Debated in Parliament on 14 Apr 2014.
Mr Png Eng Huat asked the Minister for National Development in respect of the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (a) what is the formula for pricing the rental rates for flats under this scheme; (b) what are the costs involved in providing these rental flats; (c) What has been the number of applications for 3-room flat types; and (d) Whether the rental rates can be lowered to encourage the take-up rate for the bigger flat types.
Madam, the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) provides an additional option for families to rent a flat from HDB while they wait for their new flat to be completed. In setting the rents, we consider various factors, such as the flat type and also the location. PPHS rents are 40% to 60% lower than market rents in the vicinity.
The cost of providing PPHS flats includes the cost of retrofitting the flats before they are let out, and also the cost of managing and maintaining the flats.
The number of applications per month peaked at 409 last September, but has since dropped to 81. More than 900 of the 1,150 PPHS flats have been taken up. There are some larger flats still available. We are considering allowing some couples to co-rent, in other words, to share, these larger flats.
PAPERCUTS