SINGAPORE — Eligible couples waiting for their Build-To-Order (BTO) homes to be completed will now get financial support from the Government to rent Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats from the open market.

Announcing this in his Budget speech on Friday (Feb 16), Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said that those who already booked their BTO flats may like a place to stay temporarily while they wait for their homes to be completed.

"This is especially the case for those with young children."

He added that for young couples who are getting ready to settle down and form their own families, timely access to affordable housing is important.

The Government is helping first-time families by ramping up BTO flat supply and giving these families higher priority. 

He also said that the Government is making flats in “choicer” locations more affordable through the Prime, Plus and Standard framework, which was announced last year by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during the National Day Rally. 

The framework will be implemented later this year for new BTO projects. 

WHY IT MATTERS

For now, couples waiting for their BTO homes can rent a subsidised rental flat from HDB under the enhanced Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS).

However, Mr Wong noted that HDB has received many applications for the scheme and is boosting supply to meet demand.

Earlier this month, HDB announced that about 2,000 vacated flats across 17 blocks in Tanglin Halt will be used to form the bulk of the extra supply of interim rental housing for families waiting for their BTO flats.

These homes, located among the 31 blocks in Tanglin Halt that were selected for redevelopment in 2014, will be spruced up and let out for temporary housing from the second half of 2025.

"But in the interim, we want to do more to support such young families with urgent housing needs," Mr Wong said.

"I will therefore provide a PPHS (Open Market) Voucher for a year to support eligible families who rent a HDB flat in the open market." 

More details on the voucher will be announced by the Ministry of National Development later. 

PRESCHOOL AFFORDABILITY 

Apart from addressing housing needs, Mr Wong announced other forms of support for families.

The monthly childcare fee limits in preschools supported by government funding will be reduced in 2025 to S$640 for anchor operators and S$680 for partner operators, before childcare subsidies. 

Currently, these monthly rates stand at S$680 for anchor operators and S$720 for partner operators.

The fee caps for anchor operators and partner operators were last reduced in 2023.

“We will lower the fees further so that full-day preschool expenses for dual-income families will be comparable to those of primary school and after-school student care,” Mr Wong said, adding that there will be another move to reduce fee caps in 2026, with the details to be announced later. 

He also said that existing preschool subsidies for lower-income families would be enhanced, and this is expected to benefit up to 17,000 children. 

“Currently, more subsidies are given to children with working mothers. I will extend these higher subsidies to all children from lower-income families, including those with non-working mothers.” 

Additionally, the Government will top up S$2 billion to the Edusave Endowment Fund to enhance the Edusave awards and support programmes to develop competencies such as communication skills, civic literacy and inventive thinking. 

The endowment fund, invested by the Government, is used to fund yearly contributions to the Edusave accounts of eligible children, grants to educational institutions, as well as scholarships, bursaries and awards. 

SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES WITH SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN

After studying moves to alleviate the cost pressures of families who have persons with special needs or disabilities, the Government will reduce the maximum monthly fees at Special Education schools from S$150 to S$90. 

The fee caps at Special Student Care Centres will also be lowered to reduce families’ out-of-pocket expenses. 

Adults with disabilities will also receive more support for their employment and integration into the community. 

“I will expand spaces in sheltered workshops and day activity centres where they can undergo training, and launch more Enabling Services Hubs to provide community support to persons with disabilities and their caregivers,” Mr Wong said.     

The respective government ministries will share more information on each of these moves at the post-Budget debates in Parliament.