About 3,500 rental tenants have bought their first homes with help of housing grants

SINGAPORE — About 3,500 rental tenants have bought a Build-to-Order (BTO) or Sale of Balance (SBF) flat over the past six years (2013 to 2018), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said in a press release on Sunday (Feb 10).

Out of these, some 2,000 tenants have collected their keys and moved into their new flats. On average, about 600 rental tenants progress to become home owners each year.

Out of the 3,500 households who have bought a BTO or SBF flat for the first time:

• A majority bought either a three-room flat (47 per cent) or two-room Flexi (28 per cent).
• About 72 per cent bought a flat with the help of the Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) and/or the Special Housing Grant (SHG). Among them, 221 received the maximum housing grants of S$80,000.
• About 20 per cent booked a flat under the Tenants’ Priority Scheme (TPS)

HDB provides subsidised public rental flats to citizen families who have no family support and cannot afford to own a flat. Over time, tenants who are financially stable can consider buying an HDB flat, while tapping on various housing grants and schemes.

HOUSING GRANTS

Eligible first-timer families who buy a flat from HDB can receive up to S$80,000 of housing grants, comprising the AHG and SHG of up to S$40,000 each.

Those buying a resale flat from the open market can receive up to S$110,000 of housing grants, comprising the CPF Housing Grant up to S$50,000, AHG up to S$40,000, and the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) of S$20,000.

PRIORITY SCHEMES

Tenants who apply for a two-room Flexi or three-room flat can do so via TPS. Under TPS, HDB sets aside 10 per cent of the flat supply in the BTO and SBF sales exercises for eligible rental tenants, and other applicants whose flats are affected by the Government’s resettlement or redevelopment programmes.

Eligible tenants can also apply for a BTO or SBF flat under the Third Child Priority Scheme or the Married Child Priority Scheme.

VIEWS FROM FIRST-TIME BUYERS

In September last year, courier driver Mohammad Suhaimi Bin Junaini, together with his wife and their two daughters, moved into their first flat in Jurong West. Before this, they had been staying in a two-room rental flat in Telok Blangah for five years.

The flat cost about S$200,000. But as first-time home buyers, the family received combined CPF housing grants of S$70,000 (S$30,000 of AHG and S$40,000 of SHG) to help with the three-room flat purchase.

Mr Mohammad Suhaimi is also currently servicing his monthly instalments entirely using his CPF savings, without any cash outlay.

The 32-year-old said he was happy with the new house. “There’s more space, and the girls have their own rooms,” he added.

On the decision to buy a house, Mr Mohammad Suhaimi said it was ultimately more worth it than paying monthly rental.

“The rental was already a bit high, S$250 every month. So instead of paying for rental, I think it’s better to buy a house.”

The house could also provide better stability, he said. “Because I’m the sole breadwinner, if something happens to me, no one else can pay the rental.”

Another first-time buyer who wanted to be known only as Mr Su moved into a 3Gen flat with his family in Bukit Batok last October. For over 30 years, the sales engineer had lived in a two-room rental flat with his parents.

In 2015, Mr Su and his wife, a nurse, applied for a 3Gen flat under the Married Child Priority Scheme and were successful. He said that the schemes “gave us a higher chance in balloting for a unit”.

The new house bears meaning for Mr Su, who is now able to provide his parents with their own room. “My parents tried their best to provide comfort and privacy for me as I grew from a toddler to a young adult by letting me sleep in that one bedroom while they slept in the living room,” the 34-year-old said.

“Now that we have our own rooms and they do not need to sleep in the living room anymore, it felt good that I could provide comfort and privacy for them in return.”

The size of the flat also made a difference, Mr Su said. “It’s good to have more space for relatives visiting during Chinese New Year so that they would not have to stand along the corridor unlike when we were living in the rental flat.”