HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMPANY (Income ceiling)

Dr Yeo Ning Hong asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether he can give an estimate of the number of Singaporeans who are not eligible for the Housing and Urban Development Company residential accommodation because of the ceiling on income; and (b) whether the HUDC will be able to cope with the increase in applications if there is no income ceiling.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Mr Speaker, Sir, I am unable to give an accurate estimate of the number of Singaporeans who are not eligible for HUDC housing as they have exceeded the income ceiling, because there is a lack of comprehensive family income data in Singapore.

The Government is not agreeable to the removal of the income ceiling of what is essentially Government-built housing for the middle-income group. However, the income ceiling is periodically adjusted upwards in the light of rising incomes. The ceiling was last revised in April 1980 from $4,000 to $6,000.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong (Kim Seng): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the Minister for National Development whether the number of people that he has given to us previously, i.e. people whose income exceeds $2,500, might not be eligible for an HUDC flat if they were to wait for another year or two and then get married to somebody with roughly the same level of income as themselves?

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: Mr Speaker, Sir, as I have said earlier, the income ceiling will be adjusted upwards periodically. I believe those people whose incomes just exceed $6,000 and at present are ineligible, will become eligible once the income ceiling is revised upwards.