15 SEPTEMBER 2009

Question No. 151
Question by: Mr Hri Kumar Nair

Mr Hri Kumar Nair asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current average waiting period for the allocation of rental flats; (b) how does the Ministry prioritise applications; and (c) whether there is any requirement for occupiers of rental flats to take active steps to improve their financial position.

Answer

1      About a year ago, the average waiting period for a rental flat was 21 months.  I am pleased to inform the Member that the average waiting period currently has dropped to about 13 months¹.

2      The reduced waiting period is the result of HDB’s multi-pronged approach to manage the rental flat supply and demand.

3      On the supply side, HDB resumed building rental flats in 2007.   Since then, 1,400 flats have been added to the rental stock.  By 2012, 8,000 new rental units will be added to the current stock of 42,000.

4      On the demand side, in February this year, Members will recall that HDB introduced a set of revised rental eligibility criteria. For those who have enjoyed one housing subsidy, HDB will take into account their assets, including proceeds from the last flat sale. Those who previously owned private property will not qualify for a rental flat.  In addition, if the applicant has children who own private property or HDB flat with room(s) that may accommodate him, he would not qualify.  Approved applicants are added to the queue according to their date of applications.  For those already in the rental queue before February when the revised eligibility criteria took effect, they will retain their queue positions if they satisfy the revised criteria.

5      Rental tenants, especially younger households, are encouraged to work towards home ownership.  Where appropriate, HDB will refer tenants to the Community Development Centres for employment assistance.  Those who have not previously bought a subsidised flat may qualify for the Additional Housing Grant to purchase their first flat.  Through these various efforts, some rental tenants will be able to move to home ownership by improving their income over time.  HDB also reviews the rental tenancies every 2 years to ensure that rental flats, which are heavily subsidized, cater to the truly needy.

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¹This refers to the average waiting time of applicants who were invited to select a rental flat in Aug 09.

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