Changes to housing grants disbursement, income assessment for HDB buyers from May 9

May 09, 2023

FROM Tuesday (May 9), housing grants will no longer be disbursed only to flat applicants who are Singaporean citizens, but instead shared among applicants and occupiers in the household, regardless of whether they are Singaporeans or permanent residents (PRs).

Those looking to buy Housing Board flats will now also have their incomes assessed over a period of 12 months, instead of the most recent three or six months.

The latest changes were announced in a press release by HDB on Monday night, which reiterated its move to a more streamlined process from Tuesday, when the current HDB loan eligibility letter is replaced.

First announced on Apr 28, HDB said the new HDB flat eligibility letter will give buyers a clearer picture of their purchase costs and financing options.

Through the new letter, HDB will retrieve the flat buyer’s personal particulars from the MyInfo data service to assess one’s eligibility assessment, giving applicants greater convenience while reducing the need to submit several documents.

“To facilitate the link-up, HDB will in tandem streamline its income assessment guidelines, including the income assessment period.

“HDB will also adjust the way it assesses households’ eligibility for housing subsidies for greater consistency,” it said.

The new system of disbursing housing grants is a “fairer approach”, said HDB, adding that core occupiers who are citizens or PRs would be treated as second-timers after enjoying a housing grant, similar to Singaporean core applicants, who are the only ones viewed as such in the current system.

The overall grant amount, however, will not change for most households, as the eligibility for this will continue to be assessed on a per-household basis.

Under the new system, only applicants can use their share of the housing grants to pay for the flat purchase.

A core occupier who receives a share of the grants can use it when he is included as an owner, or when he applies to buy his own flat in the future. An occupier is a family member, such as a spouse, child, parent or sibling, who forms a family nucleus with the applicant to qualify for a flat from HDB.

The revised income assessment, meanwhile, will allow for a more consistent assessment across applicants, said HDB, which noted that jobs are fundamentally different in various aspects, including remuneration structures.

By standardising the period of income assessment to 12 months, where income months are available, it will provide a “clearer assessment” of applicants’ income levels, especially for those whose incomes fluctuate from month to month.

The income components that will be considered include all components from employment or trade, but exclude bonuses.

Meanwhile, the assessment period will cut off two months before an individual applies for an HDB flat eligibility letter. Those who have done so must be employed when they submit their applications.

These new guidelines will apply to other schemes where relevant, HDB said, citing examples such as the purchase of executive condominium units from property developers, the Lease Buyback Scheme and Silver Housing Bonus.

https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/pro...b-buyers-may-9