Debated in Parliament on 26 Jul 2021.
Mr Leong Mun Wai asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the total number of rental flats available under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS); (b) in the last five years, what is the yearly demand for PPHS rental flats; and (c) what percentage of this demand has been met.
Various Members have previously asked about the supply and demand of flats under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS). The PPHS provides an additional temporary housing option for households awaiting the completion of their new flats.
The supply of PPHS flats is limited and depends on the availability of vacant flats. The mainstay of supply is HDB flats pending demolition, such as vacated SERS flats, that are not immediately needed for redevelopment. As at June 2021, HDB has about 840 rental flats available under PPHS. The majority of these are occupied and tenants usually stay for two years or longer.
Since 2020, the supply of PPHS flats has tightened due to a shortage of construction workers to spruce up flats that have been returned to HDB before they can be let out to new tenants. Delays in BTO completion have also slowed down the return of PPHS flats to HDB. At the same time, the demand for PPHS flats has increased, likely due to delays in BTO completion, working from home and competition for open market rental from others who need to rent flats.
The number of unique PPHS applicants in the last five years and the corresponding percentage of applicants who had a chance to select a PPHS flat are shown in Table 1 below. While the demand for PPHS flats has increased since 2020, about half of the applicants who were offered one or more chances to select a flat since 2020 did not turn up or did not select a flat, suggesting that not all applicants have an urgent housing need and some may have other housing options.
Given the limited supply of PPHS flats, we are considering how to fine-tune allocation to give priority to families in greater need of temporary housing. We are also studying ways to increase the supply of PPHS flats to better support flat buyers who need temporary housing. We will provide more details on these measures when ready. Meanwhile, on a case-by-case basis, HDB may offer interim rental housing to low-income households with no other housing options.
PAPERCUTS