HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS

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HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS:

(Number of households defaulting in mortgage or rental payments): 6.

Mr Siew Kum Hong asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many HDB flat owners lost their flats due to failure in making mortgage or rental payments, in each year from 2002 to 2006; (b) of this number, how many applied to HDB to obtain alternative accommodation in each year and how many were rejected for each year; (c) what were the most common reasons for rejection; and (d) whether the fact that an applicant’s household includes dependants is a relevant factor in deciding such applications.

Mr Speaker: You have two minutes, Dr Maliki.

Dr Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, from 2002 to 2006, 360 HDB households voluntarily surrendered their flats to HDB due to default in HDB mortgage loan payments. There were also 895 cases of mortgagee sale of HDB flats by banks, as I mentioned earlier. No tenant under the Public Rental Scheme was evicted due to rental arrears, although some have been advised to

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transfer to smaller rental flats to reduce their rent.

Of the 360 households who voluntarily surrendered their flats to HDB, 200 (56%) have been allocated rental flats while the rest found their own housing arrangements. Among the 895 households affected by HDB mortgagee sale action, 273 appealed to HDB for some form of help. Of these, 131 (48%) were offered a rental flat while another 13 (5%) who met credit assessment guidelines were provided a concessionary loan to purchase another flat.

There are strict eligibility criteria for the Public Rental Scheme to ensure that our heavily subsidised rental flats are allocated to those without housing options. For example, households who sold their flats are not eligible for subsidised rental flats for 30 months from the date of sale of their flat. If they have enjoyed two housing subsidies, they will be permanently debarred from a rental flat.

However, HDB does exercise flexibility in applying these eligibility rules. The key principle is that citizen households who are truly needy and with no alternative housing option will be considered for a rental flat.

Mr Speaker: Order. End of Question time.

[Pursuant to Standing Order No. 22(3), Written Answers to Question Nos. 6, 9, 11 and 16 on the Order Paper are reproduced in the Appendix*. Question Nos. 7, 8, 10, 12-15 and 17-20 have been postponed to the sitting of Parliament on 28th February 2007.]

*Cols. 1741-1746.