reporter2
28-08-13, 16:46
http://www.straitstimes.com/premium/top-the-news/story/new-three-generation-flats-be-launched-next-month-20130828
New three-generation flats to be launched next month
Published on Aug 28, 2013
THE Housing Board is taking another stab at encouraging multiple generations to live under one roof, with new three-generation (3Gen) flats to be launched at next month's sales exercise in Yishun.
The new flat type contains four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and at 115 sq m, is about 5 sq m larger than current five-room units.
Applicants need to comprise at least a married or courting couple and their parents.
To prevent abuse, rooms cannot be sublet during the five-year minimum occupation period. After that, such flats can be resold in the open market, but only to other eligible multi-generational families.
The 3Gen announcement marks a return of multi-generational flats to the HDB stable, after "granny flats" saw a low take-up rate in 1987. These flats - 289 units spread across Yishun, Bishan and Tampines - ranged from 133 sq m to 165 sq m in size.
In the latest incarnation, 80 3Gen units will be launched.
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is unsure if there will be a huge demand, but said he supports its "social objective".
"We really want extended families to live together, for real, and not to game it to get a bigger flat," he added. "If it works, we will build more."
HDB has also tweaked the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme to allow parents of married children to apply for a three-room flat in the same Build-To-Order project.
Previously they were eligible to apply for only studio apartments or two-roomers under this scheme, which sets aside 15 per cent of the corresponding flat supply for them.
Student Denis Tan, 25, applauded the schemes, saying: "We all know Singaporeans are a busy lot. Having family in close proximity really increases interaction, or else it will be only during weekends, if at all."
RACHEL AU-YONG
New three-generation flats to be launched next month
Published on Aug 28, 2013
THE Housing Board is taking another stab at encouraging multiple generations to live under one roof, with new three-generation (3Gen) flats to be launched at next month's sales exercise in Yishun.
The new flat type contains four bedrooms and three bathrooms, and at 115 sq m, is about 5 sq m larger than current five-room units.
Applicants need to comprise at least a married or courting couple and their parents.
To prevent abuse, rooms cannot be sublet during the five-year minimum occupation period. After that, such flats can be resold in the open market, but only to other eligible multi-generational families.
The 3Gen announcement marks a return of multi-generational flats to the HDB stable, after "granny flats" saw a low take-up rate in 1987. These flats - 289 units spread across Yishun, Bishan and Tampines - ranged from 133 sq m to 165 sq m in size.
In the latest incarnation, 80 3Gen units will be launched.
National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan is unsure if there will be a huge demand, but said he supports its "social objective".
"We really want extended families to live together, for real, and not to game it to get a bigger flat," he added. "If it works, we will build more."
HDB has also tweaked the Multi-Generation Priority Scheme to allow parents of married children to apply for a three-room flat in the same Build-To-Order project.
Previously they were eligible to apply for only studio apartments or two-roomers under this scheme, which sets aside 15 per cent of the corresponding flat supply for them.
Student Denis Tan, 25, applauded the schemes, saying: "We all know Singaporeans are a busy lot. Having family in close proximity really increases interaction, or else it will be only during weekends, if at all."
RACHEL AU-YONG