SINGAPORE - Home owners and public rental tenants who are unable to pay their Housing Board mortgage and rental payments in time will have their late payment charges suspended for a further six months till Sept 30 this year.

In a Facebook post on Monday (April 12), Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim announced the extended suspension of late payment charges on both HDB mortgage and public rental arrears in a targeted move to help households that have financial difficulties.

"While we are seeing positive signs in our economy and job market, some Singaporean households continue to face uncertain or difficult financial situations due to Covid-19's economic impact," he said.

"The extension of the late payment charges suspension is to help these households tide through, in line with the Government's approach to provide targeted support to households in need."

The suspension of late payment charges was last extended in October last year and ended in March this year.

The current late payment charge is 7.5 per cent per annum. based on the outstanding instalment amount at the end of the month.

Between April 2020 to March 2021, more than 5,200 households that have difficulties paying their mortgage or rent have taken up financial assistance measures offered by HDB.

These include deferred or reduced repayment schemes and extension of loan tenure to reduce the monthly instalments.

During the same period, HDB also reduced the rent for about 4,000 households, said Dr Faishal.

Home owners and tenants who are facing financial difficulties are encouraged to contact their local HDB branch for help.

Those on bank loans can tap the Extended Support Scheme introduced by Monetary Authority of Singapore and financial institutions, which helps individuals facing cashflow difficulties transition gradually to full loan payments.

Individuals may apply to make reduced instalment payments on their property loans up to Dec 31.