# Measures to support housing needs of Singaporeans - **Source:** Ministry of National Development - **Published:** 2019-03-07T04:35:00.000Z - **Author:** Ministry of National Development - **Original:** https://www.mnd.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/view/measures-to-support-housing-needs-of-singaporeans - **Topics:** HDB & Public Housing, New Launches, Transactions & Deals ## Featured rationale Earlier project information and faster balloting may improve purchase planning and shorten uncertainty for applicants, potentially influencing timing decisions between BTO and resale flats. ## AI summary From May 2019, HDB doubled advance notice for BTO projects to six months and reduced balloting time from six weeks to three weeks. ## Original article At the Committee of Supply debate today, the Ministry for National Development announced measures to assist Singaporeans at different life stages with their housing needs, including the elderly and lower-income families. Keeping Housing Affordable and Accessible for Singaporeans Announcing Build-To-Order Projects Six Months in Advance Currently, HDB announces upcoming Build-to-Order (BTO) projects three months in advance. To facilitate home buyers in planning ahead for their new flat purchase, HDB will announce upcoming BTO projects six months in advance from May 2019 onwards. At the May 2019 sales exercise, HDB will therefore announce the BTO projects to be launched in August and November 2019. Reducing Balloting Time from 6 Weeks to 3 Weeks HDB has been making steady progress in reducing the BTO balloting time. From the May 2019 BTO exercise onwards, the balloting time will be reduced from 6 weeks to 3 weeks, meeting the challenge set by Minister Lawrence Wong at COS 2018. Meeting the Needs of the Elderly MND and MOH have been exploring the concept of assisted living, where housing is integrated with care services. We will be conducting Focus Group Discussions in mid-2019 to seek views on the proposed concept, and are working towards a pilot at Bukit Batok in 2020. Supporting Lower-Income Families Dedicated Team to Support Rental Tenants HDB will be setting up the Home ownership Support Team (HST), to provide greater support to rental tenants, especially families with children, who are ready to buy a flat. This includes advising them on their housing budget and options, the grants and schemes available to help them, and guiding them through the flat- buying process. If tenants are not yet ready for home ownership, HDB will link them up with the relevant agencies that can help address their needs. Enhancements to Step-Up CPF Housing Grant The Step-Up CPF Housing Grant (SUHG) of $15,000 was introduced in 2013 to help lower-income families living in subsidised 2-room flats[1] in the non-mature estates to buy 3-room new flats in the non-mature estates. To provide greater assistance to lower-income families, HDB will extend the coverage of the SUHG to include 3-room resale flats in the non-mature estates. The grant will also be extended to second-timer families living in public rental flats who intend to buy 2-room or 3-room, new or resale flats in the non-mature estates. Currently, the grant is disbursed before the buyer signs the Agreement for Lease. HDB will now disburse the grant before the key collection for their new flat. This will help to ensure that the buyers are financially ready for home ownership. The revisions to the SUHG will take effect from the May 2019 