SUPPORTING FAMILIES IN PUBLIC RENTAL FLATS
Separately, larger grants given out under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme will kick in from the next BTO sales exercise in July, said Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.
The Fresh Start scheme was rolled out in 2016 to help second-timer families with young children and living in public rental flats to purchase their own HDB flats again.
Associate Professor Faishal said 85 families have moved into their flats through support from the scheme. Another 28 have booked their flats and are waiting for their keys.
Under the scheme, two-room flexi and three-room flats are offered with shorter leases of 45 to 65 years to make them more affordable. They also come with a 20-year minimum occupation period.
Currently, eligible families can get up to S$50,000 (US$37,140) in grants. This will be raised to S$75,000 to provide lower-income families with more support, as earlier announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget statement in February.
Those eligible will receive an upfront disbursement of S$60,000 into their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Ordinary Account before collecting their home keys. Another S$15,000 will be disbursed in equal tranches over five years after key collection, said MND and HDB in their press release.
The Fresh Start scheme will also be tweaked to allow first-time home buyers with young children and living in public rental flats, to purchase flats on shorter leases.
But they will not receive the S$75,000 grant, as they will be eligible for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant which disburses up to S$120,000.
First-timer families can apply for the scheme from April. Those successful will be able to book flats starting from the first BTO exercise next year, MND and HDB said.
The enhancements to the Fresh Start scheme are expected to cost an additional S$3 million a year, with about 13,000 families with children living in public rental flats “broadly eligible”.
But not all families will have the stability and financial means to move on to home ownership, so only a “small proportion of a few hundred families” are expected to tap on the scheme, the authorities added.
As part of efforts to uplift families in need, the government will continue to improve its Public Rental Scheme which serves as a social safety net for lower-income and vulnerable households.
Applications for rental flats had surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, with waiting times rising up to 11 months, said Assoc Prof Faishal.
“Since then, HDB has streamlined the flat selection process, and reduced waiting times to an average of five months,” he told the House, adding that about 5,000 public rental flats will be built by 2030 to further reduce waiting times.
