Desmond Lee
Singapore
“The Leadership, Enrichment, Achievement, Participation and Service (LEAPS) 2.0 is a framework for recognising student participation and achievement in secondary school co-curricular programmes.”
“The Ministry of Education (MOE) is mindful of the impact that rising temperatures may have on our students, teachers and officials taking part in the National School Games. Matches are scheduled only after students have had the time to train and become progressively more heat acclimatised.”
“As shared in Parliament in March 2026, the proportion of students with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools has remained stable, at around 7% of the overall student population. This stability is observed across both primary and secondary schools.”
“The Ministry recruits and assesses applicants based on merit and suitability for the teaching profession, regardless of gender. We look for individuals with a passion for teaching, a belief in the potential of every child, and who possess the values and character to make a positive difference in students' lives.”
“Over the past five years, an average of 750 teachers resigned from the Education Service annually, representing a resignation rate of around 2%.”
“MOE has also progressively strengthened open access within the Primary 1 Registration Framework through Phase 2C, which is open to students regardless of whether they have prior connections to the school. MOE had increased the number of reserved Phase 2C places from zero to 20 in 2014; and from 20 to 40 in 2022.”
The complete record
Every one of 3,698 lines we hold for Desmond Lee, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 30 of 74.
“The typical HDB full-height window comprises two portions – the upper and lower portions. The upper portion usually comes with movable parts, such as casement windows or sliding windows. As these casement windows or sliding windows are used by flat owners and contained within their flats, they are responsible for the maintenance of these windows, including repairing or replacing them when damaged. It is also stipulated in the Memorandum of Lease that HDB flat owners are responsible to maintain the fixtures and fittings of their flat, including windows, in good working condition. The lower portion of the full height window is installed with fixed window panels. These fixed window panels are designed to take lateral loads and act as a safety barrier for the occupants. This lower portion of the full height window is considered common property, to be maintained by the Town Council, as provided for under the Building Maintenance and Strata Maintenance Act and Town Councils Act. In the past five years, HDB has received about 40 reports from residents regarding cracks in the glass panel of casement/sliding windows in full height windows. The majority of these cases were damaged casement window glass panels due to the slamming of window panels during strong wind conditions. The flat owners were advised to engage window contractors to repair them. Feedback on cracks on the lower fixed glass panels are rare. Thus far, we are only aware of one such case. As the lower fixed glass panel is common property, HDB will refer residents to the Town Council and the Town Council will carry out the repairs. Some flat owners may install solar film on their windows to block sun glare.”
“The replacement of clothes drying racks is offered as an Essential Improvement under the Home Improvement Programme and is fully subsidised for Singapore Citizen households. The new external retractable clothes drying rack (ER-CDR) enhances the safety of residents by mitigating the risk of them falling from height when putting out bamboo poles laden with wet and heavy laundry. Since 2000, there have been more than 100 cases where bamboo poles have fallen from height. Over the same period, six people had died and four injured after they fell out of their windows while trying to put out bamboo poles. The replacement of pipe sockets with the ER-CDR also involves an external fixture to HDB flats that is necessary for safety reasons. It makes sense to carry out the works across the board in one exercise. Therefore, ER-CDR is deemed an essential rather than optional component. Residents looking for alternatives, such as an indoor clothes-drying rack, can purchase one from suppliers on the market, who will also arrange for installation. Residents in ground-floor flats with existing pipe sockets will be given the option to choose whether to install the ER-CDR as the use of bamboo poles and pipe sockets on the ground floor does not involve the hanging of laundry from height, and thus does not pose a risk to the residents themselves or to passers-by on the ground floor.”
“We work closely with the community to promote human-wildlife coexistence, as part of our holistic approach to wildlife management. For example, National Parks Board (NParks) and HDB have been engaging residents living near nature areas, such as in the Bidadari estate, on how to sensitively appreciate local biodiversity. At HDB’s MyNiceHome Roadshows, NParks has shared about common wildlife species that residents may encounter near their homes, as well as tips on how they can safely share spaces with wildlife. NParks and HDB will continue to work together to engage residents living close to nature areas on strategies for human-wildlife coexistence. We will also continue to engage the wider community on these issues, through platforms, such as school assembly talks and public webinars.”
“HDB regularly updates the application rates during the application period of a BTO exercise and this information is displayed on HDB InfoWEB for applicants’ reference. From past launches, about 40% of invited flat applicants do not proceed to book a flat. Thus, an application rate of not more than 1.7 times would give the flat applicants a good chance of securing a unit.”
“First-timer (FT) families who have been unsuccessful in two or more attempts for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat in the non-mature estates (NMEs) receive an additional ballot chance for each subsequent NME BTO application. Virtually all FT families who apply for NME BTO flats are successful within their first three tries. However, the count of unsuccessful NME BTO applications will be reset to zero if an FT family chooses not to book a flat when offered a chance to do so in any BTO or SBF exercises. FT families who choose not to book a flat will also be issued a non-selection count. FT families who accumulate two non-selection counts will have their subsequent flat applications moved to the second-timer category for a year. Nevertheless, HDB may exercise flexibility on a case-by-case basis to waive the non-selection count if there were limited number of flats available for selection, although the count of previous unsuccessful NME BTO applications will still be reset to zero. Therefore, we strongly encourage applicants to select a flat when given the chance to do so. The details of FT families who were unsuccessful in BTO exercises in NMEs each year since 2018 are tabulated below. As seen from the table, most FT families who applied for NME BTO flats in each year are successful and the vast majority of them are successful within two tries. For FT families who had three or more unsuccessful attempts, it is largely because they had rejected a chance to book a flat in an earlier sales exercise. To increase their chances of securing a flat, applicants can apply for a flat in a town or flat type that has a relatively lower application rate.”
