SINGAPORE —  A voucher of S$300 per month will be provided to support eligible families to rent a Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat or bedroom on the open market while they wait for their new flats to be completed.

National Development Minister Desmond Lee announced details of the scheme in a debate on his ministry's budget in Parliament on Tuesday (March 5). The scheme will run for one year from July, he said.

The voucher scheme was announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong in his Budget speech on Feb 16, but he did not provide full details then.

This voucher is to be offered under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) (Open market) Voucher scheme. 

PPHS is a temporary housing option for families waiting for their Build-to-Order (BTO) flats to be completed. 

"We will introduce a PPHS (Open Market) Voucher for one year until our PPHS supply is ramped up to 4,000 units next year, to support eligible families who need to rent HDB flats or bedrooms on the open market," said Mr Lee, who is also Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration. 

HDB has been steadily increasing the supply of PPHS flats from 800 in 2021 to about 2,000 flats currently. Mr Lee said that by 2025, HDB will further ramp up PPHS supply to 4,000 units.

In his Budget speech on Feb 16, DPM Wong said that those who already booked their BTO flats might like a place to stay in 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.

For now, couples waiting for their BTO homes can rent a subsidised rental flat from HDB under the enhanced PPHS.

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

In February, HDB announced that about 2,000 vacated flats across 17 blocks in Tanglin Halt would 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.

To be eligible for the PPHS Voucher, families must meet the current PPHS criteria and have a rental tenancy registered with HDB at the point of application. 

The current PPHS criteria are households that have booked an uncompleted HDB flat and are of one of the following profiles:

• A married couple with at least one first-timer
• Divorced or widowed parent with children
• Applicants under the Fiancé/Fiancée scheme with at least one first-timer

Households will also need to have an income not exceeding S$7,000, based on the income stated in their application to buy a flat. 

"This allows us to target the PPHS Voucher at those with less income at their disposal, to defray their costs of renting," said Mr Lee on Tuesday. 

Eligible families will receive the voucher on a reimbursement basis, said Mr Lee. This would be based on the number of months of their tenancy that fall within the stipulated one-year period.

"At S$300 per month, eligible families will receive up to S$3,600 if they qualify for the full year of support," he said.  

Families renting from immediate family members or close relatives will not be eligible, said HDB and MND in a joint statement. More details will be shared closer to implementation.

Mr Lee noted that some Members of Parliament have said that in implementing the PPHS, there is also a need to minimise the distortion of the rental market.

“That is why we have scoped the parameters of the voucher carefully, to support these families while minimising the impact on the broader rental market,” said Mr Lee.  

"Some may ask, why not a higher amount? The S$300 quantum was carefully calibrated to provide some relief to eligible families, while mitigating the potential inflationary impact on the rental market for others." 

He added that the Government will monitor the impact of the voucher on the rental market closely.