Locations and Factors to Consider in Siting of Public Rental Flats

Ms Carrie Tan asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the Ministry factors in proximity of public rental housing locations to MRT stations in its planning for rental housing development; and (b) what are the considerations that currently go into the planning and decisions for the locations of public rental flats.

Public rental housing is planned as part of the overall public housing supply and is built together with sold flats in Build-To-Order (BTO) projects on sites that are ready for development. These sites may be within existing towns or in new development areas which HDB develops progressively. While it is not always possible to build rental housing near MRT stations, all public housing projects are designed to ensure that residents have good access to local amenities and services, regardless of flat type.

When planning for new public rental flats, we also consider the need to provide a range of locations for rental tenants to choose from and balance the mix of flat types across towns. To ensure that public housing remains inclusive, new public rental flats will also be built in the same blocks as sold flats and included in future projects launched under the Prime Location Housing (PLH) model, where possible.