HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD FLATS FOR PERMANENT RESIDENTS

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development why the Government allows Singapore permanent residents to purchase Housing and Development flats that are built on relatively cheap land acquired by the Government and to enjoy mortgage loans financed by relatively cheap funds.

Mr Low Thia Khiang asked the Minister for National Development how many Housing and Development Board flat owners who are permanent residents have family nuclei comprising permanent residents that have enabled the owners to qualify for ownership and what types of flats do they own.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: The primary objective of public housing has always been to provide affordable HDB flats to citizen households. This fundamental objective has not changed. Only Singaporean families are allowed to buy subsidised flats from the HDB, apply for the CPF housing grant to buy resale flats, and enjoy the HDB concessionary mortgage loans to buy new or resale HDB flats.

About 29,000 flats, or less than 4% of the total stock of HDB flats, are currently owned by Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) families. Over 80% of them bought 3-room and 4-room resale flats. SPR families are only allowed to buy resale flats from the open market at market price. They will not be entitled to the CPF Housing Grant. If they take up a HDB mortgage loan to buy a resale flat, they are required to pay the prevailing market interest rate. Hence, SPR families are not eligible for housing subsidy, whether direct or indirect.

The same policy treatment which differentiates between Singapore citizens and SPRs is also applied by the Government under the Main Upgrading Programme, the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Programme, and the rebates for Service and Conservancy Charges.

This differential policy treatment has ensured that our housing subsidies benefit only the citizen families. At the same time, SPR families are able to acquire reasonably affordable housing in Singapore when they contribute to our economy. They can enjoy the housing subsidies only when they apply for and are granted the Singapore citizenship.