sales exercise. See Annex for details. Enhancements to Fresh Start Housing Scheme The Fresh Start Housing Scheme was launched in 2016 to help rental families with young children who are second-timers to buy a home of their own. HDB will enhance the scheme to further assist these families: (i) Set up of Fresh Start Support Programme (FSSP) to help Fresh Start families stay on track in their journey to home ownership. The Support Programme will be run by a service provider appointed by the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF). Through closer and more regular contact with families, the Support Programme will allow emerging issues to be addressed early, and ensure that support is provided in a timely manner. (ii) Special consideration for selected families who applied but did not meet some of the criteria. Some families may not qualify for Fresh Start but demonstrate good potential and motivation for it. Flexibility will be given to these families to join Fresh Start and book a BTO flat. They will also receive more intensive support through the Support Programme. (iii) To qualify for Fresh Start, one of the current criteria is that the family needs to have at least one Singaporean child below the age of 16. The age limit for the youngest child will now be increased to age 18 to benefit more families. (a) The new age limit will also be applied to the Parenthood Priority Scheme (PPS) and ASSIST, or the Assistance Scheme for Second-Timers (Divorced/ Widowed Parents), i.e. families will need to have at least one child aged 18 or younger in order to qualify. Improvements to Rental Blocks and Flats As part of HDB’s continued efforts to upgrade older blocks, HDB will carry out improvement works to some rental blocks built in the 1960s and 1970s. These older blocks have long central corridors and units on both sides, which limit the natural ventilation and light in these blocks. HDB intends to improve the airflow and brightness by creating more openings along the corridors, where feasible. In addition, tenants sharing 1-room rental flats under the Joint Singles Scheme (JSS) will benefit from enhancements to their flats. Since 2015, HDB has built some new rental flats with partitions, to create separate sleeping areas for each tenant for greater privacy. There are about 500 such flats and another 200 are under construction, with more of such flats to be built. Existing JSS tenants who are living in flats without partitions can also ask for partitions to be installed. Apart from these efforts, HDB will continue to refresh our existing rental housing stock by gradually redeveloping older rental blocks, so that tenants can benefit from newer blocks with better, more updated designs. To promote more inclusive neighbourhoods, HDB will also build more integrated blocks with sold and rental flats. More details will be provided in due course. Rent Policy Changes The rental rates in HDB’s public rental housing are tiered progressively, according to household income. The rents are reviewed when tenants renew their tenancy every 2 years. To encourage tenants to continue increasing their income and saving up while working towards home ownership, HDB will not increase rents for those who have made a downpayment and signed the Agreement for Lease for a flat. They will continue to pay the same rent they were charged at the time when they made the downpayment for their new flat, even if their income increases thereafter. This will take