Families who qualify and are waiting to receive their BTO units may now apply for $300 vouchers each month to pay for the rent of a HDB apartment, or bedroom that is available on the open market.
The program under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) that provides temporary rental homes for families that have not finished their apartment that is not part of the Housing Board’s sales exercise is scheduled to run from July 2024 until June 2025.
HDB must accept the application before August 31st to be eligible for $3,600 in assistance. The tenancy of the applicant must begin at or before July 31, 2020.
The voucher gives eligible households who are planning to apply for PPHS voucher sufficient time to find a suitable tenancy and apply to be eligible for the voucher.
The initiative provides these families with more assistance in the meantime HDB strives to increase its supply of interim rental flats under the scheme, from 2,000 units now to 4,000 by 2025.
In order to be eligible for the rental voucher program, families must have an income per month of less than $7,000. They must ensure that their landlord has registered their tenure with HDB and they must ensure that the NRIC addresses are updated.
If you are a fiance and fiancee must submit their marriage certificates within the first 3 months of their tenure to qualify for the voucher.
Eligible families will receive the voucher via reimbursement for tenancies that fall between July 2024 to June 2025. If the applicant starts their tenancy after June 30th, 2025, they are still eligible for $300 vouchers for that month.
Each tranche will include up to six months worth of vouchers. HDB said the first tranche will typically be around seven months from the time of the application.
Vouchers cannot be adjusted for times that do not constitute the full month. Families need to submit their voucher application before the end of the month to be qualified for the voucher.
People who currently rent a PPHS apartment from HDB may also opt to rent the flat on the market and apply for the voucher, HDB said. But they will qualify for the voucher after they have ended the lease for the PPHS flat.
Families will not be eligible for vouchers for renting a home from immediate family or close relatives.
HDB stated in March that it would conduct a variety of checks, including physical ones, on the applicant’s lease. This may include physical inspections at the tenant’s address before issuing the voucher. It may also refer cases to police for investigation and withhold disbursement for suspected abuse instances.
The board also stated that the number of applications under PPHS has declined significantly since it increased the number of temporary housing from 800 units in 2021 to 2,000.
In 2021 there were more than 20 applicants were vying for each available flat, and by February 2024, it was 2.3 applicants.
On June 13th, HDB said it has been working on reducing the time it takes to wait for BTO flats. It added that by 2024, waiting time for 75 percent of new flats scheduled to open will be less than four years.
If you do not own an PPHS apartment by the end of 2024, then it is worthwhile to apply for the voucher.
A PPHS flat is my first choice as it’s priced reasonably for a whole unit. On the open-market, I could only rent a single room and would be forced to compromise some privacy.
Rental prices for two-room flats are between $400 and $550 per month, under PPHS while three-room apartments range from $600-$900.
The couple lives separately in Bedok until they can wait for the completion of their four-room apartment in 2028.
I hope that if renting on the open-market is too expensive If we choose to decline the vouchers and we are capable of securing the PPHS apartment once the supply doubles by 2025. We’d rather not be apart while waiting for our apartment.