Response by MOS Faishal Ibrahim to Ms Carrie Tan's Motion for Adjournment on "Enhancing Public Rental Housing for Human Thriving"

Nov 7, 2023

Introduction

1. Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Ms Tan for her passionate speech on enhancing the living environment, to motivate, empower and uplift public rental households.

2. We share Ms Tan’s belief in the power and social impact of good design. As the master planner and developer of Singapore’s public housing estates, HDB appreciates the importance of quality homes and environments that enhance residents’ wellbeing and support Singaporeans to lead their best lives.

3. To that end, HDB launched its “Designing for Life” roadmap in 2020. The roadmap seeks to enhance residents’ physical, mental and social wellbeing through thoughtful, resident-centred design. For example, by bringing nature and greenery closer to residents, improving facilities for active living, and providing ample community spaces to encourage social connections.

a. Rental flats are always built as part of a wider HDB neighbourhood. This means that rental tenants enjoy the same communal facilities and amenities as sold flat owners – including community living rooms, roof gardens, fitness facilities, playgrounds, neighbourhood shops, preschool centres and Active Ageing Centres.

Improving the Living Environment for Public Rental Households

4. Over the years, we have made progressive improvements to our rental flats, to enhance their design and provide a better living environment for our tenants.

a. Rental blocks that were built since 2007 are better designed with enhanced natural lighting and ventilation within units and at the corridors. These newer blocks are very different from the older rental blocks that have long corridors with units lined on both sides.

b. In addition, we have been building public rental flats alongside sold flats – in the same
projects, and since 2014, in the same blocks, and on the same floors.

5. In integrated blocks such as those at Marsiling Greenview and West Plains @ Bukit Batok, public rental flats look no different from sold flats from the outside. On the inside, they have similar finishes and fittings as 2-room Flexi sold flats.

6. We do this because having a good social mix is a key objective of our public housing programme.

a. After the first integrated block was completed, at Marsiling Greenview, we commissioned a study with NUS to understand the impact of this integrated design. We found that the design features have encouraged interactions and ties between owners and tenants – for example, by locating sold flats and rental flats on the same floor, minimizing visible differences between sold flats and rental flats, and having shared amenities such as playgrounds.

b. The study also found that owners and tenants have the same perceptions of what constitutes a liveable environment. And they act in similar ways to uphold these standards – for example, in terms of upkeeping shared corridor spaces and managing
cleanliness.

c. We are encouraged by these findings, and will apply these learnings to the design of future integrated blocks. Another 17 integrated blocks will be completed in the next five years, and we will continue to build them, including in future Prime and Plus projects.

7. We also explore new typologies to improve the living environment for public rental tenants.

a. For example, we announced earlier this year that we are piloting a new public rental typology for singles called the Single Room Shared Facilities, or SRSF. The SRSF aims to give tenants greater privacy while providing shared facilities to prevent social isolation. Each tenant will have their own private bedroom that comes with basic furnishings, such as a bedframe, table and wardrobe. Amenities like toilets, kitchens, dining areas and laundry rooms will be shared, to ensure that we make good use of space and to facilitate social interaction.

8. For older public rental blocks, HDB keeps them in good condition through regular maintenance and upgrading. Older rental blocks will typically be upgraded together with sold blocks, when the entire area is rejuvenated through HDB’s various upgrading programmes.

a. We are also progressively redeveloping older clusters of rental flats, and tenants who are relocated can move to newer rental flats with improved designs.

Addressing Concerns about Space and Privacy

9. We empathise with Ms Tan’s point about providing a good living environment for rental
families with young children. We have been making efforts in this area and will seek to further improve the design of flats.

