Singaporeans will not have to worry about having an affordable home to call their own: PM Lee

SINGAPOREANS, now or in generations to come, will not have to worry about having an affordable home to call their own, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

Giving this assurance in a Facebook post on Tuesday, PM Lee said the government is working hard to ramp up the supply of flats, cool the resale market and keep Housing Board flats affordable and accessible to a wide range of Singaporeans.

“We are working hard at the problem, and are confident we will solve it,” he said.

His post comes after Parliament debated two motions on the affordability and accessibility of HDB flats for 12 hours over two days. One was filed by National Development Minister Desmond Lee, and the other by Progress Singapore Party Non-Constituency MP Leong Mun Wai.

Noting that public housing is an issue close to the hearts of most Singaporeans, PM Lee said the Covid-19 pandemic greatly disrupted the supply of flats, and waiting times for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and resale prices have gone up.

As a result, families have had to adjust their life plans. “They are concerned and often anxious about when they can get their flats, and whether they can afford them,” he added.

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Responding to calls from MPs to address the BTO supply crunch during the debate, Desmond Lee said HDB has ramped up its public housing programme to meet the current strong demand, with 150 BTO projects to be concurrently under construction by around 2025, up from the current 100.

He added that the government is studying how to provide more support for first-timers buying HDB resale flats, as well as reduce the high rejection rate for BTO flat applications.

This is to ensure new flats are prioritised for those with genuine and urgent housing needs.

In his post, PM Lee said MPs had presented a range of ideas on how to deal with the public housing issue during the debate.

“Some are promising and well worth exploring further. Others appear attractive, but upon a closer look, turn out to be unworkable, unfair or unsustainable,” he said.

Leong had proposed a housing scheme that would allow Singaporeans to buy a BTO flat at construction cost, plus a notional location premium. They would pay the land cost, with accrued interest, only when they sell their flats in the resale market.

His proposal drew criticism from political office holders and backbenchers from the People’s Action Party, as well as Nominated MPs, with many saying it would erode the country’s reserves.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh, meanwhile, said the proposal should be studied further.

On Wednesday, PM Lee said Singapore’s public housing system works, with more than eight in 10 Singaporeans owning the HDB flats they live in.

More families are also becoming flat owners as more than 20,000 new flats are completed each year, he added.

HDB plans to launch up to 23,000 BTO flats in 2023, and up to 100,000 new flats in total from 2021 to 2025. THE STRAITS TIMES