SINGAPORE – About 8,300 families in public rental flats became owners of Housing Board flats over the past decade from 2014 to 2023.

In 2023, nearly 950 families who lived in rental flats bought homes, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic struck in early 2020, HDB said on Feb 8.

This is up from more than 700 households in 2022.

When contacted, the public housing agency did not provide a breakdown of figures for the previous years, but in 2022, it said that about 4,500 families in public rental flats had become flat owners from 2017 to 2021.

Of the 950 families who became home owners in 2023, four in five bought a flat from HDB and the rest went for resale units.

About two-thirds received grants for first-time home buyers, such as the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $80,000.

About 80 of the 950 rental households tapped the Step-Up Housing Grant, which gives second-timer families or those who had bought a subsidised flat a $15,000 grant to buy two- or three-room new or resale flats in non-mature estates.

As at December 2023, another 2,100 rental households had booked new HDB flats, which are still being built, HDB said. At present, about 50,000 households are living in public rental flats.

In a written parliamentary reply in November 2020, National Development Minister Desmond Lee said the number of public rental households that moved into their own homes each year had increased from about 500 in 2013 to around 950 in 2019.

For 13 years since 2010, Madam Aliya Qamaria Abdollah, 61, had been living in rental units – at times with her six children – before she bought her own home.

In May 2023, she moved into a two-room flexi flat in Punggol with her 26-year-old son.

Madam Aliya, who is unemployed, bought the unit on a shorter lease of 35 years in June 2022.

She paid for the flat, which cost $80,200, with her Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings and the Step-Up Housing Grant.

“I wanted to have a home to call my own as it’s more stable than having to think about paying rent every month,” said Madam Aliya, who is divorced.

She said she was referred to HDB’s home ownership support team in 2020 after approaching her MP for help in buying a flat.

The team, established in 2019, guides rental households through the process of home ownership – from planning their purchase until they collect their keys – while considering factors such as family and financial stability.

“After an HDB officer spoke to me, I felt like it was possible to have my own home and I felt a strong urge to put in the effort to get there,” said Madam Aliya.

“I’m relieved that my home is fully paid for and I have no mortgage to worry about.”

HDB officer Cherine Liu, who was assigned to the case, said she guided Madam Aliya through the process of applying for a flat and accompanied her to appointments such as for flat selection, signing of the agreement and key collection.

Madam Aliya secured her unit through a Sale of Balance Flats exercise under the Tenants’ Priority Scheme, which allocates up to 10 per cent of two-room flexi and three-room flats for families in public rental flats.

Sale of Balance Flats exercises give applicants a chance to apply for balance flats from earlier Build-To-Order flat launches. These homes are usually already under construction, near completion or completed.

Ms Liu, 44, who has been part of the home ownership support team since 2019, said that for some families, home ownership is more than just a financial commitment.

“We need to think about what other issues are preventing them from buying a flat, such as changes to financial stability, medical issues, other caregiving responsibilities or divorce,” she said.

The team comprises seven HDB officers.

HDB said that before the team was formed, it would encourage rental tenants to consider moving towards home ownership during their tenancy renewal, which is usually done every two years.

On Feb 8, Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said that as at 2023, the team had reached out to nearly 1,600 rental households, beating its goal of 1,000.

Of the 1,600 families, more than 120 have moved into their new homes, while nearly 100 have booked their flats and are waiting to collect their keys, he wrote on Facebook.

Ms Liu estimates that she has engaged 300 to 400 rental households since 2019.

She said that even after a family has bought a home, she will stay in touch with them for a year or two through calls and house visits, to see if they need further help.

Other schemes to help families living in rental flats include the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which helps second-timer families with at least one child below 18 years old buy two- or three-room flats on a shorter lease.

Under the scheme, eligible families receive $35,000 upfront in their CPF Ordinary Account when they collect their keys. Another $15,000 is disbursed into the account in equal tranches over five years after key collection.