SINGAPORE: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will set up a team dedicated to helping rental households attain eventual home ownership, said Senior Parliamentary Secretary for National Development Sun Xueling on Tuesday (Mar 5).
Speaking during the Building a Society of Opportunities joint segment during the Committee of Supply debate, Ms Sun said that the Home ownership Support Team (HST) will provide "stronger, personalised hand-holding for families who are ready for home ownership".
AdvertisementThe segment centered around the work done by four ministries - Ministry of National Development (MND), Ministry of Manpower (MOM), Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and Ministry of Education (MOE) - in addressing issues of inequality and social mobility.
"We agree that public rental should only be temporary for tenants who are work-capable, and are therefore increasing support to help tenants progress towards home ownership," Ms Sun said. "We have learnt that having someone to consult, and more importantly, to provide the human touch, is important for our tenants."
The HST, which will be set up later this year, will help tenants to navigate home ownership policies and processes. This could include discussing the options that would best meet their needs and budget, guiding them through the purchase, and checking in to ensure that the family remains on track for key collection.
[h=3]READ: About 3,500 rental tenants bought first home with housing grant help since 2013: HDB[/h] AdvertisementAdvertisementThe HDB had gained a "better understanding" of how best to support tenants through the Fresh Start Housing Scheme (Fresh Start), which was introduced in 2016 to help second-timer rental families with children buy a two-room flat, said Ms Sun.
Some for instance, needed advice on budgeting for a flat purchase, while others shared that they appreciated the face-to-face support from the Fresh Start team, she added.
As of last month, 74 families have joined Fresh Start, five of which have collected the keys, said Ms Sun.
Families on the scheme can get a grant of up to S$35,000.
"These numbers may seem small, but for those who benefit from the scheme, the help provided means a lot and we want them to succeed in their home ownership journey," she said.
Ms Sun added that for some tenants, home ownership may not be an immediate goal. These tenants may have more immediate concerns such as addressing family conflicts.
"Our priority is to help these families stabilise," she said.
As such, HDB will be providing spaces for MSF to establish social service hubs near rental flats to offer localised programmes and services. When those families have stabilised, HDB will engage them on home ownership, she said.
"We are heartened that last year, about 1,300 (rental) households moved into home ownership. These numbers have increased steadily in the last few years. We want to keep this up, and will work hard to partner our tenants in their efforts," added Ms Sun.
"Home ownership gives Singaporeans a stake in our country, and gives each family a permanent place to call their own."
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