More HDB help for couples, parents to live close by

[reporter2]

http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/saturday/premium/top-the-news/story/more-hdb-help-couples-parents-live-close-20141122

More HDB help for couples, parents to live close by

From next week, up to one-third of new flats will be set aside for them

Published on Nov 22, 2014 1:12 AM

By Yeo Sam Jo


COUPLES and their parents who want to live close to each other will get more help from the Government starting next week.

Up to a third of new flats will be set aside for first-time applicants under the enhanced Married Child Priority Scheme, the Housing Board said yesterday.

Those applying for new flats for the second time will be allocated up to 15 per cent of Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and Sale of Balance Flats.

Previously, those who applied to live with or near their parents received extra ballot chances.

But the latest change will offer them "significantly higher chances of success", said HDB.

The scheme benefits flat applicants who want to live with or close to their parents or their married children.

In addition, two groups will be given priority and shortlisted ahead of other applicants under this scheme.

One group are parents and married children who apply to live under one roof.

The other group are parents who own flats in mature estates and apply for BTO flats near their married children in non-mature estates.

About a quarter of flat applicants at each sales exercise apply under the scheme, said HDB.

The quota will kick in next week, when HDB puts up for sale 4,277 BTO flats in Sembawang, Sengkang, Tampines and Yishun, as well as 3,000 Sale of Balance Flats.

Ms Nicole Tan, 23, and her boyfriend, Mr Zheng Bin, 27, who intend to apply for a five-room Tampines North BTO flat next week, were elated with the news.

Said Ms Tan, who is unemployed and whose parents live in Tampines: "We have been trying for a flat seven times since January last year.

"Hopefully this will be our lucky break."

This move from a chance-based to quota-based priority system follows the Ministry of National Development's discussions in June which sought public feedback on how housing policies could draw families closer together.

Among the ideas discussed then were absolute priority for couples applying for BTO flats in the same estate as their parents and building more three-generation flats.

MP for Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC Zainal Sapari believes that the quota will be popular with young couples, as it encourages them to live near their parents, and facilitates childcare and eldercare.

"This might also encourage couples to procreate. Some defer having a child because they can't live close to their parents," he said.

[email protected]

[reporter2]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/married-children-to-get-better-chance-of-getting-hdb-flat-near-parents

Married children to get better chance of getting HDB flat near parents

By Lee Meixian

[email protected]@LeeMeixianBT

22 Nov


MARRIED children who want to live near their parents will now have greater assurance of success when they apply for flats, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) announced on Friday.

Up to 30 per cent of the supply of new flats will be reserved for first-timer families, and up to 15 per cent for second-timer families.

Previously, families who wished to live with or near each other received extra ballot chances for their application for a new flat under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS).

With the change, "the MCPS will be converted from a chance-based to a quota-based priority scheme to offer such applicants significantly higher chances of success," HDB said.

Under the tweaked scheme, two groups of applicants will get first priority: parents and married children who apply for a flat to live together, and parents who own a flat in a mature estate, and who apply for a BTO flat in a non-mature estate so as to live near a married child.

Eugene Lim, the key executive officer of ERA Realty Network, said he expected the change to make the scheme more popular, especially among first-timer families buying new HDB flats in mature estates.

"Previously, their success rate in the flat application depended on chance. They were allocated four or six chances, versus the two chances given to normal applicants under the public scheme. Now, there is more certainty and a higher chance of success," he said.

The change to the scheme will have a minimal impact on the resale HDB market, as most first-timer households buy flats directly from the HDB.

Also, it is unlikely for parents to uproot from mature estates in droves just to live near their married children, as many of them have lived there for years and would be reluctant to move away from their long-time neighbours, he added.

The changes begin from November's build-to-order (BTO) and sale of balance flats (SBF) exercises; 4,277 BTO flats in Sembawang, Sengkang, Tampines and Yishun, and another 3,000 flats in a concurrent SBF exercise, will be offered. MCPS applicants make up about a quarter of flat bookings in each exercise.

The change follows feedback and suggestions received at the series of Housing Conversations held earlier this year.