“All applicants who meet the eligibility criteria for the Public Rental Scheme will be allocated a flat. HDB will also expedite the allocation for applicants who are in urgent need of a flat, such as those with medical grounds or other exceptional circumstances. We, therefore, have no plans to provide interim rental subsidies. Providing direct rental subsidies may also drive up rents and make it more expensive for other families to rent on the open market. HDB will continue to assess all applicants for public rental based on their households’ circumstances and assist those in need.”
“The Building and Construction Authority's (BCA's) Accessibility Fund (AF) provides funding support for private building owners who undertake voluntary upgrading of their buildings to improve accessibility. AF co-funds up to 80% of the construction cost of basic accessibility features, such as ramps, lifts and accessible toilets, and up to 60% of the construction cost of Universal Design features, including family-friendly facilities. Twenty-five building owners applied for AF from 2019 to 2021. Four of these applications included the provision of family-friendly features, such as lactation rooms, diaper changing stations and other child-friendly sanitary facilities. BCA enhanced AF on 1 August 2022 to encourage more building owners to undertake voluntary upgrading works to improve the accessibility of their buildings. Under the enhanced AF, buildings that were built between 1990 and 2014 are eligible for up to $100,000 in funding support for the construction of Universal Design features, including family-friendly facilities.”
“HDB offers HDB concessionary loans to eligible flat buyers to support them in their home ownership aspirations. HDB flat buyers may also seek alternative financing options at competitive interest rates from financial Institutions (FIs). It is not the intent of HDB to compete with FIs in the mortgage financing market. In the United States, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were established to purchase mortgages from FIs, providing FIs with the capacity to grant more mortgages. The context in Singapore is different. Our FIs have sound capital positions and stable funding, and their mortgage lending is not constrained by a lack of available funding. Thus, there is no need for the Government to set up entities similar to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to finance FIs and support mortgage lending. HDB will continue to focus on its core mission of providing affordable and accessible public housing for Singaporeans.”
“In 2021, HDB received 145 requests from single unwed parents to purchase a flat from HDB. Almost all of the requests were approved, except for 13 requests which were unsuccessful because the applicants either did not submit the required documents for HDB’s evaluation, did not have sufficient budget to buy a flat, or exceeded the income ceiling to purchase a flat from HDB.”
“HDB flats are meant for long-term owner-occupation, and the minimum occupation period (MOP) ensures that flat buyers purchase HDB flats with the intent of living in the flat. This safeguards HDB flats for households with genuine housing needs and deters speculative purchases, thereby helping to keep HDB flats affordable. Given the prime locations and the additional subsidies provided for flats offered under the Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) model, it is even more critical that we reduce possible speculative demand and prioritise flats for genuine owner-occupiers. MOP for PLH flats is, therefore, set at 10 years. PLH projects also offer 3- and 4-room flats for young couples starting a family. In addition, MOP for other new and resale flats in non-PLH projects remains at five years. This gives home seekers a range of housing options to meet different needs. We are committed to support the marriage and parenthood aspirations of Singaporeans. To meet the strong housing demand, HDB has been ramping up the supply of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats. HDB will launch up to 23,000 flats per year in 2022 and 2023 and is prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, if needed. With effect from the August 2022 BTO exercise, more BTO units in non-mature estates will also be set aside for first-timer applicants. Buyers can also choose from a wide range of resale flats for different budgets and needs, and these flats are, generally, ready for immediate occupation. We will continue to review our policies to ensure affordable and accessible public housing for all Singaporeans and to support Singaporeans in owning their first home.”
“Any new measures will be carefully studied and implemented in phases where necessary, and we will provide the necessary support to help affected stakeholders adapt to any changes that are introduced. In the meantime, we encourage members of the public to share their views by taking part in our survey and upcoming engagement sessions, as we work together to improve our policies for cat management and welfare.”
“In September this year, NParks launched a six-month public consultation exercise on our proposed cat management framework. The framework aims to promote responsible cat ownership and caregiving, while safeguarding public health and ensuring the well-being of our pet and community cats. Following the public consultation, we aim to complete our review, including the possibility of allowing pet cats in HDB flats, in the later part of next year. As we review HDB’s pet ownership policies, we will carefully consider the feedback received through our various consultation channels. These include our online survey, which has gathered close to 30,000 responses so far, and our upcoming community dialogues and focus group discussions. In conducting the review, we will continue to balance the needs of different segments of the community, such as residents who would like to keep cats in their flats, and others who may have concerns about the disamenities caused by irresponsible cat ownership. We will also place importance on protecting public health and animal welfare. For example, the possibility of regularising the keeping of pet cats in HDB flats will be studied alongside the proposal to introduce a licensing and microchipping scheme for pet cats. This would improve the traceability of pet cats, so that we can respond to animal disease outbreaks more effectively and better protect public health. In addition, this would allow us to hold irresponsible cat owners to greater account if their cats are found to be neglected, abused or abandoned. We will also be mindful of the circumstances of existing cat owners, including those with multiple cats.”
