Debated in Parliament on 25 Mar 2020.
Ms Anthea Ong asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many households currently live in HDB's rental flats under the (i) Public Rental Scheme (ii) Interim Rental Housing Scheme and (iii) Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme respectively; (b) how many of these rental flats house more than one nuclear household, broken down by housing scheme; (c) how many applicants under the Joint Single Scheme are unable to secure a rental flat due to difficulty in finding a suitable person to rent with; and (d) how many rental flats house (i) 3 persons (ii) 4 persons (iii) 5 persons (iv) 6 persons and (v) more than 6 persons, broken down by (i) 1-room (ii) 2-room (iii) 3-room and (iv) 4-room flats respectively.
About 52,000 households currently live in rental flats under the various HDB rental schemes, of which about 50,000 households are under the Public Rental Scheme.
Around 70 rental flats are occupied by more than one nuclear household. This means that they are able to form more than one family nucleus comprising one Singapore Citizen (SC) and another SC or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR). Those under the Public Rental Scheme may rent separate flats, subject to each household meeting the prevailing eligibility conditions for the Public Rental Scheme.
85% of households with at least three persons are living in 2-room or larger rental flats under the various HDB rental schemes. For the households residing in 1-room rental flats, some may not have been able to retain their larger flats due to arrears.
HDB does not track the number of applicants under the Joint Single Scheme who are unable to secure a rental flat due to difficulty in finding a suitable co-applicant. Singles looking to apply for a rental flat under the Joint Singles Scheme are encouraged to find someone they know to be their co-applicant, such as a relative or a friend. For those who need help to find a co-applicant, HDB will assist by offering them a listing of single persons who are also looking for a possible pairing. HDB also conducts facilitated sessions to help the singles on the list find a flatmate.
PAPERCUTS