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SINGAPORE – Ensuring access to public housing in Singapore requires long-term planning and is not just about changing policies, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said on April 25.
Government policies to ensure that every Singaporean has access to an affordable home may appear incremental, but they have been “progressive” and “headed in the right direction”, said Mr Lee, who is anchoring the PAP team contesting West Coast-Jurong West GRC.
“But we have to be upfront with Singaporeans about the supply that we have, about the land that we have, and when and how we will be able to address needs over time,” said Mr Lee.
“There is no point making a promise, no point (in) changing the policy but not being able to deliver on the ground.”
He was speaking to the media at a press briefing in Boon Lay to outline the PAP’s plans for the group representation constituency.
Access to public housing and the cost of Housing Board flats are among the issues that have been raised by various parties on the campaign trail.
On housing, some opposition parties have proposed alternative policies in their campaign manifestos.
For example, the Workers’ Party has long called for the eligibility age for single Singaporeans to apply for a Build-To-Order (BTO) flat to be set at 28 years, down from the current 35.
The Singapore Democratic Party wants to lower HDB flat prices by including only the cost of construction and administration and not land cost, while Red Dot United is proposing that all HDB flats should be eligible for redevelopment so that older ones can retain their value, instead of experiencing lease decay.
Mr Lee pointed to how the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the housing market, as supply chain disruptions and pandemic control measures led to labour shortages in the construction sector.
The Government sought to tackle these issues and has since brought down the BTO application rates for first-timers to pre-pandemic levels, and rolled out a significant proportion of new flats with shorter waiting times of less than three years.
But before these announcements could be made, there was a lot of behind-the-scenes work to be done, Mr Lee said, pointing to the time taken for construction and land preparation.
On April 24, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said in a PAP rally speech at Woodlands Stadium that the housing market is stabilising as the Government has ramped up the supply of flats.
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Once the market has stabilised, it will review policies – including the income ceiling cap andaccess for singlesto buy BTO flats – to ensure that more Singaporeans can buy affordable homes, he added.
Mr Lee, who is also the Minister-in-charge of Social Services Integration, said that the Government is determined to help more Singaporeans – be it couples, singles, seniors or persons with disabilities – have more access to housing.
He said the PAP has committed in its manifesto to seeing how it can better support higher-income Singaporeans as well as give greater housing access to singles.
“Let’s go through this general election and in the next term of government, we should expect more enhancement to our schemes, more reviews and implementation of changes to our housing policies,” he said.
These changes are not just to give greater access to Singaporeans, but also to position public housing in the future for a new generation to continue to support families and seniors, he added.
He noted that a new Family Care Scheme that is slated to kick in from mid-2025 is meant to bolster intergenerational support among families, as parents and their children – regardless of marital status – will have priority access when they apply for new flats.
Changes made in the last five years, which include a new flat classification, are not just about affordability but also ensuring cohesion and social mixing across Singapore, added Mr Lee, noting that these are in line with PM Wong’s Forward Singapore agenda.
Mr Lee said: “It is to make sure that we don’t follow the trajectories of some mature, successful cosmopolitan cities around the world in terms of stratification (based on) where you live.”
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