Former flat owners now living in public rental flats may soon be able to apply for a new housing grant and a concessionary loan, as well as acquire 2-room Flexi-flats on shorter leases, wrote National Development Minister Lawrence Wong in a blog post.
He shared that some of the views were gathered by the MND and the HDB from public dialogues on the Fresh Start Housing Scheme.
“Most said they wanted to own a flat again for their children to grow up in, but were unable to get mortgage loans. Some also said it was difficult to pay the resale levy in cash.”
As such, he noted that a new Fresh Start Housing Grant may be offered to these families under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme in order to reduce the amount they need to pay for a flat.
But instead of a single lump-sum payout, the grant may be disbursed in tranches over time, subject to certain conditions which have to be met.
He revealed that the ministry is also looking at providing the said families with another HDB concessionary loan.
The Housing Board will also explore offering 2-room Flexi-flats on shorter leases, but with a longer minimum occupation period. Currently, the flats are only available to the elderly.
While some families may prefer to buy a larger flat, “it would be more prudent to secure a flat first, and then move on to a bigger unit when they are able to do so,” said Wong.
“The two-room Flexi-flats will be similar in size to their existing rental flats, but this will be a flat which they will pay for and will eventually be able to call their own, unlike a rental flat. This is the big difference.”
“Taken together, the provision of another housing grant, another concessionary HDB loan, and a shorter lease flat are significant steps to help these families,” he added.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
