Debated in Parliament on 7 Aug 2024.
Mr Pritam Singh asked the Minister for National Development whether there is scope for HDB to improve its processing time for BTO applications in order to prevent a situation where, on receipt of an unfavourable ballot number, an applicant proceeds to apply for a flat in a subsequent BTO exercise and receives a favourable number, only to have the latter cancelled when HDB informs him that a flat has been belatedly allocated for selection from his earlier BTO flat application.
In past years, about 40% of Build-To-Order (BTO) applicants who were invited to book a flat did not do so. For every applicant who received multiple queue numbers or flat booking appointments, there could be numerous other applicants who were denied a chance to obtain a queue number. Such irresponsible behaviour crowded out other home buyers, some of whom have genuine or even more urgent housing needs.
To deter such irresponsible behaviour and ensure more efficient flat allocation in sales exercises, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) tightened the rules for non-selection of flats. Since October 2023, applicants in BTO and Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercises who received a queue position within 100% of the flat supply at an earlier exercise are not eligible to apply for a flat in subsequent sales exercises until after their flat booking appointment. Applicants who are invited to book a flat but choose not to do so will be issued a non-selection count (NSC) and have any existing applications for subsequent BTO/SBF exercises cancelled. First-Timer (FT) families with one NSC will be considered Second-Timers (STs) for a year in the computer ballot, while ST families, FT singles and seniors who accumulate one NSC will have to wait one year before they can apply for a flat again.
HDB recognises that applicants invited to book at the tail end of the selection process face limited choices. Therefore, HDB will not issue an NSC to applicants who have 10 or fewer BTO flats, or five or fewer SBF flats, to choose from at their booking appointment. This means that applicants, with multiple flat applications, will be eligible to select a flat at their next flat booking appointment. Where there are extenuating circumstances, HDB may also consider waiving NSC on a case-by-case basis.
As HDB issues queue numbers up to 300% of the flat supply, those applicants who receive larger queue numbers and have lower chances of securing a flat may be anxious to apply in another sales exercise as soon as possible. So as not to unduly hold up such applicants from securing a flat, HDB allows applicants who receive queue numbers outside 100% of the flat supply to proceed with applying in a second sales exercise even before their flat booking appointment. As a result, 116 applicants, or under 2% of total applicants with more than one flat application, have been invited to book a flat in two sales exercises since October 2023.
For fairness, HDB applies the NSC rules evenly across all applicants, including the 116 applicants who were invited to book a flat in two sales exercises. This means that the applicants who do not book their flat in their first booking appointment and are not eligible for an NSC waiver, will be issued an NSC and will not be allowed to book a flat in the second sales exercise.
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