Clarify HDB assistance scheme for second-time applicants

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has an Assistance Scheme for Second-Timers, which allocates Build-to-Order (BTO) flats for divorced or widowed parents with at least one child below 16 years old.

I have met divorced or widowed parents who are still struggling to pay the loan for their matrimonial home, but were told by the HDB that they could not apply for this assistance scheme if they remain the owners of the existing flat.

Expectedly, these parents are reluctant to sell their flats before securing an alternative residence.

HDB officers have explained that they are constrained by the rules and are unable to make overlapping arrangements, meaning allowing these parents to apply for the scheme while they still own an existing flat.

Separately, as stated on the HDB website, the scheme appears to render ineligible any such parents who have owned or disposed of a flat or a private residential property after the date of the divorce or demise of the spouse.

This seems odd. How can they be expected to have sold their flat before the divorce or the demise of their spouse?

With divorce rates climbing and the death of spouses not uncommon, one would imagine that there are many Singaporeans who, after finding themselves alone, struggle to find a new home for themselves and their children.

I suspect this scheme is significantly under-subscribed, and it would be good if the HDB could offer some clarity as to how the scheme was designed to operate.