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First, who should public rental housing cater for?
We set the income ceiling at $1,500 a month, to focus our help on the bottom 20th-income percentile.
Mr Pritam Singh suggested raising it, so that
those in genuine need are not turned away. Let me assure Mr Pritam Singh that we will
not turn away those with genuine housing need. We are not heartless.
We do not apply rules unthinkingly. As a social worker, I have always guided my
staff to exercise compassion, as we go through each case carefully and assess the housing options available.
In the last three years, for example,
340 or 3% of approved applicants, had income above $1,500, but were allowed to rent because we
assessed that they had no other housing options. However, a debate over whether to raise the
income ceiling masks the complexities driving demand for rental flats.
Why is it that some earning more than $1,500 are unable to buy at least a 2-room flat; when others who earn
less were able to do so ---- like the 800 households in 2013, who were able to buy 2-room flats
with incomes below $1,500, amongst which half were second-timers.
Second, my Minister has mentioned that our rental stock will make up 6% of our total public housing stock.
We know that we cannot build new rental flats indefinitely.
Thus, how can we get more rental tenants to progress to own a flat?
Can rental flats be seen as transitional housing for those moving on to home ownership?
Indeed, for some, the story does not end with allocating them a rental flat ---- today,
over 4% of existing tenants (or some 2,200 units) have booked a flat; over the last three years,
1,100 tenants moved into flats they bought, and 60% of them do so with the help of the AHG, or AHG and SHG.
Despite rents being heavily subsidised,
we also waive the rent increase for tenants whose income improves from "$800 or less" to "$801 to $1,500"
for up to two term tenancies, so that they can use their additional income to build up their savings.
What more can we do to give tenants a leg-up,
and create the right incentives to reward positive work ethics and self-reliance?
Our housing policy rests on the primary pillar of promoting home ownership and we help even
our low-income Singaporeans aspire to be home owners.
Third, as we build more rental flats, how should we do so in a way that is inclusive?
We build rental flats not just as shelters, but integrate them within estates, where tenants
are able to go about their daily lives no differently from those who own their flats.
HDB builds rental flats in new BTO projects, sometimes in infill sites, to ensure a good geographical spread.
As we build more rental flats, we will ensure
that they are well integrated, and we hope that residents can also play their part to
be more understanding and accepting. Let me conclude by making a decision on
whom to allocate rental flats boils down to an assessment of housing need.
Members would appreciate that it is not straightforward, as circumstances and challenges underlying
housing difficulty are complex. Where housing can be removed as an impediment
to stabilise the family, we will do so. However often times, needs go beyond housing,
and it may be too simplistic to surmise that resolving their immediate housing need would
eradicate other challenges they face. For those who need support beyond housing,
we will work with the social service sector to provide relevant social services for these
families to improve their incomes and social well-being.