“We will also work closely with the source and destination countries and assist international organisations, such as CITES and INTERPOL, with their further investigations and enforcement efforts on this case.”
“On 4 October this year, NParks seized 20 pieces of rhinoceros horns from the check-in baggage of a South African national travelling from South Africa to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic through Changi Airport. The horns were detected by airport security, and NParks’ K9 unit assisted in their identification. They weighed 34.25 kilograms and were estimated to be worth around S$1.2 million. The owner of the baggage has been arrested and is under investigation. Our agencies adopt a whole-of-Government approach to combat illegal wildlife trade and illicit monetary flows linked to it. Under the Endangered Species (Import and Export) Act (ESA), it is an offence to trade in all rhinoceros species, including their parts, without the requisite permits. This is because rhinoceros species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). NParks is investigating this case for offences under ESA. It is also an offence under the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act to launder the benefits derived from wildlife trade offences. As such, the Commercial Affairs Department of the Singapore Police Force is working with NParks to investigate if there are money laundering activities linked to this case. MAS also supervises financial institutions, which are subject to strict requirements against money laundering. If there are breaches against these requirements, MAS will take robust enforcement actions against the financial institutions. As part of their investigations, agencies are also looking into whether there are any associations with organised crime.”
“HDB precincts are designed to provide residents with convenient access to a variety of common spaces and amenities, such as playgrounds, fitness corners and community gardens. In the design and provision of precinct amenities, HDB takes proactive design measures to minimise noise disturbances, for example, by locating playgrounds and fitness courts away from residential units. If Town Councils (TCs) face localised noise issues arising from the use of common spaces and facilities under their management, TCs can also implement measures to encourage considerate behaviour, such as switching off the lights in the shared facilities during rest hours and putting up advisory notices. HDB will continue to explore practical solutions to mitigate noise. However, it will not be useful to site such common facilities too far from residential blocks, which may make them inaccessible. Therefore, it is important for residents to be considerate towards their neighbours, such as by keeping the noise level down when going about their daily activities, especially during quiet hours, so as to provide a harmonious living environment for all. The Community Advisory Panel on Neighbourhood Noise will be recommending a set of community norms that residents should adopt to better manage neighbourhood noise by the end of the year.”
“HDB flats are primarily meant for owner-occupation. Nonetheless, HDB flat owners are allowed to rent out their whole flat after meeting the required minimum occupation period. Flat owners must seek HDB’s approval before renting out their flats and must comply with the terms and conditions for flat rental, including the occupancy cap, during the tenancy. The occupancy cap, set at four persons for 1- and 2-room flats and six persons for 3-room and larger flats, serves to minimise the potential disamenities caused by overcrowding in our public housing estates and maintain a conducive living environment for all residents. It is the responsibility of flat owners to ensure that there is no overcrowding or further renting out by their tenants during the period of rental. HDB carries out regular flat inspections to ensure that the occupancy cap is adhered to, and investigates public feedback received on suspected cases where the cap has been exceeded. Besides operating a dedicated hotline for the public to report suspected infringements, HDB also organises community programmes and publicises cases of action taken against flat owners to deter flat owners from breaching the rental rules. Depending on the severity and circumstances of the infringement, HDB may issue a written warning, impose a financial penalty of up to $50,000 or acquire the flats compulsorily from the owners.”
“HDB car parks are not common property and, therefore, do not come under the management and maintenance of Town Councils (TCs). However, the Town Councils Act allows TCs to manage and maintain HDB car parks on terms and conditions mutually agreed between HDB and TCs. In this regard, HDB offers TCs the option to serve as the maintenance agent for HDB car parks, as there may be operational synergies in TCs doing so. For instance, TCs can, potentially, obtain lower prices from calling bulk tenders for maintenance services. TCs can also better coordinate the scheduling of maintenance works to minimise disruption to residents. HDB ensures that the fees are fairly set in a number of ways. In determining the maintenance fees, HDB considers both TCs’ submissions of their operating costs for maintenance of car park equipment, such as pumps and fire protection systems, as well as the equivalent private sector rates to ensure that TCs are compensated fairly relative to market prices. It then adds an agency fee to TCs. The maintenance agreement period is, typically, three years. So, this allows for regular review of the fees. In addition, TCs can assess and decide if they wish to serve as HDB’s maintenance agent. Should TCs decline the offer to maintain HDB’s car parks, HDB will procure alternative maintenance services via tender.”
“Mr Saktiandi Supaat and Mr Sharael Taha both asked about the residential rental markets, their impact on Singapore’s ability to attract talent and whether the Government is considering measures to curb predatory behaviour by landlords. The Government monitors the property market closely, including the residential rental market. The increase in residential rental demand in recent quarters can be attributed to the demand for temporary accommodation due to COVID-19-related construction delays to residential development projects, and broad-based demand arising from the robust recovery from COVID-19. To facilitate fair tenancy contracts, the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA) publishes publicly available resources, such as Tenancy Agreement templates, as well as information on checks that all parties should perform during the rental transaction process. In the event of a breach of contract, there are established legal procedures for aggrieved parties to seek recourse through civil action. The Government is monitoring the market closely as rising rental prices may affect Singaporeans who need to rent, as well as global talent. That said, global talent considers many factors besides rental prices when making relocation decisions. These include Singapore's standing as a global business hub, our strong external connectivity, our good trade links, our education and healthcare standards and the quality of life. Global benchmarks show that Singapore continues to remain an attractive destination. For example, in INSEAD’s Global Talent Competitiveness Index in 2022, Singapore ranked top in Asia and second in the world for attracting and developing talent.”
