Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis (Sengkang): Chairman, having a roof over one’s head is a necessity in a person’s life. Even as the Forward Singapore exercise ostensibly shows that the condominium is no longer part of the Singapore dream, having a place to stay, even on a rented basis, provides a sense of stability, security and shelter.
Over a year ago, I asked the Minister whether the Government would consider providing further market subsidies for qualifying applicants for schemes, like the PPHS and the Public Rental Scheme (PRS), in order to support young parents. I have also suggested that we cannot rely on the open market to be a catch-all solution for the people who are unable to avail themselves of such rental schemes.
At the time, the response from the Minister was that providing subsidies or grants for renting flats in the open market is likely to induce demand and drive up market rents, which will compound rather than help solve problems. As such, we have no plans to provide such rental subsidies. I am gratified that MND and HDB have finally changed its policies in response to feedback, even if it includes one brought up by an Opposition Member of Parliament.
I agree with the MND’s plans to provide more varied rental options, such as piloting new service apartments and shared facility public rental housing and more importantly, provide subsidies for couples needing help in renting from the open market. These are the first steps on a broader path to meeting varied housing needs, something which I have raised in an adjournment Motion in Parliament in 2021. I would also like to thank the Minister for increasing his tolerance of potential distortionary effects from subsidies. I am sure the couples that stand to benefit from the subsidies are likewise appreciative.
Although the growth in rent has moderated, we cannot rest on our laurels. The need for more widespread rental options to support the wider population beyond specific targeted group remains. From demographic groups like S Pass holders who need a place to stay to individuals who need to move out on their own for varied reasons, the demand in the market for affordable housing, even if on a temporary basis, remains.
Even other Ministries are not blind to this problem. In August last year, the Ministry of Health (MOH) sought operators for a planned series of hostels for the foreign healthcare workforce, recognising that they needed support in finding affordable accommodation. Sir, this intervention is illustrative of how affordable rental housing is still very much a work in progress, despite efforts to the contrary. Seventy-percent of S-Pass holders currently reside in rented HDB flats.
We need to ensure that rental accommodation options are expanded to prevent the crowding out of local demand for HDB flats. To that end, I would like to ask the Minister the following: The Forward Singapore exercise has emphasised that there will be an affordable home for every budget and need; and that the public housing programmes need to be updated. In that regard, can the Minister share whether the rental programmes are also in line for updating and expansion beyond these pilots?
The Minister for National Development (Mr Desmond Lee): Mr Louis Chua has proposed to expand HDB’s rental programme, and Mr Leong Mun Wai too. Just last year, the PSP introduced the Millennial Apartments Scheme and shared that it was a way to build small, rental flats in prime locations near the central business district for younger Singaporeans to rent for a period of time. Today, they expand this scheme, I understand, to mature estates as well as to replace future Prime and Plus flats with Millennial Apartments instead.
This means taking back Mature Estate land and land in more central parts of Singapore with currently owner-occupied flats, and instead of building Prime and Plus flats with the concomitant restrictions to support owner-occupation, for people to buy. This means, under their scheme, replacing them with large numbers of rental flats for young millennials to rent out for a few years.
This, of course, in an island city state with limited land, will mean very significant trade-offs, and fewer supply for many other groups of Singaporeans, including those that will have to be displaced as a result of the redevelopment plans of the PSP.
In fact, today we already have a range of rental and co-living options in both the HDB market, as well as in the private market, as well as HDB programmes such as the Public Rental Flat Scheme, Interim Rental Housing, PPHS.
The Minister of State for National Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Ms Carrie Tan, Mr Faisal Manap and Mr Louis Chua have asked for updates on these new typologies.
The JSS Operator-Run model, or JSS-OR for short, is an ongoing pilot from December 2021. Under JSS-OR, singles can apply for a rental flat without a flat mate. A social service agency appointed by HDB operates each site, including managing the flat sharing arrangements and mediating between tenants when disagreements arise.
Last year, we expanded the pilot to three new sites in Bukit Panjang, Bidadari and Sengkang. With these additional sites, HDB has assisted about 600 JSS-OR tenants as of end-2023 and can accommodate up to 1,000 tenants in total.
One tenant that has benefited from JSS-OR is Mr Lee, who is in his 70s. After the friend he was living with passed away, Mr Lee had to turn to public rental housing. At his age and with his medical needs, Mr Lee had trouble finding a flat mate to apply with under the JSS. With the help of a social worker, Mr Lee applied for the JSS-OR instead. After he was accepted to the Bukit Panjang site, the JSS-OR operator helped to pair him with a compatible flat mate and Mr Lee moved in in October 2023. Since then, Mr Lee and his flat mate have been getting along well. As demonstrated through Mr Lee’s experience, I am happy to share that the pilot has been progressing well. Mr Lee and many other tenants have shared their appreciation for the on-site social service agency whom they can approach for assistance when needed.
The model has also been effective in mitigating co-tenant conflicts. Over 95% of such conflicts were resolved through the on-site operators’ early mediation and adjustment of flat sharing arrangements where necessary. Some operators have also gone the extra mile, for example, by organising activities to encourage interaction and bonding amongst tenants. We will further evaluate the pilot outcomes, before adjusting and expanding the model to meet the needs of the tenants and operators.
Another pilot typology is the Single Room Shared Facilities model, or SRSF. Through SRSF, we aim to give singles in public rental more privacy while making good use of limited space and preventing social isolation. HDB will open applications for the SRSF pilot in the second quarter 2024. Thereafter, we look forward to housing the first batch of successful applicants from around the third quarter 2024.
Ministry of National Development
5 March 2024
https://sprs.parl.gov.sg/search/#/sprs3topic?reportid=budget-2376
Office of the Leader of the Opposition 