guidance from the HST earlier. from last year.
“Initially, we were a bit hesitant about whether we could afford a two-bedroom apartment, but after working out our finances and budget with the team, we are happy to hear that we could afford one,” he said.
“Having lived in a two-bedroom rental apartment for almost a decade, we never imagined that one day we would be able to own a flat … It was something we had dreamed of for a long time and seeing it finally materialize is one of the most happy of our lives, “he said.
Ms Mehroo Nisha Banu Mohamed, 33, who works part-time as a SafeEntry officer, shared the sentiment. She and her husband, a security officer, have booked a built-to-order (BTO) three-bedroom flat in Tengah, which will be ready in 2025.
Until then, the couple and their three children, ages seven, 11 and 14, will be living in their two-bedroom rental flat in Bukit Merah.
“We never thought we would be homeowners. At first, we weren’t sure if we could afford to buy our own flat … But with the help of the team, we understood much better where we are and what we could afford, depending on our circumstances.” , said.
“Now that we have secured our BTO floor, I am very excited and we really want to collect our keys in a few years,” she added.
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