Written answer by Ministry of National Development on Number of Approved Applicants for Public Rental Flats Yet to Complete Flat Selection and Average Waiting Times

Feb 5, 2025

Question No: 6518

Question by: Ms He Ting Ru

To ask the Minister for National Development (a) as of 31 December 2024, what is the number of approved applicants for public rental flats who have not yet selected their flats; and (b) what has been the waiting time for rental flat selection, broken down into regions.

Answer:

As at 31 December 2024, there were about 800 approved applicants awaiting allocation of a public rental flat. Of these applicants, about 40% had a chance to select a flat previously but did not do so.

There is no difference in waiting time for rental flat selection by regions, as all approved applicants can select from available rental flats across Singapore. The average waiting time for a rental flat is currently five months, which has reduced from a peak of eight months in 2021 and 2022. HDB is continuing to work towards further reducing the waiting time.

For applicants who are in urgent need of a rental flat due to exceptional circumstances, HDB will expedite their applications for flat selection on a case-by-case basis.