“The Government considers various factors when planning the half-yearly Government Land Sales (GLS) supply for private housing. These include prevailing economic and market conditions, demographic trends and the adequacy of supply to meet demand over the near to medium term. We have increased the supply of private housing on the Confirmed List of the GLS programme by 75%, from around 3,600 units in 2021 to around 6,300 units in 2022. We are prepared to increase the GLS supply further, if needed. The Government will continue to monitor the economic and property market conditions closely and adjust our policies as necessary to promote a stable and sustainable property market.”
“But, already, we have in the community active ageing centres, eldercare centres that provide programming as well as some degree of care for our seniors. And that is work that we do very closely with MOH and the Agency for Integrated Care and we will continue to see how we can further strengthen the tie-up between the social and community facility for seniors, surrounding partners and community agencies and RCs.”
“As I mentioned, integrated kampungs like Kampung Admiralty and the upcoming Heart of Yew Tee are efforts to vertically integrate services that we think would be beneficial to our seniors, beneficial to intergenerational bonding and also beneficial to social and community partners who want to work much closer together to support our seniors. These kinds of developments, we have got one more coming up. We will look at opportunities to develop more, where possible. But, again, it depends on land availability. And as we study the first and, of course, the upcoming Heart of Yew Tee project, we continue to glean learnings from that as we look for opportunities to try out further integrated kampung-type amenities. Principally, they also save land by maximising the plot of land. The Member asked about whether it is possible to repurpose existing flats. That has been our effort all this while. For seniors, there is a whole range of options – ageing in place, as I discussed earlier with Mr Liang Eng Hwa, both living in their existing flats and having monetisation options but also downsizing to a smaller flat and getting a Silver Housing Bonus. For those who live in situ, we have the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme where we put in grab bars, non-slip flooring in the toilet, ramps and, even in the front of the flat, wheelchair lifters and ramps for wheelchairs, if necessary. And will continue to study what more can be done in order to make our homes more senior-friendly. In that regard, HDB works very closely with the Agency for Integrated Care and the community to support our seniors living in situ, living in their existing flats.”
“For the upcoming November BTO exercise, we will be launching our second Community Care Apartments (CCAs) pilot situated within the Health District at Queenstown. CCAs will be built together with the BTO flats in the same precinct, promoting intergenerational bonding as seniors living at CCAs and young families living nearby will all be part of the same community.”
“Sir, Kampung Admiralty is a first-of-its-kind development, which integrates housing for the elderly with a wide range of social, healthcare, communal, commercial and retail facilities. As the name suggests, we hope to foster a “kampung” spirit where residents of all ages live, interact and look out for one another. Feedback and outcomes from the project have been positive. For instance, residents indicate that they feel a strong sense of well-being and belonging to their community. They also experienced high satisfaction in terms of ease of mobility, maintenance and safety in their estates. Service providers also reported that the co-location of facilities and close proximity to residents enabled them to form better partnerships with one another, especially when organising intergenerational activities. Following the success of Kampung Admiralty, HDB launched the next integrated development, Heart of Yew Tee, at Yew Tee Close in 2021. This development will integrate housing for the elderly with community facilities, such as a hawker centre, polyclinic, community club and a kidney dialysis centre. HDB will continue to explore opportunities to develop more of such “vertical kampungs”, to foster stronger community bonds amongst Singaporeans, taking into consideration the availability of suitable sites and the needs of residents. Beyond launching such integrated developments, HDB also takes a concerted approach in designing our residential spaces to encourage inter-generational bonding and bring greater convenience to our residents, for example, by co-locating childcare and eldercare facilities, where possible, in new BTO developments.”
“But they want a smaller flat in their neighbourhood that they are familiar in. So, ageing-in-place is not just about living in the same flat, though many view it as such. But others view ageing-in-place as ageing in a more manageable, smaller flat, in the same community, in the same estate, familiar with their neighbours, familiar with the shopkeepers and the surroundings. That is why, in addition to the Lease Buyback Scheme, we also have the Silver Housing Bonus to help those who right-size. But the Member is right that we want to make sure that our seniors are aware of this option and understand the details. There is some degree of technicality in Lease Buyback Scheme. And, so, we work with media outlets, we organise public talks and seminars in English and in vernacular. We do mini exhibitions and also enquiry booths at local community events to help spread the word about Lease Buyback Scheme. Seniors who are interested in the Lease Buyback Scheme or at least interested to understand this option, just need to call up HDB's branch office or branch service line to arrange a financial counselling session. At these sessions, HDB will explain personalised information on their options – so, very specific to the senior, such as the different lease lengths they qualify for and the indicative proceeds for these options. And if seniors need time to consider or have further questions, HDB will gladly arrange another appointment to offer further advice.”