10. Under the Public Rental Scheme, HDB generally offers 1- and 2-room flats, to cater to both singles and families. The vast majority of our public rental households – more than 9 in 10 – have four or fewer persons. We do not have a hard space norm per person. But we recognize that some larger households may have space concerns, and have already started some efforts to help provide a better environment for families with young children, including using good design to overcome the constraints of land and space.

a. Families with at least three members will be allocated a 2-room public rental flat. These are typically sized similarly to 2-room Flexi sold flats.

b. In recent years, HDB has also started building 2-room rental flats that come with an additional partitioned space. The space can be used as a child’s room with a single bed and a small wardrobe, or as a study or activity room to support children’s development.

c. For larger families, those able to form two family nuclei will be allocated two public rental flats. Where possible, HDB strives to ensure that both flats are located near each other, to facilitate mutual care and support. HDB also works with MSF to offer 3- room public rental flats to selected large families with children on a case-by-case basis.

Pairing Rental Housing with Social Support to Uplift Households

11. Like Ms Tan, we are driven by a desire to see families achieving social mobility and seniors ageing well, even if they live in public rental. But to achieve these, hardware alone is insufficient. We need to pair hardware with good social support and programming, to make concerted efforts to address households’ needs and aspirations holistically.

12. For example, HDB works with relevant people sector partners to support seniors in public rental flats with active ageing programmes and assisted living services. At a rental block in Kebun Baru, the Integrated Dementia Assisted Living project by Dementia Singapore offers a telehealth room, community kitchen and social programming to support seniors living in the rental block to age well in place.

13. For families with young children living in public rental flats, government agencies and community partners work closely together through the ComLink+ programme to provide coordinated support. ComLink officers and Family Coaches will journey with families, understand their needs and aspirations, and work with them to develop goals and action plans. Different agencies and partners then work together backend, behind the scenes, to support families’ individual needs – MOE for school subsidies, MOH for healthcare, Family Service Centres for family counselling, community-based after-school care and programmes for children, and so on.

a. In Boon Lay, for example, children in ComLink+ families may spend their after-school hours at the Tak Takut Kids Club. The club is operated by 3Pumpkins, a communitybased organization. Located at the ground floor of a rental block, it runs various free play, sports and crafts activities, and provides a safe and supportive environment where children can grow and express themselves.

b. In November last year, we worked with MSF to launch the ComLink Rental Scheme to strengthen our efforts and go further upstream. Once families apply for a public rental flat and are assessed to be eligible, they will automatically be enrolled in ComLink+. A ComLink officer will then proactively reach out to them to offer support, even before they move into their rental flat, and continue to journey with them as they work towards achieving stability, self-reliance and social mobility. To date, over 700 families have been engaged under this scheme.

14. When public rental families achieve stability and build up their finances, we support them on their journey towards homeownership. I have met many rental families, and I know that many of them hope to buy their own flats.

15. And families can count on our full support.

a. We provide substantial housing grants for lower-income families, on top of the significant subsidies that we provide for all BTO flats. First-timers can tap on the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and receive up to $80,000, while second-timers can tap on the $15,000 Step-Up CPF Housing Grant.

b. We also have the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which helps second-timer families with young children living in public rental flats to own a home again. The design of this scheme embodies the idea of social empowerment – coupling strong support from the Government and the community, with commitment and hard work from families. We enhanced the scheme recently to offer 3-room flats on shorter leases, so that families have more housing options, and increased the grant amount from $35,000 to $50,000.

c. There is also a dedicated Home ownership Support Team at HDB, who will provide one-to-one guidance to tenants on their homebuying journey. The team will share practical tips and advice on their housing budget and options, and guide families through the process of flat selection, application and booking.

16. The team has reached out to about 1,500 households over the past three years. Mr Khairi and Mdm Dayang is one of them. Together with their five children, they moved into their new home earlier this year. Before that, they had been living in public rental for some years. The Homeownership Support Team worked closely with them for over a year, guiding them on their housing budget and options. I am happy to hear that Mr Khairi and Mdm Dayang are now the proud owners of a 3-room resale flat. They were able to tap on housing grants totalling $87,500, and can service their mortgage entirely using their monthly CPF contributions, without any cash outlay.

Conclusion

17. In conclusion, Sir, supporting and uplifting those who are more vulnerable among us requires a holistic approach. We pay attention to the design of our homes and living environments. And we go one step further, to pair hardware with software, and marshal resources from across Government and society to support families.

18. We welcome the people and private sectors to contribute your ideas and resources too, and work with us to uplift families in public rental flats.