PURCHASE OF HDB FLATS

PURCHASE OF HDB FLATS:

(Raising of salary cap): 8.

Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development, following the recent hike in housing property prices, whether he will consider raising the salary cap for prospective buyers of public housing to allow more people to qualify for the purchase of a flat directly from HDB.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, currently, only households earning not more than $8,000 per month are allowed to buy a flat directly from HDB. For extended families buying a subsidised HDB flat to stay together, they will enjoy a higher household income ceiling of $12,000 per month.

The purpose of the income ceiling is to ensure that the Government's limited public housing subsidies are given to

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those who need them more. With the current income ceiling, about eight out of 10 Singaporean households can qualify for housing subsidies. This is more than generous by any standard.

Families whose household income exceeds the income ceiling have various other housing options available to them. For example, they can buy resale HDB flats from the open market, as these are not subject to any income ceiling. Those with a monthly household income of up to $10,000 can also buy a new Executive Condominium (EC) unit with an EC Housing Grant.

Nevertheless, we recognise that there may be cases deserving special consideration. For example, a household that exceeds the income ceiling marginally may have heavy financial commitment arising from the medical expenses of a family member. For such situations, HDB may exercise flexibility on a case-by-case basis to allow deserving households to purchase a subsidised HDB flat.

My Ministry will continue to monitor and review its policy on income ceiling to ensure that the majority of citizen families can enjoy subsidised public housing.