Subsidised HDB rental flats in greater demand now

April 4, 2008

Subsidised HDB rental flats in greater demand now

30% jump in applicants in past few months; HDB says not all are needy

By Theresa Tan

THE number of people applying for heavily subsidised HDB rental flats has shot up by at least 30 per cent in the past few months - to about 4,000 eligible applicants on the waiting list now.

As a result, the wait for these one- and two-room rental units is now up to 15 months - double the waiting time in 2006.

Though families hit by soaring rentals on the open market and those in financial difficulty are among those in the queue, the Housing Board said not all applicants are 'needy or have urgent housing needs'.

It said that last year, more than half who applied for its rental units were former home owners who did not owe the HDB any money when they sold their flats.

In fact, some of those in the rental queue had enough money to buy a smaller unit after selling their flat, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in the recent Budget debate.

The HDB stressed that its rental flats are meant for the poor who cannot afford to own a flat and have no other housing option.

Any family whose household income is $1,500 or less a month can apply for rental housing. Also, they must wait for 30 months after selling their flats before being eligible for subsidised rental homes.

MPs interviewed say they are seeing more and more people approaching them for help in securing a rental flat.

Besides those hit by rising rentals and financial troubles, there were others who had their flats repossessed by banks when they could not service their home loans.

The heavily subsidised HDB rental units are the only lifeline for these people, say the MPs interviewed, who included Ms Indranee Rajah, Madam Cynthia Phua and Madam Halimah Yacob.

Depending on household income and other factors, rentals are between $26 and $205 a month for a one-room flat; and between $44 and $275 for a two-room unit.

One person who has been on the waiting list for the past few months is part-time promoter Chan Yoke Yin, 46.

Her family ran into debt when her husband, a bus driver, was hit by cancer and a stroke, and had to stop work about four years ago.

The family started to fall behind in loan payments, and now owes the HDB more than $300,000 for a five-room flat. Madam Chan, who earns about $1,000 monthly, says she has 'no choice' but to sell her flat.

Ms Rajah said: 'I have had an inordinately large number of people coming for help to get a rental flat last year.

'There seems to be an acute shortage of rental flats.'

She has seen at least two cases of people living in the open while waiting for a rental unit, she said. One is an odd-job worker who has been sleeping at a bin centre for months, while the other is a family living on the beach.

The HDB says people who need a flat urgently can switch to estates where the wait is shorter, for example, in Woodlands. Waiting time at these estates is around three months, compared to Bedok and Tampines, where one can wait for up to 15 months.

Meanwhile, the HDB is referring those in urgent need to charities which run temporary shelters. The first shelter for homeless families, New Hope Community Services, has taken in about 20 families since opening last year.

It is managing 'a few' flats for this purpose, the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) told The Straits Times.

'These families are not allowed to stay long term at these flats and are expected to move out as soon as they find alternative housing,' said the MCYS spokesman. 'Many such families have been able to move on to stay with their relatives or friends.'

HDB is also increasing the supply of rental flats from the current 43,000 units to 50,000 over the next few years and reviewing the eligibility criteria for rental housing to help the 'genuinely poor'.

theresat@sph.com.sg



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