SINGAPORE - About 20 per cent of Ang Mo Kio households affected by the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) have applied for new flats in the May and August sales exercises, said the Housing Board on Friday.
It added that about nine in 10 applicants who apply will be successful, as they fall within the priority allocation quota.
HDB said of the 606 affected households, a total of 117 have applied for either a Build-To-Order (BTO) or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) flat in the May and August sales exercises.
Blocks 562 to 565 Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, which are made up of mainly three-room and four-room flats, were picked for Sers in April, with a nearby land parcel next to ITE College Central offered as the designated replacement site.
Registration for flats at the designated site will start in early 2023, after residents are notified of the actual compensation amount for their flats in November this year.
Under Sers, HDB identifies and acquires precincts in older estates as part of its strategy to renew estates.
Affected owners are offered a new 99-year lease on new flats built nearby at a designated replacement site, as well as given monetary compensation for their Sers units.
Besides taking up a flat at the designated site, affected owners can also take part in BTO and SBF sales exercises, buy a flat from HDB's open booking of flats or buy a resale flat on the open market.
Affected households are given priority allocation under the Resettlement, Relocation, Sers and Tenants' Priority Scheme.
Up to 10 per cent of the flat supply of eligible BTO projects is set aside for those who apply under the scheme.
Eligible BTO projects are those with a delivery possession date (DPD) that is no later than that of the replacement flats.
DPD is the legal contractual date by which HDB is required to hand over the keys to residents.
For the Ang Mo Kio Sers residents, they could apply for seven BTO projects including Lakeside View, Yishun Beacon, and Kim Keat Heights in Toa Payoh in the May exercise.
The projects in the August exercise were Central Weave @ AMK, Keat Hong Grange in Choa Chu Kang, Woodlands South Plains, and Sun Plaza Spring in Tampines.
Of the 117 households who applied for new flats, 107 households went for flats in six of the seven BTO projects.
None of them applied for a unit in Keat Hong Grange in Choa Chu Kang.
The remaining 10 applied for an SBF flat, which include unsold units from past BTO launches and other surplus flats.
Of the 94 households that applied for a flat in the August BTO exercise, 85 applied for a flat in Central Weave @ AMK, which is located about a 10-minute walk from Ang Mo Kio MRT station on the North-South Line.
"Overall, about nine in 10 applicants fall within the 10 per cent priority allocation quota, which means a vast majority of the Ang Mo Kio Sers households will be successful in their applications," said HDB.
At Central Weave @ AMK and Woodlands South Plains, applications exceeded the number of units set aside under the priority quota.
Sers households who miss out on the 10 per cent priority allocation during the balloting exercise will get another chance at a ballot with the general public.
HDB said balloting is ongoing, adding that it will inform applicants of the results at the end of this month.
Sers residents who are not successful in their BTO ballot can still apply for new flats in subsequent BTO and SBF exercises or open booking, take up a new flat at the designated site, sell the Sers flat along with its rehousing benefits and buy a resale flat.
However, those who successfully obtain a BTO ballot number but then decide against selecting a BTO flat, opting instead to take up a new flat at the designated replacement site, will be placed at the back of the selection queue.
Since the Sers announcement in April, several affected Ang Mo Kio residents have expressed frustration about having to top up money for a similar-sized replacement flat. In response, HDB has offered two new rehousing options, including a 50-year lease, to provide residents with more choices.
