Debated in Parliament on 2 Aug 2022.
Mr Edward Chia Bing Hui asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the estimated waiting time for an interim HDB rental flat or a flat under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) to be allocated to those affected by completion delays in BTO projects; and (b) whether the waiting time for such allocations has improved since January 2022.
The Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) offers an additional temporary housing option for households awaiting the completion of their new flats.
PPHS is open for application once every two months and eligible applicants are put through a ballot. Those shortlisted via the ballot are invited to select a PPHS flat in the month following their application and can move in immediately after selecting a flat. Those who were not shortlisted via the ballot can apply in subsequent rounds. The timeline for flat selection has not changed since January 2022.
In August 2021, we finetuned the PPHS criteria to prioritise applicants with a more urgent need for temporary housing and announced that we will double the supply of PPHS flats from about 800 to 1,600 units over the next two years. Since then, we have added about 200 units to the PPHS supply and are on track to add another 800 units by 2023. As a result, the PPHS application rate, or the number of applications per unit, has fallen by more than half since August 2021.
The current PPHS application rate is about nine times. While this is high, the non-selection rate is also high – almost half of the applicants invited to select a flat do not do so, suggesting that many have other options.
For Interim Rental Housing (IRH), HDB offers this as a last resort to help needy families who are in transit between longer-term housing options. Flat buyers affected by BTO completion delays are offered IRH on a case-by-case basis, if they have no other temporary housing options. The time taken to allocate a flat under IRH varies, depending on the family's locational preferences.
Some flats that are used for IRH or PPHS could otherwise have been used for the Public Rental Scheme. Even as we assist flat buyers who need temporary housing due to BTO completion delays, we must also balance the use of flats across different rental schemes to meet the needs of different groups, prioritising those who are most needy.
PAPERCUTS