ALLOCATION OF FLATS IN ANSON CONSTITUENCY

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam asked the Minister for National Development whether there was any reason for the departure from the hitherto followed practice of balloting when flats were recently allocated in the newly completed blocks in Anson constituency and, if so, what was the reason.

Mr Teh Cheang Wan: The principle that is adhered to in the allocation of HDB flats is the "first-come-first-served" principle based on priority of registration numbers. Under this principle, flats may be allocated in 2 ways: by ballot or through a selection system in which applicants are called up according to their registration numbers to select their individual flats.

There are a total of 276 units in Kampong Silat Estate. The completion dates for these units were, however, spread over a period of 4 months. The HDB decided to sell these units on a selection basis as this would allow the applicants, according to the sequence of their registration numbers, to select their flats and to move into them as soon as they were ready.

The selection exercise at Kampong Silat has therefore enabled applicants to get their flats earlier and has also speeded up clearance exercises for redevelopment.

This is not the first time the selection exercise was held. In the past, flats in Woodlands Estate, Bukit Batok Estate, Alexandra Village, Zhujiao Centre and Towner Road Estate were sold in this manner.