HDB flat buyers who withdraw their application for a unit under the priority scheme will have their cases reviewed by the housing board to determine if they can keep their queue number without the scheme, reported The Straits Times.
“Should applicants withdraw from a priority scheme… after balloting has been completed, HDB will check the ballot results to determine if they can still maintain their queue number without the priority scheme,” noted the HDB.
As such, there are three possible outcomes. An applicant may be removed from the queue and will not be able to select a flat, the applicant could receive a bigger queue number to choose a flat at a later date, or retain the queue number since he or she may “have been randomly shortlisted without any priority, and (can) proceed to select a flat”.
While the last scenario may be rare, it is still possible “due to the nature of balloting that involves random chances”.
HDB made this statement in response to a media query about a recent online post regarding a couple who got ahead in the queue by allegedly exploiting a loophole.
A post on the website All Singapore Stuff featured a blog entry by Heydi Lee, who claimed she and her fiancé Seah Kah Wee retained the ballot number of 91 for their 5-room flat application even after they had withdrawn from the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).
The couple applied for a 5-room flat in Tampines during the May sales launch under the said scheme in order to live near Seah’s parents. The project had attracted 1,170 applicants for its 447 5-room units. Meanwhile, the blog has already been deleted.
The MCPS encourages parents and married children to live together, or in the vicinity of one another.
In Build-To-Order (BTO) exercises, 30 percent of the flat supply is allocated for first-time applicants under this scheme.
However, the priority scheme does not guarantee that applicants will get a favourable position in the queue or be ahead of non-MCPS applicants, explained the housing board.
Although most applicants might see their queue number increasing after pulling out of a priority scheme, “a small group of applicants may still maintain their queue numbers”.
“This entire balloting process is audited to ensure it remains robust and fair to all applicants applying for a flat,” added the housing board.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Singapore Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