“Let me deal with the second question first. When the Lease Buyback Scheme was introduced and subsequently enhanced, this question arose and it continues to operate on the minds of seniors, "Will I outlive the remaining lease of my flat having sold the tail end." That is number one. Our response is, we will not allow that to happen. We will work with the senior concerned, with the relevant top-ups and ensure that they are able to continue to live in flats. This is the first. And secondly, that is precisely why we have a Home for Life requirement. So, you have to choose the right lease to retain, but that must take you to at least age 95. And that provides some assurance. Though, of course, longevity is a blessing. And we will make sure that for seniors who outlive their lease, that with the necessary top-ups and support, we will be able to provide them with housing. On the Member's first point, how to ramp up take-up of the Lease Buyback Scheme, that is how I hear him. There are many reasons why the Lease Buyback Scheme take-up is as it is. The numbers have been growing over the years, partly, due to greater awareness of the scheme, greater understanding of its details, but also because of the adjustments that have been made to the scheme over the years. Some seniors may have their own savings, they may have children who support them. Some seniors would prefer other monetisation options, such as renting out a room, renting out their whole flat, staying with their children in the meantime. Some want to age-in-place, but I am sure, in your house visits, you have heard of seniors who said, "Well, I am an empty nester. My children have all set up their own home and this flat is just too big for me to manage. I want to right-size, so that it is more manageable, more cozy".”
“Mr Speaker, since its introduction in March 2009, about 9,200 households have joined the Lease Buyback Scheme. The scheme aims to improve the retirement adequacy of elderly flat owners by enabling them to sell a portion of the lease of their HDB flat to the Government and join CPF LIFE. In return, they receive a stream of income in their retirement years, while continuing to live in their flat. When the Lease Buyback Scheme was first introduced, only owners of 3-room or smaller flats were eligible. The Scheme has since been expanded to owners of all flat types, including 5-room and larger flats. In April 2020, the maximum LBS bonus was increased by 50% across all flat types, to $30,000 for 3-room and smaller flats, $15,000 for 4-room flats and $7,500 for 5-room and bigger flats. There are various reasons why elderly flat owners may not be keen to take up the Lease Buyback Scheme. Some may have other sources of income to meet their retirement needs, while others may prefer to take up other monetisation options such as right-sizing to a smaller flat, possibly receiving a Silver Housing Bonus, or renting out spare rooms or, in fact, their flat. HDB will continue to review the housing needs of our elderly flat owners to ensure that our housing policies remain relevant and responsive to the changing needs and preferences.”
“We have said before, numerous times, we will act decisively but carefully to ensure that the property market remains in line with economic fundamentals.”
“I have given the Member the proportion of HDB flat owners who concurrently hold private property as well as HDB flats. There are about 3%. And of those who rent out their HDB flats, it is a smaller subset of that. Having said that, I have given the Member a reply that we study all options and possibilities. Members know that we do not discuss cooling measures, other than those that have already been issued. For resale flat prices, the Member is right. They have been going up in the last two years for the reasons I mentioned in the last Parliamentary Sitting. We have taken measures – both in December last year and September this year – to cool the property market by moderating demand and let the measures work their way through the market. We are also mindful of macroeconomic conditions going forward: rising interest rates, uncertainty in the economic climate globally, people being more prudent in their home purchases. So, those will also have an impact and we will need to monitor the market carefully. The Member repeats the point about million-dollar flats. Indeed, these headline-grabbing prices have caused concern and fuelled market psychology, causing people to worry, and then, hence, go into the market. That also adds to the impact we have seen on the resale market. And million-dollar flats make up, in the last two years, about 1% of all resale transactions. They tend to have very good attributes. I think the Member is aware: they tend to be jumbo flats, loft units, high floors, larger units, executive apartments, maisonettes, the 3-room type HDB flats that are legacy terrace houses. Nevertheless, with grants as well as the measures we are putting in place, we want to make sure that the property market remains in line with economic fundamentals.”
“Sir, Mr Gerald Giam has asked about HDB flat owners who concurrently own private properties and Mr Leong Mun Wai has asked a related question for the Parliamentary Sitting on 9 November. Singapore Citizen households who have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period, or MOP, of their HDB flat may buy private residential property without selling their HDB flat. Flat owners who do not dispose of their HDB flat will be subject to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty, or ABSD, of at least 17% on the purchase of their second and subsequent residential property. As at October 2022, about 3% of HDB flat owners own at least one private residential property. This proportion has fallen by about 0.3 percentage points in the last three years. Of these, about 45% are not living in their HDB flats, as they have rented out their whole flat. Another 4% of HDB flat owners are renting out one or more bedrooms of their HDB flat. These proportions have stayed stable in the last three years. Among the remaining 97% of the flat owners who do not own private residential property, about 13% are renting out their whole flat or bedrooms within their flat. This proportion has also stayed stable in the last three years. We note that Mr Gerald Giam is asking the Government to consider requiring HDB flat owners to sell their HDB flats, or dispose their HDB flats, if they buy private property. Mr Yip Hon Weng had also called for this last month. We have been gathering views from Singaporeans as part of Forward Singapore, particularly around the social compact on public housing, and will study these as well as other views and ideas carefully.”
“HDB does not track the number of cases of paintwork peeling off or debonding prematurely from the external walls and facades of recently completed BTO flats. New BTO developments come with a six-year warranty period for the external paintwork. This warranty is provided to the relevant Town Council when the blocks are handed over to the Town Council for maintenance. The warranty covers defects and imperfections, such as paint peeling, discolouration and algae growth. Beyond the warranty period, Town Councils are responsible for the maintenance of the paintwork on the walls and facades of HDB blocks.”
