REHOUSING PRIORITY FOR RESETTLEMENT CASES (Single persons living away from parents)

Mr Ng Kah Ting asked the Minister for National Development (a) if he will give single persons, who are living together as a family but not with parents and who are affected by resettlement, re-housing priority to purchase Housing and Development Board flats and, if not, why not; and (b) whether he will give priority also to grown-up grandchildren who are not living with their parents but with their grandparents and who are affected by resettlement.

Mr Lee Yock Suan (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, Sir, single persons who are living together but away from their parents are not eligible for rehousing priority because they cannot form themselves into a family nucleus. There is a great shortage of flats at the moment and it is necessary for the HDB to apply this rule on family nucleus stringently to curb demand for flats. However, related single persons, such as brothers and sisters, whose parents have both passed away, will be considered as a family nucleus and will qualify for resettlement priority to purchase HDB flats. Single persons affected by resettlement and whose parents are living elsewhere are advised to join their parents. Where this is not possible, they may be allocated 1-room rental flats on a joint allocation basis with at least one other person.

Grandchildren and their grandparents, if both of whom are alive, will be granted resettlement priority to purchase HDB flats. In cases where there is only one grandparent, rehousing priority will be granted if the grandparent forms a family nucleus with one or more of his or her grandchildren, and they can prove that they have been living together on the affected site prior to the resettlement cutoff date.

Mr J.B. Jeyaretnam (Anson): May I ask the Minister of State what would be the position of a single resident on a site which is affected by resettlement, if he has not got any family to join and there is nobody else with whom he can "couple", as it were, as suggested by the Minister of State? What does the Ministry expect this man to do? Dig a hole in the ground and live in it?

Mr Lee Yock Suan: Sir, in the cases mentioned by the Member for Anson, the HDB will try to arrange for this person to pair up with another single person to live together to rent a flat. In view of our housing shortage, it is necessary for us to insist that there should be at least two persons per household to qualify to rent or purchase flats.