Home Improvement Programme voting process to be studied after 2 Tiong Bahru HDB blocks miss threshold
[SINGAPORE] The authorities will study the voting process for the Home Improvement Programme (HIP), after two HDB blocks in Tiong Bahru narrowly missed the voting threshold in November.
Responding to a question on whether the authorities are planning to review the HIP voting threshold, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said on Thursday (Jan 8) that the authorities will need to strike a balance between upgrading older flats and respecting the decisions of flat owners.
He noted that blocks with fewer units may face challenges in meeting the 75 per cent voting threshold to proceed with the upgrading programme.
“What’s the best way to design the voting process so that we are able to achieve a good outcome?” Chee said to reporters on the sidelines of a visit to ParkEdge @ Bidadari.
He added: “MND (Ministry of National Development) and HDB will take a look at this. We will also consult the stakeholders on what is a better way to manage this process.”
The two blocks – Block 34 Kim Cheng Street and Block 35 Lim Liak Street – had failed to garner enough votes to pass the 75 per cent threshold by a narrow margin of two votes and one, respectively. Block 34 comprises 24 units while Block 35 has 15 units.
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They were among 29 blocks in the neighbourhood where residents voted in November on whether to carry out HIP improvements. Voting was successful for the other 27 blocks. All the blocks are four-storey, walk-up flats built in 1949 by Singapore Improvement Trust, the predecessor to HDB.
Residents in the two unsuccessful blocks could get a second chance to vote in 2026, depending on the level of support from residents, Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang told ST in December.
HIP was launched in 2007 to spruce up older housing estates and resolve common maintenance problems, such as spalling concrete. It is carried out only if at least 75 per cent of a block’s eligible Singaporean households have voted for it. Permanent resident households are not eligible to vote.
More details on HIP II - the second round of upgrades that HDB flats will undergo at the 60- to 70-year mark - will be announced when ready.
On Jan 8, Chee was also asked for an update to the framework of the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS).
He said he hopes to avoid a “bunching effect” where many flats of a similar age are redeveloped in one go.
“It will be very disruptive for the residents and for the businesses. Instead, what we want to do is to spread this out so that we do it in an orderly manner,” he said.
The voting threshold for VERS is also being studied, he said.
VERS, which has yet to be rolled out, will allow owners of flats aged 70 years and older to vote on whether the Government should buy back their homes before their 99-year leases run out.
Other policies aimed at gradually redeveloping older towns include the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, Silver Upgrading Programme as well as the HIP, Chee said.
Chee said in August that the Government aims to roll out VERS to a few sites in the first half of the 2030s.
The authorities aim to develop and flesh out the VERS framework in this term of government, including setting parameters to identify possible sites, ensuring sufficient homes are ready in time for residents to relocate to, and working out a fair package for residents. THE STRAITS TIMES
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