Some two-room BTO flats to be set aside for first-time singles who want to live near parents

CNA

4 days ago

SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) on Sunday (Jul 20) announced the quota for Build-to-Order (BTO) two-room flats that will be set aside for first-time singles who are applying for a flat near their parents.
The new Family Care Scheme (FCS), which was first announced by Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in the National Day Rally last year, comprises two components: FCS (Proximity) and FCS (Joint Balloting).
PROXIMITY
FCS (Proximity) allows parents and their children, regardless of marital status, priority access if they are applying for a new flat to live with or near each other. This will be rolled out in the July BTO exercise.
Currently, up to 65 per cent of two-room flexi BTO flats and up to 5 per cent of Sale of Balance flats (SBF) are set aside for first-timer singles, after allocating flats to seniors.
Within these quotas, 30 per cent of BTO flats and 2 per cent of SBF flats will be set aside for first-time singles applying under FCS (Proximity). This applies to Standard and Plus flats.
For Prime flats, the percentages drop to 20 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
The remaining quota will be for other first-time singles.
Married couples and seniors currently have priority access under the Married Child Priority Scheme and Senior Priority Scheme when applying for new flats to live with or near their parents or married children.
FCS (Proximity) will replace both of these schemes, with no change to the priority access for married couples and seniors.
JOINT BALLOTING
FCS (Joint Balloting) allows parents and their children, regardless of marital status, to jointly apply for two units in the same BTO project, where there are two-room flexi or three-room flats in the same project.
This will start in the October BTO exercise, HDB said on Sunday.
It will replace the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme for married children and parents to live near each other in the same BTO project.
CHANGES FROM JULY
Other changes that will start from the July BTO exercise have been announced previously.
This includes HDB increasing the allocation quota of three-room and larger BTO flats for second-timer families by 5 percentage points.
The revised proportion of BTO flats set aside for second-timer families:
Up to 20 per cent of three-room Standard flats
Up to 10 per cent of three-room plus and prime flats, and four-room and larger standard, plus and prime flats
At least 80 per cent to 90 per cent of three-room and larger flats will continue to be set aside for first-time families.
Changes to the Deferred Income Assessment (DIA) scheme and the Fresh Start Housing Grant for eligible second-time families will also take effect from the July BTO exercise.
The DIA scheme allows eligible couples to apply for a new flat and delay their income assessment for housing grants or loans until just before they collect their keys.
This will be expanded such that only one party in a couple needs to be a full-time student or national serviceman to be eligible. Previously, both parties needed to meet this requirement.
The Fresh Start Housing Grant will be increased from S$50,000 to S$75,000 to support more second-timer public rental households with children to own homes. These families can use the increased grant to buy a new two-room flexi or three-room Standard BTO, or SBF flat, on a shorter lease.