Delays in the construction of BTO flats, increased competition for open market rental, and the growing number of those who work from home have led to more demand for PPHS flats.
The income ceiling of $7,000 for Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat applicants under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) will enable the government to support families who are less able to afford to rent a flat on the open market, said the Ministry of National Development in Parliament on Monday (4 October).
“Given the increased demand and supply crunch, we are prioritising families in greater need of subsidised temporary housing, and have fine-tuned the eligibility conditions and allocation process,” said the ministry.
It was responding to Member of Parliament Murali Pillai’s question based on the $7,000 income ceiling for PPHS applicants.
MND explained that demand for PPHS flats has increased since 2020 due to delays in the completion of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats, the growing number of people working from home, and the increased competition for open market rental.
“At the same time, the supply of PPHS flats has tightened as delays in BTO completion have stalled the return of PPHS flats to HDB, and the shortage of workers has slowed down sprucing-up works for the PPHS flats before they can be rented out to new tenants,” it added.
And while the supply of PPHS flats will be raised from this year and in the next two years, MND noted that the number of PPHS units remains limited.
It underscored that the $7,000 income ceiling is well above the PPHS applicants’ median monthly household income of around $5,700.
In fact, the income ceiling for three-room flats in most BTO projects within non-mature estates is also $7,000.
With this, MND advised households that have a monthly income of over $7,000 but high monthly expenses, including larger households, to approach HDB should they require assistance with temporary housing.
“Their PPHS applications will be considered on a case-by-case basis,” it said.
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Cheryl Chiew, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this story, email: cheryl@propertyguru.com.sg.
