Forum: Extend proximity housing grants to siblings
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Since its inception in 1960, the Housing Board has played a central role in making home ownership affordable for Singaporeans. Over the decades, housing policies, schemes and grants have evolved in response to changing market conditions, demographic shifts and the socio-economic needs of home owners.
These efforts have been widely recognised. In 2008, HDB received the United Nations Public Service Award for its successful public housing and home ownership policies.
One such policy is the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG), which encourages families to live with or near their parents by providing financial support for the purchase of resale flats.
However, there’s a group that appears to have fallen outside the scope of this scheme. Siblings who wish to live near one another for mutual support are not eligible for any similar grant.
The same principle underpinning the PHG – kinship, care and mutual support – applies equally to siblings, particularly as Singapore’s population ages.
Letting siblings live in proximity can help them support one another in daily living, health needs and caregiving responsibilities, reducing social isolation and easing pressure on formal care services.
Taim Oon Chew
