Members of the House would have come across many young Singaporean couples looking forward to starting a family and buying their first HDB flat but for one reason of another are unable to do so or are unable to secure a flat of their choice. For some, they are unable to do so arising from the income ceiling imposed by HDB, currently set at $14,000 for a couple looking for a BTO flat, with $16,000 set as the ceiling for executive condominiums. While the HDB resale market does not impose any income ceiling, Singaporeans in general, and young families in particular remain concerned about lease decay, retirement adequacy and in many cases, missing out on the taxpayer subsidies that come with BTO purchases.
At the same time, for a new generation of Singaporeans, the property escalator of their parents' generation has become a Singapore story of the past. Many wage earners cannot aspire like their parents did in the context of moving from a HDB flat, to a condominium and to a landed property. HDB flats will continue to home the majority of Singaporeans, with the financial commitment of new private homes in particular, including executive condominiums, representing a more significant financial outlay than ever before. Significantly though, a new reality is setting in for newer generations of Singaporeans. The jobs environment for young people and middle-aged workers is increasingly unpredictable and uncertain.
Today, younger and middle-aged Singaporeans are concerned about being made redundant by the rapid advance of technology and job redesign. For those who seek to purchase HDB BTO flats, these realities factor into their thinking when they consider property purchases, which have to be financed for the long-term. A couple’s combined incomes may be on the higher-end or even surpass the BTO income ceiling threshold to varying degrees today, but that may not be so tomorrow. This is especially so if a spouse loses their job or decides to dedicate their life to raising children or looking after aged parents.
In the last few years, HDB has introduced a number of policy levers to make BTO flats more affordable, partly arising from galloping resale prices. One example is the subsidy clawback regime which started at around 6% and is now at 14% for some new BTO developments. The other the extension of the minimum occupation period or MOP. There is at least one HDB scheme that imposes a MOP of twenty years, although this scheme is one that transits rental home dwellers to a HDB flat on a longer lease.
In view of these levers, would the HDB consider allowing a first-timer couple who exceed the income eligibility threshold to nonetheless be given the option of purchasing a BTO flat? Even as the income eligibility ceiling would be adjusted regularly for the majority of buyers, this move would effectively remove the income eligibility ceiling for this special category of BTO flat buyers. To ensure fairness, should a first-timer couple seek to purchase such a BTO flat, these flats can be encumbered with one or more additional requirements such as: the purchase ought to be restricted to the first matrimonial home, require a age cap of either spouse to be 35 or below; include a longer MOP than set-out for that particular category of BTO flats, be they Plus, Prime or Standard; and/or include an additional subsidy clawback mechanism.
To this end, can the Minister also share how many appeals it has received from first-time applicants who sought to purchase a BTO flat but could not do so because of their income eligibility ceiling for each year from 2020 to 2025? With 8/10 Singaporean households covered by the existing income ceiling, the provision of an additional option to buy a new BTO flat with encumbrances to first-timer young Singaporeans is unlikely to require the construction of a significantly larger number of BTO flats than is already planned. However, it can give significant peace of mind to some Singaporeans for whom the jobs environment of the future is less certain than it was for previous generations of Singaporeans.
Façade Repairs Co-Payment Scheme
In 2004, the HDB introduced the façade repairs co-payment scheme where HDB would fund façade related repairs and reimburse Town Councils for repair works done to damaged façades of HDB blocks. This was increased to 75% for blocks with brick cladding and some metal fixtures under a special enhancement programme that runs from 2023 to 2028 for blocks with a higher risk of façade failure.
However, water seepage that eminates from the block façade into a resident's unit is not covered by any co-funding scheme. As the HDB stock continues to age, the prospect of water seepage, especially from the façade of older blocks anecdotally appears to be on the rise. Would the HDB reach out to assist Town Councils through the façade repairs co-payment scheme to allow for the inclusion of claims to be made for water seepage cases that originate from the block façade?
