293,000 households have installed senior-friendly home fittings since 2012

SINGAPORE - Since its launch in 2012, 293,000 households have benefited from the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) programme – an HDB scheme that provides subsidies for installation of senior-friendly home fittings such as grab bars and ramps.

The programme aims to improve mobility and safety of elderly occupants within the flat.

Since April 1, under the Ease 2.0 programme, the number of fittings has been increased from three to 11. The new fittings include foldable shower seats, bidet sprays and lowered toilet entrance kerbs.

More than 11,000 households have since applied for them, which is more than five times the average number of applications per month.

Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann provided these updates at the Bukit Batok Zone 9 block party on June 2.

Ms Sim said: “I think this shows that the demand is there, the interest is there, the need is there.”

She added that due to the overwhelming response, HDB will need time to process all applications.

“HDB will process these applications as quickly as we can because we know how much these improvements mean to residents,” she said.

Up to 95 per cent of the cost of the new improvement items under Ease 2.0 will be subsidised by the Government. Ms Sim said this was to make it very affordable for seniors.

The Ease programme is among a few schemes under HDB that focus on renovating flats and sprucing up neighbourhoods. Others include the Home Improvement Programme and the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP).

The wider range of fittings under Ease 2.0 is an initiative under the national Age Well SG programme to help seniors age safely and independently within their homes and around the estates through neighbourhood rejuvenation works. 

It was announced by Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim

at the ministry’s budget debate in Parliament in March.

The 15th round of the NRP was announced by National Development Minister Desmond Lee at a community event in Clementi Town Centre on June 1.

More than $95 million has been set aside to upgrade and rejuvenate 23 neighbourhoods islandwide, which is expected to benefit more than 15,600 homes.

Introduced in 2007, the NRP has seen the upgrading of a total of 120 projects, comprising about 172,000 flats, as at April.

More than $1.5 billion was allocated for the past 14 editions of the NRP.

Bukit Batok MP Murali Pillai informed residents at the event on June 2 that the NRP budget will be raised to $6,100 per flat from the original $4,700.

He said the increased amount can make a difference to residents in Bukit Batok, an estate that was built in the mid-80s.

“Through this Neighbourhood Renewal Programme, with the enhanced amount of money per unit, we’ll be able to pool all this money together and make sure that we further build this environment to be even more comfortable for our seniors.”

Mr Murali encouraged residents to look out for one another and come up with suggestions for new improvements that had not been thought of before.

He shared an example of how a resident alerted the Bukit Batok Zone 9 residents’ committee about an elderly couple who are deaf and mute.

After a committee member visited the couple, it was assessed that their home needed a doorbell with lights to alert them when they have visitors.

“I thought it was quite important because if there is a fire, you need to make sure that neighbours like them get alerted,” Mr Murali said.

He added that as a result, Bukit Batok now has a programme where households with deaf residents are provided with installation of doorbells with lights.