Written answer by Ministry of National Development on average waiting time for rental flats under Public Rental Scheme by ethnic group

Nov 8, 2022

Ms Hazel Poa: To ask the Minister for National Development for each year since 2012

(a) what is the average waiting time for applicants of HDB rental flats under the Public Rental Scheme by ethnic group;
(b) what is the breakdown of HDB rental flat residents by ethnic group; and
(c) what is the percentage of HDB rental flat blocks where the ethnic limits at the block level have been reached.

Answer:

The current average waiting time for a public rental flat is about seven months for Chinese applicants, eight months for Malay applicants, and seven months for Indian/Other applicants. This is comparable to the waiting time in 2012 at six months, eight months, and seven months for the respective ethnic groups.

2.       Currently, of about 51,900 public rental tenants, 51% are Chinese, 35% are Malays, and 14% are Indian/Others. In 2012, of about 47,900 public rental tenants, 61% were Chinese, 27% were Malay, and 13% were Indian/Others.

3.       Currently, about 70% of HDB’s public rental blocks have reached the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) block limit for at least one ethnic group, compared to about 60% in 2012. Where needed, HDB exercises administrative flexibility within reasonable bounds to allocate public rental flats to low-income households who have no other housing options and avoid prolonging the waiting time for them.