“Buying a home is a major financial commitment. To help home seekers plan their finances for their flat purchase, those taking an HDB housing loan will need to have a valid HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter before they book a new flat or obtain an Option to Purchase (OTP) from a resale flat seller. Those taking a housing loan from the financial institutions (FIs) regulated by MAS are required to obtain a Letter of Offer from the FIs before they sign the Agreement for Lease for their booked flat, or before they exercise the OTP for a resale flat. Since 2016, on average, more than seven in 10 new flat buyers who planned to finance their flat purchase with an HDB housing loan obtained an HLE letter before booking a flat. Those who were not able to do so due to extenuating reasons, such as needing more time to obtain supporting documents, were required to obtain an HLE letter before they signed the Agreement for Lease and made the down payment. HDB advises home seekers through various avenues to exercise financial prudence and buy a flat that is within their budget. For buyers who require further guidance, HDB conducts financial counselling to advise and work out their budgets based on the estimated HDB housing loan amount available to them. HDB also works in partnership with tertiary institutions and other agencies to reach out to prospective buyers and provide them with information to guide their housing and financing decisions. When flat buyers book a flat, HDB officers go through a financial plan with them and explain the required payments for the flat purchase. Flat buyers sign on the financial plan to acknowledge the commitment that they have made. This further ensures that they are fully aware of the financial commitments for the flat purchase.”
“Separately, under PFI, façade inspections must be conducted for buildings that are above 20 years old and more than 13 metres in height every seven years to ensure that building façades are well-maintained. Where necessary, HDB will provide assistance to flat owners to repair spalling concrete issues. Under the Goodwill Repair Assistance (GRA) scheme, HDB assists flat owners in arranging for repair works and co-pays 50% of the cost of repairs for Singapore Citizen households. The affected flat owners bear the balance 50% of the repair costs, which are capped at $300 per flat. For rental flats, HDB bears the full cost for the repair of spalling concrete. HDB also has the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) in place, for blocks built up to 1997, to systematically and proactively address common maintenance issues and provide improvements within flats to enhance the living condition of older flats. Repairs to spalling concrete and structural cracks in flats are covered under HIP.”
“Flat owners are responsible for maintaining the interior of their flats, including checking and carrying out repairs for spalling concrete. Spalling concrete occurs when steel reinforcement bars embedded in concrete corrode due to the build-up of moisture and acids in the concrete over time. It is a natural wear and tear process, but can be minimised if owners take the following preventive measures. (a) Paint the ceiling regularly as a fresh coat of paint can act as a protective layer; (b) Seal up cracks or holes in the ceiling to prevent moisture and oxygen from entering the concrete; (c) Provide sufficient ventilation in the flat by opening the windows and doors, especially in wet areas like the kitchen and toilet; and (d) Repair any spalling concrete promptly and paint the repaired area to prevent the spalled portion from spreading over time. There are inspection regimes already in place today that apply to HDB blocks, including those over 40 years old. Under the Building Control Act, BCA requires regular inspections to be conducted on buildings by professionals under the Periodic Structural Inspection (PSI) regime and Periodic Façade Inspection (PFI) regime. These inspection regimes provide a structured approach to detect and rectify building deterioration in a timely manner. Under PSI, structural inspections must be conducted for all residential buildings every 10 years to ensure that building structures are well-maintained. This includes inspections on units to check for spalling concrete and other issues, such as structural cracks. For older flats completed before 1 January 1989, as a further safety measure, HDB goes beyond the requirements of the PSI regime and conducts additional inspections at five-yearly intervals.”
“An HDB flat owner who ceases to be a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) is not allowed to retain ownership of his flat and has to relinquish his interest in it. Should the flat owner fail to relinquish his interest in the flat, HDB will compulsorily acquire it. As at 30 September 2022, there were about 90 flat owners, or less than 0.01% of HDB flat owners, who had ceased to be SPRs in 2022 and are pending the disposal of their HDB flats.”
“While Singapore Citizen (SC) households are allowed to rent out their whole flat after fulfilling the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) households are not allowed to do so even after fulfilling the MOP. Meanwhile, both SC and SPR households that own a 3-room or larger flat can rent out spare bedroom(s) at any point after key collection. For households that rent out spare bedroom(s), the flat owners and all authorised occupiers must continue to stay in the flat with the tenants while the spare bedroom(s) are being rented out. If not, the approval for renting out of bedroom(s) will be revoked and action can be taken against the flat owner under the Housing and Development Act for renting out the whole flat without approval. Actions that can be taken include imposing a financial penalty or compulsorily acquiring the flat. HDB only has data on bedroom rental from 1 May 2018 as flat owners did not need to seek HDB's approval for bedroom rental prior to that. The number of bedroom rental approvals granted to SPR households in each year is detailed in Table 1 below.”
“NParks adopts a community- and science-based approach to managing chickens in residential areas. For instance, we work with landowners to carry out habitat modification to prevent chickens from roosting close to residential units. We also engage the community to discourage the feeding of free-roaming chickens. NParks also reviews other potential population control measures, such as the use of contraceptive chicken feed. At this point, the use of Ovistop is not feasible as it requires continual and frequent feeding of the chickens to be effective. As for other methods of population control, such as sterilisation, NParks will consider the efficacy, safety and humaneness of these measures, as well as their cost sustainability in the long term. We will continue to work with the community and the Free-Roaming Chicken Taskforce to sustainably manage the population of chickens in Sin Ming Court.”
