Temporary housing available while awaiting completion of flats

Director (Sales), Housing & Development Board

We refer to Ms Huzie Jasni’s letter, “Current processes make search for home difficult” (Aug 8).

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is committed to helping Singaporean families set up their first homes.

Hence, at least 85 per cent of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats are set aside for first-timers, who also enjoy more ballot tickets than second-timers. First-timers who are unable to select a flat will receive additional ballot tickets from their third try onwards.

First-timer married couples with children are also accorded priority allocation under the Parenthood Priority Scheme, where 30 per cent of the BTO flat supply and 50 per cent of the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) are set aside for eligible applicants.

Ms Huzie and her husband had applied twice for BTO flats and a third time under the SBF exercise. They were invited to select a flat in both BTO exercises, but although there were ample flats to choose from, they chose not to book one.

As flats offered under the SBF exercise are limited in supply and highly popular, the chances of success are much lower than for BTO projects in non-mature estates.

As advised earlier by our staff, Ms Huzie and her husband can select a BTO flat as a latecomer, as the selection exercise is ongoing.

Should they require temporary housing while awaiting completion of their new flat, they could apply for a rental flat under the HDB’s Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme.

To encourage flat applicants to consider their housing options carefully before putting in an application, and deter repeated non-selection of flats, first-timers who choose not to book a flat when invited to do so will have one count of non-selection on our record.

Those who do not select a flat when invited a second time will have their subsequent flat applications relegated to second-timer status for one year. This is made known to applicants when they submit their application.