HDB noted that it is not possible to implement the LUP due to prohibitive costs or technical constraints.
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has received 28 complete applications for the Lift access Housing Grant (LHG) as of February 2021, of which 22 were approved and four are under evaluation, revealed the Ministry of National Development (MND) in Parliament on Monday (10 May).
The LHG was introduced in March 2020 to help residents who urgently require direct lift access due to medical or mobility issues.
“Given that LHG recipients need to undertake relocation, it is intended for households with a significant need for direct lift access,” it said in a written response to MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim’s question on whether the ministry has studied the utility of LHG and the reason for its low take-up rate.
The ministry noted over 5,300 HDB blocks have no full direct lift access prior to the launch of the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP), which was launched in 2001 to provide direct lift access to flats and enhance convenience for residents, particularly the elderly and less mobile.
And while the majority of HDB residents now enjoy direct lift access, there are still around 150 blocks, affecting around 2,000 HDB units, that do not have direct lift access. HDB noted that it is not possible to implement the LUP in these flats due to prohibitive costs or technical constraints.
“In some cases, the cost of implementing the LUP could be almost as high as that of a new flat. Hence, it would not be financially prudent to provide the LUP in such blocks,” MND said.
“Therefore, while HDB continues to explore new methods to bring down implementation costs and overcome the technical constraints for the remaining flats, it introduced the Lift access Housing Grant, or LHG, in March 2020 to assist residents who urgently require direct lift access due to medical or mobility issues, to move into a flat with such access.”
The ministry revealed that it expects the number of households that would require the LHG to be “small”.
“As the LHG was introduced recently, HDB will continue to monitor the situation and assess if further enhancements are necessary to meet the needs of HDB residents,” it said.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email: victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