“NParks takes a community- and science-based approach to managing the issue of free-roaming chickens in residential estates. In November 2021, a group comprising residents as well as representatives from NParks, ACRES, People's Association and the Bishan-Toa Payoh Town Council was formed to manage this issue in Sin Ming Court. NParks has been providing technical advice to the group and supporting its various management measures. For example, we have conducted population surveys and have worked with landowners to carry out habitat modification to discourage chickens from roosting close to residential units. To reduce noise caused by rooster crowing, the group had also moved several roosters away from Sin Ming Court in March this year to suitable shelters, such as farms. The limit of 10 non-commercial poultry at each of these premises is to mitigate the spread of avian disease. This helps to safeguard public and animal health.”
“To date, we have announced that around 70,000 flats, or about 30% of the 230,000 flats built between 1987 and 1997, will undergo the Home Improvement Programme (HIP). As with other construction projects, the pace of HIP work has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of September 2022, HIP is ongoing for around 54,300 flats from 51 precincts while HIP work for 300 flats from one precinct have been completed. Future selections of HIP projects will be made progressively. We will take into consideration the Government's fiscal position in deciding the number of flats selected each year. We aim to complete the programme within our earlier projection of about 10 years.”
“All public rental housing applications, regardless of age and marital status, are assessed holistically and HDB will consider whether applicants have family support or alternative housing options. For single unwed parents below 21 years old who have insufficient finances and need a place to stay, HDB may consider them for public rental on a case-by-case basis if it is in their child's best interests, taking into account input from social workers if necessary. From 2018 to August 2022, HDB received 58 requests for rental flats from single unwed parents below 21 years old. About 30% of these requests were successful (see Table 1). The common reasons why requests were not successful included applicants having family members who can house them, or not providing the full information required for assessment.”
“HDB does not track the waiting times for divorced parents and unwed parents specifically. Across all public rental flat applicants, the average waiting time for the allocation of a public rental flat is, currently, about eight months. For those in urgent need of a rental flat due to exceptional circumstances, such as family violence, HDB will expedite flat allocation. Those who need immediate shelter should approach a Social Service Office, Family Service Centre or call the ComCare hotline (1800-222-0000) to seek help from Transitional Shelters or Crisis Shelters. MSF works closely with the Family Service Centres to provide temporary accommodation at the Transitional Shelters for single unwed parents or survivors of family violence who need a place to stay. MSF also works with the Family Violence Specialist Centres and PAVE Integrated Services for Individual and Family Protection Specialist Centre to refer female survivors of family violence and their children to the crisis shelters, in situations where the safety risk is high or there is no safe and suitable alternative accommodation option. At these MSF-funded shelters, the social service professionals work with the residents to address their safety, financial or emotional concerns and also assist them in securing longer-term and stable housing arrangements. There is no cap on the length of stay at these shelters. Even though shelters are available, it is often better for single unwed parents and survivors of family violence to be supported by their usual support networks of family and friends in their usual places of residence to minimise disruption to their daily routine.”
“Over the past five years, the annual average number of unoccupied HDB units ranged from about 1,400 to 3,900. These units make up approximately 0.1% to 0.4% of completed flats. These details of vacant HDB flats were given in this House on 4 October 2021 and 13 September 2022, in response to the hon Member’s respective questions filed.”
“HDB flats are meant for owner-occupation. To reinforce this principle, HDB flat owners are not allowed to, concurrently, own any private property during the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of five years or more for their flat. Nevertheless, HDB recognises that the financial position of HDB flat owners may improve over time and some may aspire to own private residential property. Hence, HDB flat owners are allowed to buy private residential property after meeting the MOP, without selling their HDB flat. Those who do not dispose of their HDB flat will be subject to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty of at least 17% on the purchase of their second and subsequent residential property. Currently, private property owners (PPOs) who want to buy an HDB flat are already required to dispose of their property before buying an HDB flat. This is to prioritise our limited supply of public housing for home seekers who do not own other properties. PPOs must wait out 30 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a new flat from the HDB or resale flat with the CPF Housing Grant. From 30 September 2022, PPOs must wait out 15 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a non-subsidised resale flat. This is a temporary measure to moderate demand for HDB resale flats. The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely to ensure that Singaporeans have access to affordable public housing.”
“Over the past two years, there has been strong, broad-based demand for housing. We see more households forming as the echo-boomer generation – those who are in their 30s today – are getting married, especially with the easing of COVID-19 measures. We also see societal trends shifting to smaller households, as young couples, singles, as well as adult children choose to buy their own homes instead of living with their parents. These aspirations for more personal space may have been accentuated by the pandemic. HDB has taken decisive steps to meet the current strong housing demand by increasing the number of flats offered under its Build-To-Order (BTO) programme. HDB is on track to launch 23,000 flats this year, a 35% increase from the BTO supply last year, and also plans to launch 23,000 flats in 2023. We are prepared to launch up to 100,000 flats in total from 2021 to 2025, if needed. MND and HDB will continue to monitor demand closely and make the necessary adjustments to meet the housing needs of Singaporeans, especially those seeking to buy their first home.”
