Forum: Consider needs of larger families in public housing support
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The move to give first-timer families one additional Build-To-Order or Sale of Balance Flat ballot chance for each Singaporean child is welcome. However, as a father of three, I feel that limiting it to first-timer families does not reflect the realities for larger families.
Children do not arrive all at once. Many couples purchase their first flat either around the time of marriage or when their first child is born.
Reaching three children or more may take many years, sometimes close to a decade. By then, many families already own a home and no longer qualify as first-timers.
The policy therefore provides more ballot chances while a family is still small, but offers little additional help when the existing home becomes too small because more children have arrived.
The Third Child Priority Scheme does assist first- and second-timer families. However, ballot priority alone cannot solve the more fundamental issue: the limited availability of suitably sized flats, especially in Plus and Prime locations where four-room flats are typically the largest available.
Families with three or more children may be limited to a Standard location, buy a more expensive resale flat, or stretch their finances for an executive condominium or private property.
Adequate living space for a family of five or more is a practical need, not a luxury.
The Ministry of National Development and HDB should consider extending the additional per-child ballot chances to eligible second-timer families with three or more children.
They should also include a meaningful number of five-room or flexible-layout flats in selected Plus and Prime projects, with suitable priority for larger families.
Sean Xu Shunjie