Allow shorter HDB lease buyback: Hri Kumar Nair

A Member of Parliament on Monday urged the Housing Board to allow elderly Singaporeans living in HDB flats to sell five-year or 10-year portions of their HDB leases back to the HDB and be paid a lump sum upfront.

Mr Hri Kumar Nair (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC) said this would enable the elderly to have more money to live on in their old age instead of being 'asset-rich but cash-poor'.

HDB currently has a Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) where elderly flat owners living in three-room or smaller flats can retain just a 30-year lease on their flats and sell the remainder to the HDB.

In return, they receive an upfront payment of $5,000 and monthly annuity payments for life. Mr Nair, however, said the monthly payments are too low. He cited his constituent Mary, 71, a retired personal assistant who is single and lives with her widowed sister in a Toa Payoh flat.