Lowering the eligibility age for singles to purchase Build-to-Order flats, reviewing the income ceiling for BTO flats, allowing seniors to purchase short-term Flexi flats, Members of Parliament from the People’s Action Party spoke of the need to help Singaporeans fulfil their diverse housing aspirations.
During the Mar 4 debate on the Ministry of National Development’s spending plans, Ang Wei Neng (West Coast-Jurong West GRC) and Cai Yinzhou (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) asked if the government will review the income ceiling for BTO flats to reflect current wages and property prices.
“Many young couples are trapped with median household incomes crossing $12,000—ineligible for BTOs or PPHS support yet priced out of the resale market. Is it time to recalibrate income ceilings to reflect today’s wage realities?” Mr Cai said.
Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said authorities must ensure adequate supply before raising income ceilings, as higher limits would attract more applicants.
The current income ceiling—$14,000 for families and $7,000 for singles—covers around eight in 10 Singaporean households, Mr Chee noted.
Responding to Opposition’s calls to entirely remove the income ceiling, Mr Chee said the income ceiling is still necessary because it ensures that BTO flats, which are highly subsidised, are prioritised for those who are earning below the income ceiling.
“We are reviewing the income ceiling for BTO flats,” Mr Chee said. “We need to understand what the trade-offs are.”
Henry Kwek (Kebun Baru SMC), Chairperson of the Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development, Foo Cexiang (Tanjong Pagar GRC) and Nadia Ahmad Samdin (Ang Mo Kio GRC) also called for the government to meet additional gohousing needs of different groups of Singaporeans. They include singles singles, Singaporeans with non-resident spouses and Singaporean or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) child, and those who fall through the cracks.
Mr Foo asked MND to allow Singaporeans with non-resident spouses and no Singaporean or SPR child to purchase BTO flats of all sizes, with no minimum age requirement for the Singaporean.
“Restricting Singaporeans with non-resident spouses to 2-room Flexi flat constrains 25 per cent of would-be parents from having a child,” Mr Foo said. “Given our existential challenge, this proportion is too high to risk. We need to support all couples in their parenthood journey, including those made up of a Singaporean and a non-resident. “
Mr Kwek proposed for the BTO eligibility age for singles to be lowered to 33. Ms Nadia asked the government to consider expanding the housing options for singles.
“After all, many also support elderly parents who stay with them if there are emergencies or help with nieces and nephews on the weekends,” Ms Nadia said.
“For a divorcee trying to re-establish a roof over his/her head… beyond schemes like ASSIST, can MND consider other forms of support for this segment to find new beginnings?”
Mr Chee said the government is still reviewing proposals to lower the eligibility age for singles buying HDB flats and to introduce schemes allowing singles to purchase larger flats with their family members.
“If I lower the age before supply is adequate, we may end up with more people applying and demand goes up. This will affect existing applicants, including singles aged 35 and above,” he explained. “To avoid this, we must time the change carefully and do it only when we are confident we can meet increased demand from various groups of buyers.”
That is why MND’s priority is to “build more homes and to build them faster and higher so that “supply is adequate to meet higher demand”, Mr Chee stressed.
He shared that HDB will launch around 19,600 BTO flats. Of these, more than 4,000 will be Shorter Waiting Time flats, with a waiting time of less than three years.
HDB will also increase the 2-room Flexi supply by almost 50 per cent from 2026 to 2028, to meet growing demand from seniors and singles, he added.
More help for larger families to secure a flat
Mr Foo and Ms Nadia also asked how the government supports large families’ needs. Mr Kwek proposed building more five-room flats to meet such demands.
Mr Chee assured Mr Kwek that the government will do so. He acknowledged Singaopore’s land scarcity and said the government must “improve land productivity” by finding ways to create more space and increase housing supply
Separately, Senior Minister of State for National Development Sun Xueling said more flats will be set aside for eligible first- and second-timer families with three or more children.
The allocation quota under the Third Child Priority Scheme will be increased from up to 5 per cent to up to 10 per cent of flats offered in BTO and Sale of Balance Flats exercises. This will take effect from the BTO sales exercise in June.
The eligibility criteria will also be relaxed to include families expecting their third child. Currently, the third child must be born before a family can benefit from the scheme.
From 2020 to 2024, over 2,800 BTO applicants booked a flat under the priority scheme.
Mr Cai also advocated for single unwed parents. Ms Sun said that the government recognises that there will be applicants who face specific and unique challenges, and it will “consider their extenuating circumstances and are prepared to exercise flexibility on a case-by-case basis”.
Xie Yao Quan: Affected VERS homeowner should not need to top up cash for a new replacement flat
Over the next few decades, the government will progressively redevelop older HDB towns and estates through the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS).
The government plans to start with a few sites in the first half of the next decade before scaling up the programme from the late 2030s.
Xie Yao Quan (Jurong Central SMC) urged the government to redesign the baseline Vers compensation package such that affected homeowners would not need to pay additional cash for replacement flats.
Under this proposal, the Government would subsidise the cash top-up for affected homeowners instead.
“The Government will be paying a premium beyond market value to achieve fairness for current, affected homeonwers,” Mr Xie said.“The Government will need to use sound and consistent principles for such an exercise, to justify the higher public spending it implies.” In response, Mr Chee assured the MPs that the government will consider their suggestions carefully.
“I had said previously that the VERS package should be fair to existing flat owners and also sustainable for future generations,” Mr Chee said. “When we are ready with our initial proposals, MND and HDB will engage Singaporeans to take in further views and feedback, before we firm up the policy.”