“The HDB concessionary interest rate has been pegged at 0.10% above the prevailing CPF Ordinary Account (OA) interest rate since 1986. This is because HDB obtains the funds to issue housing loans from the Government at the CPF OA rate and includes a spread of 0.10% to recover HDB’s cost of administering loans. The HDB concessionary interest rate is, currently, 2.6% per annum and will remain at this level until 31 December 2022. HDB will continue to review the HDB concessionary interest rate quarterly, in tandem with the CPF OA rate reviews.”
“We will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely and review our housing policies to ensure that the EC Housing Scheme remains relevant in meeting the housing needs of Singaporeans. This would include adjusting the supply of future Government land sales programmes, including EC sites, as necessary.”
“The Executive Condominium (EC) Housing Scheme was introduced to provide an affordable option for higher-income Singaporeans who aspire to own private housing. ECs offer similar design features and facilities as private condominiums and are treated as strata-titled private housing after 10 years. The Government has put in place various measures to ensure that ECs are priced affordably. These include initial eligibility and ownership restrictions, such as the income ceiling of $16,000 and a minimum occupation period, to prevent speculative purchases. In addition, eligible first-timer families can receive a CPF Housing Grant of up to $30,000 for their EC purchases from developers. Since the first quarter of 2020, both the private and public housing markets have remained buoyant. The increase in housing prices reflects broad-based demand for housing, supported by the previous low interest rate environment. The Government has implemented two rounds of measures since December 2021 to moderate the housing market and encourage home buyers to exercise financial prudence in their purchases. In particular, the following measures apply to housing loans provided by private financial institutions for EC purchases: (a) tightening of the total debt servicing ratio (TDSR) threshold from 60% to 55%; and (b) raising the medium-term interest rate floor which is used to compute TDSR and mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) by 0.5 percentage point. We expect these measures to moderate the pace of housing price increases. In planning for the supply of ECs, the Government takes into consideration multiple factors, such as the existing unsold stock, take-up rate of the new EC units and prevailing market sentiments.”
“HDB flat owners who have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period for their flats may buy private property and rent out their flats. As at end-September 2022, about 3.3% of HDB flat owners own at least one private property. This proportion has declined by about 0.5 percentage points in the last five years. As at end-September 2022, about 5% of HDB sold flats were rented out.”
“Since August 2021, about 1,930 eligible families have applied for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). About 580 of them were invited to select a PPHS flat, of whom, about 330 selected and were allocated a flat and 250 did not select a flat when invited to do so, which suggests that they have other options. The remaining 1,350 applicants were unsuccessful in the ballot. The demand for PPHS flats has increased significantly since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we are on track to increase the PPHS supply from 800 in 2021 to 1,800 in 2023, the supply remains limited and we will not be able to offer a PPHS flat to every applicant. We encourage families awaiting the completion of their new flats to seek other interim housing arrangements where possible, such as staying with their family or renting on the open market. Not all flat buyers require assistance with interim housing, as many are able to find alternative housing arrangements on their own. Providing direct subsidies or grants for renting flats from the open market will likely induce demand and may drive up market rentals, which would be counter-productive as it makes renting more expensive. As such, we currently have no plans to provide PPHS flats from the open market or grants for open market rental. Low-income households with no other temporary housing options can approach HDB for assistance and HDB may offer them Interim Rental Housing on a case-by-case basis.”
“Nonetheless, we recognise that some HDB home owners may face financial difficulties as their circumstances change and we encourage such borrowers to reach out for assistance early. For HDB home owners with housing loans granted by HDB, HDB has various financial assistance measures in place to help them, which include allowing them to reduce or defer their loan instalments for six months; pay their arrears by instalments within a reasonable period; and/or extend their loan tenure to help reduce their monthly instalments. HDB home owners with housing loans from FIs should also approach their lenders early to explore solutions if they are facing difficulties servicing their loans. MND, HDB, MOM and MAS have worked with FIs to establish a standardised workflow to assist HDB flat owners in distress. This includes working with flat owners on potential loan restructuring solutions, referring them to HDB and social service agencies for assistance and, where foreclosures by banks or FIs are unavoidable, work with flat owners to source for their next accommodation. The Government will continue to ensure that public housing remains affordable and accessible for all Singaporeans.”
“Mr Speaker, the impact of rising interest rates on HDB borrowers would depend on the type of loan packages that they have taken. For those with housing loans from financial institutions (FIs), about 80% are on mortgage packages that track market interest rates, but with some lag. The remaining 20% are on mortgage packages that move in tandem with market interest rates. The second group of borrowers has seen mortgage repayments rise over the past few months. For borrowers who have taken housing loans from HDB, their mortgage repayments would not have been affected by rising interest rates, as the HDB concessionary loan rate, which is reviewed quarterly, remains unchanged at 2.6% per annum. The proportion of non-performing mortgages among HDB flat owners has remained low and stable for housing loans extended by both HDB and FIs. Credit measures, such the Loan-To-Value ratio (LTV) and Mortgage Servicing Ratio (MSR), have helped to ensure that households borrow prudently from the outset. In view of the increase in interest rates and to further encourage financial prudence in borrowing for home purchases, MAS, MND and HDB recently announced measures to promote continued sustainable conditions in the property market. MAS increased the medium-term interest rate floor used to compute the Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) and the MSR for property loans by FIs. HDB introduced an interest rate floor to compute eligible loans for housing loans granted by HDB. These measures help to ensure that HDB flat buyers take on loans prudently and are better able to service their loans should interest rates rise further.”