Appeals for Public Rental Flats and Interim Rental Housing

Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development for each year between 2013 and 2015 (a) how many cases of appeals have been received from the respective Members of Parliament on behalf of their residents for public rental flats and interim rental housing respectively; (b) of the total number of appeals, what is the number of successful appeals; (c) what are the main considerations for favourably granting these appeals; and (d) whether for complex cases, referrals will be made to Family Service Centres or voluntary welfare organisations to have the respective cases further assessed before a decision on their appeals is made.

From 2013 to 2015, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received requests from around 8,700 appellants a year for public rental flats. These included appeals made through Members of Parliament and appeals made directly to HDB.

Over this same period, a total of 6,900 households were successful in their requests for public rental flats. Another 510 households were assisted with Interim Rental Housing.

HDB assesses each appeal on its own merit. For needy households which do not meet the eligibility criteria, HDB will exercise flexibility and offer public rental if they are unable to buy a flat and have no other housing options or family support.

HDB may also refer complex cases to a Family Service Centre (FSC) for a social worker’s assessment if the client consents. Apart from exploring their housing options, HDB will then work with the social service agencies to help the families with counselling, financial assistance and employment support to address the underlying causes of housing instability.