Written answer by Ministry of National Development on how many Singaporean households were in arrears on their housing loan instalments in 2023 for public housing and what were the median and maximum number of months they were in arrears

Feb 26, 2024

Question No: 5495

Question by: Ms Hazel Poa

To ask the Minister for National Development how many Singaporean households were in arrears on their housing loan instalments in 2023 for public housing and what were the median and maximum number of months they were in arrears.

Answer:

          As at Dec 2023, about 15,600 households servicing their HDB loans were in mortgage arrears of three months or more. This represented 5.7% of all households with outstanding HDB loans. Of these 15,600 households, the majority owed less than two years of arrears.

2.       To help households in mortgage arrears, HDB provides one-to-one financial counselling to homeowners, and offers various financial assistance measures depending on the household’s circumstances. This provides temporary relief for homeowners, so that they have some time to explore ways to improve their finances. The assistance measures include allowing homeowners to:

•    Reduce or defer their loan instalments for six months, with a further six-month extension (if necessary); and/or

•    Pay their loan arrears by instalments till their financial situation improves; and/or

•    Extend their mortgage loan tenure to help reduce their monthly instalments, if needed.

3.       Some households owe arrears of two or more years as they require more time to address complex issues (e.g. medical issues or the demise of the sole breadwinner) and explore ways to resolve their arrears. For such households that experience prolonged periods of financial difficulties, HDB will work with each household to tailor support and explore longer-term solutions, such as including working adult children as joint owners to help with the loan instalments, or right-sizing to a flat within their means.