Housing and Development Board
The
Housing and Development Board (HDB) is Singapore’s public housing authority. It plans and develops public housing towns, providing Singaporeans with affordable homes and a quality living environment. Through renewal and upgrading programmes, HDB ensures that the older estates and towns remain vibrant and of good value. HDB also builds cohesive communities by providing spaces for interaction and through policies that support social objectives, such as racial harmony (with the Ethnic Integration Policy), and stronger family ties (with the higher tier CPF Housing Grant for those who live near their parents).
Development 1: Lending A Hand
Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS)
There are various monetisation options in place for the elderly to cash out on their flats. Options include downgrading to smaller flats or Studio Apartments, renting out a room, or subletting entire flats.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement at the 2007 National Day Rally, for a new scheme to make it easier for the elderly to unlock the value of their HDB flats, the Minister for National Development Mr Mah Bow Tan announced more details of the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) on 28 February 2008.
Under the Scheme, HDB will buy back the tail-end of the lease of a flat from the elderly household. On top of the housing equity unlocked, HDB will provide an additional $10,000 subsidy. Of the total value, $5,000 will be given to the household as an up-front lump sum, while the remainder will be used to purchase an Immediate Annuity from the CPF Board to provide a monthly stream of income for life. The household can continue to stay in their flat, which will be left with a 30-year lease.
Singapore citizens owning 3-room or smaller flats where the outstanding mortgage loan is $5,000 or lower are eligible for the LBS. They must also meet the following criteria:
- Age of youngest lessee is 62 years or older;
- Gross household income (lessees and occupiers) of $3,000 or less;
- Not own any private residential property;
- Have not previously owned a 4-room or larger flat or private property;
- Have only enjoyed one housing subsidy; and
- Have owned the existing flat for five years or more.
The LBS gives elderly home owners “the best of both worlds”—age in place in the familiarity of their flat and neighbourhood, while receiving a lifelong payout stream to supplement their retirement income. The elderly should compare the various monetisation options and decide which option best suits their needs and priorities.
Rental Housing as a Safeguard for the Truly Needy
The basic housing needs of most Singaporeans have been met largely by affordable HDB homes. However, there is a small segment of the population for which home ownership is not a viable option. The Public Rental Scheme caters to this low-income group who have low incomes, no assets or family support, and need to rely on heavily subsidised rental flats for their housing needs.
For tenants whose rents are pegged at 30 per cent to 50 per cent of the market rate, market adjustment of these rates will be deferred. Hence, the market rent will continue to be held at the 2005 level. In addition to rent rebates, the full alignment of rentals to income, which was to have started in November 2008, has been suspended for one year.
The conversion and building of rental flats will also be stepped up so that the stock of rental flats will increase by 20 per cent, from 42,000 to 50,000 unitsby 2012.
Tightening Eligiblity
Apart from the challenge of projecting the supply and demand of rental flats, many applicants in the rental housing queue are found not to be truly needy, as they have alternative housing options. Rental flats by HDB have become a cheap and attractive option for those who want to cash out on their HDB ownership. As a result, there is a strong demand for rental flats.
In order to safeguard the rental flats as an effective final safety net for the truly poor and needy, additional eligibility criteria were put in place. Besides the existing criteria, HDB will look at the applicant’s ability to buy a flat or their other available options. Hence, HDB will take into consideration the applicant’s assets, income, proceeds from last flat sale, and family support. Ex-private property owners will also no longer be eligible for HDB rental flats.
Development 2: Sustainable Living
Saving Energy
In December 2008, HDB, together with the National Environment Agency (NEA) and the Energy Market Authority (EMA) jointly launched a five-year programme called Energy SAVE. The programme’s objective is to educate and encourage all households to adopt energy saving habits and reduce their energy consumption to minimise greenhouse gas emissions.
HDB households and residents have an important part to play in the Energy SAVE Programme, as they contribute 90 per cent of total energy usage in HDB estates. Through energy conservation, residents can help sustain the environment and achieve savings in their utility bill. Simple lifestyle changes, such as switching off home appliances at power points, using the fan instead of air-conditioning, and switching to energy efficient household appliances contribute to overall efforts.
HDB selected two 4-room units in Serangoon North Avenue 3 and worked with NEA to demonstrate the possible cost and energy savings. Overall, the demo-households achieved a monthly energy reduction of up to 35 per cent, which translated to dollar savings of about $80 per month in utility bills.
As part of HDB’s multi-pronged approach to environmental sustainability, solar panels were also installed on the rooftops of blocks and multi-storey carparks. With the panels, each precinct was able to generate 220kWh per day, enough to meet the daily electricity requirements for the common services of a block.
The total energy generated and the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions are displayed at the ground floor lift lobby of each block to help increase residents’ awareness about saving energy and their environment.
Green Initiatives
HDB intensified greening efforts in both new and existing estates. Today, all Multi-Storey Car Parks at new residential developments have green roof tops. A sky-rise greening programme using the Prefabricated Extensive Green (PEG) Roof System, a sustainable green roof system for tropical climates, was implemented at 10 Multi-Storey Car Parks. The first batch of green roofs was completed in March 2008.
The successful development of the modular vertical greening system at the development, The Coris, also presented a greater potential for sky rise greenery on building facades. HDB also developed a green accounting system for implementing in all new housing projects to optimise the provision of greenery.
Concerted and proactive efforts were also devoted in the areas of energy and water saving, building management and operations. Industrial developments such as Gourmet East Kitchen and Shimei East Kitchen became the first HDB food factories to obtain Green Mark certification in January 2008.
As part of its overall plans, HDB launched “The Green Housing Book – HDB’s approach to Sustainable Development”—a handy reference to information on the various innovations and green technologies introduced in public housing to create sustainable homes and estates.
Annex A: Statistics
HOMES FOR THE PEOPLE
Total HDB flats built in 2008: 3,154
HDB flats sold under Home Ownership for People Scheme in 2008: 8,537 (Excludes Studio Apartments)
Percentage of Resident Population: 82 per cent
ESTATE RENEWAL (Figures as of 31 December 2008)
Number of HDB flats under management: 884,920
Total number of flats built since 1960: 992,089
Number of flats announced under Main Upgrading Programme: 137 precincts, 136,765 dwelling units
Number of flats announced under Lift Upgrading Programme: 232 precincts, 193,973 dwelling units
Number of flats and precincts completed under Interim Upgrading Programme: 190 precincts, 156,443 units
Number of precincts renewed under Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme: 72 precincts, 33,410 units
< Back To 2009 Yearbook