effect for tenancies which commence from 1 Jun 2019. Supporting Vulnerable Families To smoothen the housing transition for divorcees, divorcing parties will no longer have to wait until they have obtained the Final Judgement of divorce in order to apply for a flat. Instead, starting from the May 2019 sales exercise, divorcing parties can apply for a new flat from HDB if they have obtained an Interim Judgement of divorce and have settled the ancillary matters on their matrimonial property, and the custody, care and control of their children. Each party will be subject to eligibility criteria like all flat applicants. They must also obtain the Final Judgement of divorce before key collection, and ensure that they remain eligible for the flat that they had booked. Enquiries For enquiries, the public can call HDB’s Sales/ Resale Customer Service Line at 1800-866-3066 or the Branch Service Line at 1800-225-5432 between 8.00am and 5.00pm from Mondays to Fridays. Issued by : MND & HDB Date : 7 March 2019 [1] Refers to 2-room new flats or resale flats that were bought with CPF housing grants. ## Chinese translation > Translation model: grok_cli ### 支援国人住屋需求的措施 在今日的财政预算案委员会辩论中，国家发展部宣布多项措施，协助处于不同人生阶段的新加坡人满足住屋需求，包括年长者及低收入家庭。 保持国人住屋可负担且可及 提前六个月公布预购组屋项目 目前，建屋发展局（HDB）会提前三个月公布即将推出的预购组屋（BTO）项目。为方便购屋者提前规划新组屋购买，HDB将自2019年5月起，提前六个月公布即将推出的BTO项目。因此，在2019年5月的销售活动中，HDB将公布拟于2019年8月及11月推出的BTO项目。 将抽签时间由6周缩短至3周 HDB在缩短BTO抽签时间方面已稳步取得进展。自2019年5月BTO销售活动起，抽签时间将由6周缩短至3周，达成黄循财部长在2018年财政预算案委员会辩论中提出的目标。 满足年长者需求 国家发展部与卫生部一直在探索辅助生活概念，即把住屋与护理服务相结合。我们将于2019年年中开展焦点小组讨论，征求对拟议概念的意见，并争取于2020年在武吉巴督开展试点。 支援低收入家庭 设立专责团队支援租赁租户 HDB将设立置业支援团队（Home ownership Support Team，HST），为租赁租户——尤其是有子女的家庭——在准备购买组屋时提供更大支援。这包括就住屋预算与选择提供建议、介绍可协助他们的津贴与计划，以及引导他们完成购屋流程。若租户尚未准备好置业，HDB将把他们转介至相关机构，以协助解决其需要。 加强递进式公积金住屋津贴 2013年推出的递进式公积金住屋津贴（Step-Up CPF Housing Grant，SUHG）金额为15,000元，旨在协助居住在非成熟市镇津贴两房式组屋[1]的低收入家庭，购买非成熟市镇的三房式新组屋。 为向低收入家庭提供更大协助，HDB将扩大SUHG的涵盖范围，纳入非成熟市镇的三房式转售组屋。该津贴亦将扩大至居住在公共租赁组屋、有意购买非成熟市镇两房式或三房式新组屋或转售组屋的二手申请家庭。 目前，该津贴在买方签署租赁协议前发放。HDB今后将在新组屋收匙前发放该津贴。这将有助于确保买方在财务上已为置业做好准备。 SUHG的修订将自2019年5月销售活动起生效。详情见附件。 加强“新开始”住屋计划 “新开始”住屋计划（Fresh Start Housing Scheme）于2016年推出，旨在协助有年幼子女的租赁家庭（属二手申请者）购买自住房屋。HDB将加强该计划，进一步协助这些家庭： (i) 设立“新开始”支援计划（Fresh Start Support Programme，FSSP），协助“新开始”家庭在置业路上保持正轨。该支援计划将由社会及家庭发展部（MSF）委派的服务供应商营运。通过与家庭更紧密、更定期的联系，支援计划将有助于及早处理新出现的问题，并确保及时提供支援。 (ii) 对已申请但未完全符合部分条件的选定家庭给予特别考虑。部分家庭或许不符合“新开始”资格，但展现出良好潜力与动力。这些家庭将获灵活安排加入“新开始”并认购BTO组屋。他们亦将通过支援计划获得更密集的支援。 (iii) 目前符合“新开始”资格的条件之一，是家庭须至少有一名16岁以下的新加坡籍子女。最小子女的年龄上限现将提高至18岁，以惠及更多家庭。 (a) 新的年龄上限亦将适用于育儿优先计划（Parenthood Priority Scheme，PPS）及ASSIST（即二手申请者援助计划（离婚/丧偶父母）），即家庭须至少有一名18岁或以下子女才符合资格。 改善租赁组屋楼宇与单位 作为HDB持续提升较旧楼宇工作的一部分，HDB将对部分建于1960年代及1970年代的租赁组屋楼宇进行改善工程。这些较旧楼宇具有长中央走廊、两侧均为单位的布局，限制了楼内自然通风与采光。HDB拟在可行的情况下，沿走廊增设更多开口，以改善气流与采光。 此外，在联名单身计划（Joint Singles Scheme，JSS）下合租一房式租赁组屋的租户，亦将受惠于单位改善。自2015年以来，HDB已兴建部分设有隔间的新租赁组屋，为每位租户提供独立睡眠空间，以增加私密性。此类单位约有500个，另有200个正在兴建中，并将兴建更多此类单位。现居无隔间单位的JSS租户亦可要求安装隔间。 除上述工作外，HDB将继续通过逐步重建较旧租赁组屋楼宇，更新现有租赁住屋存量，使租户受惠于设计更新、更完善的新楼宇。为促进更具包容性的邻里，HDB亦将兴建更多兼有出售组屋与租赁组屋的综合楼宇。更多详情将于稍后公布。 租金政策调整 HDB公共租赁住屋的租金按住户收入分级递进。租户每2年续约时会检讨租金。为鼓励租户在迈向置业的过程中继续提高收入并储蓄，对于已缴付订金并签署组屋租赁协议的租户，HDB将不调高其租金。即使其后收入增加，他们仍将继续按作出新组屋订金时的租金水平缴付租金。此安排将适用于自2019年6月1日起开始的租约。 支援弱势家庭 为顺畅离婚人士的住屋过渡，离婚双方无需再等到取得最终离婚判决后才能申请组屋。相反，自2019年5月销售活动起，离婚中的双方若已取得中期离婚判决，并已就婚姻房产及子女监护、照顾与管束等附带事项达成安排，即可向HDB申请新组屋。各方须像所有组屋申请者一样符合资格条件。他们亦须在收匙前取得最终离婚判决，并确保继续符合所认购组屋的资格。 查询 如有查询，公众可于星期一至五上午8时至下午5时，致电HDB销售/转售客户服务热线1800-866-3066，或分行服务热线1800-225-5432。 发布机构：国家发展部及建屋发展局 日期：2019年3月7日 [1] 指以公积金住屋津贴购买的两房式新组屋或转售组屋。