Enhancing Public Rental Housing for Human Thriving

ADJOURNMENT MOTION

The Deputy Leader of the House (Mr Zaqy Mohamad): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That Parliament do now adjourn."

Question proposed.

Enhancing Public Rental Housing for Human Thriving

9.43 pm

Ms Carrie Tan (Nee Soon): Mr Speaker, I would first like to extend my gratitude for Members of the House who are able to stay despite a very long Sitting today and for lending me their presence and attention to this issue.

Mr Speaker, a hallmark of this Government's commitment to its people is the Housing and Development Board (HDB) policies and how it aims to meet every Singaporean's housing needs.

I am pleased with the recent housing policy announcements that make housing more accessible to more diverse groups of Singaporeans whilst also enhancing the subsidy schemes that strive to make our housing system a fair one. Today, I would like to address our public rental housing and to highlight the potential we have of transforming it and harnessing it to catalyse the social mobility of our lowest income Singaporeans.

In recent years, the Ministry of National Development (MND) has taken the step to incorporate and integrate rental flats into build-To-order (BTO) purchase blocks, such as the ones in Marsiling and Bukit Batok. This is a bold move that I support.

I know itis not an easy decision, as I am aware that there are pockets of Singaporeans who hold quite contrary views and who are concerned that having rental units within their blocks could cause a devaluation of their flats.

Nevertheless, I am glad the Government chose to do the right thing by prioritising social mixing and integration over political popularity. This addresses the larger social good, especially with emerging trends and threats of social polarisation along class lines that our society is facing. All Singaporeans need to support this effort, if we truly believe that each one of us are our brother's keepers.

To uplift those struggling with their lives, there is more our public rental housing can do beyond just providing a roof over heads. In my speech today, I make a case for enhancing public rental housing to enable human thriving.

In past Parliament Sittings, I sought statistics from the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) and MND on how long it takes for the average rental housing family to move out to their own purchased flats. The answer is seven years.

My hon colleague Ms Mariam Jaafer also sought information on the rate of transition by rental flat families to their own homes in the last five years. The statistics were: 36% moved to their own houses in less than five years, 32% in five to 10 years and a good remaining 32% after more than 10 years.

What if we can improve these statistics by enabling more families to achieve social mobility and home ownership sooner?

I invite this House to consider and urge MND to study the role of space and aesthetics in helping rental flat families achieve financial self-sufficiency and social mobility quicker. We can do this by reimagining and redesigning rental flats to help occupants unlock their full potential.

I invite this House to go on a design thinking journey with me to understand how space and aesthetics in our living environment actually have a profound impact on human functioning and thereby can aid with social mobility.

Firstly, on the role of space and well-being. From my conversations with healthcare providers at Woodlands Health Campus and Yishun Health, which we collaborate with in the community, data from our healthcare system shows that lower-income residents tend to be "frequent flyers" at hospitals. The phenomenon of 20% of healthcare users taking up the majority of healthcare expenses is not uncommon.

We can understand that one factor leading to poor health is overcrowding and another is stress. Infections spread easily amongst family members in cramped environments and poor hygiene in common spaces can facilitate disease across households. Poorer health leads to poor employment retention and more frequent school absences.

MSF is very familiar with these challenges – high rates of employment turnover and disproportionately higher rates of school absenteeism amongst children from rental blocks communities. The common and perplexing challenge many social service agencies face seems to be – how come the poor seem to be less motivated?

If we pause to think about it, might it not be because they are struggling more in their day-to-day lives due to basic, bare-bone and often stressful living conditions which they do not have the resources to improve on their own?

Home becomes a place just to survive but not to thrive in. We under-estimate the amount of energy it takes to overcome challenges inherent in the current rental housing premises, leaving less energy for constructive actions, such as focusing on job performance or school performance.

Let us look squarely at just one such challenge observed in our rental estates – overcrowding. It is not uncommon when I do my house visits to come across families with three, four, sometimes five children living in a 2-room flat.

Under the current public rental housing scheme, 1- or 2-room flats are the norm and, on a case-by-case and very limited basis, 3-room flats are made available to very large families. The HDB occupancy cap for renting out flats and commercial property does not seem to apply to the Public Rental Scheme and these bring real struggles for the inhabitants.

Having people live in insufficient spaces makes it difficult to keep common spaces tidy. Household and personal belongings tend to spill out into common corridors, creating obstruction and potential hazards. These then create tensions with neighbours and among family members, adding on stress from conflict in their day-to-day lives.

Many Town Councils and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) regularly receive feedback on fire hazards and end up having to manage neighbourly disputes that are hard to resolve because people simply do not have sufficient space for their daily activities, such as their laundry, their clothes racks, their shoes. Such neighbourly tensions make for very poor quality of life for residents and also create unnecessary toll on public resources.

Another important side effect of overcrowding is on children's development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, immense challenges were faced by children in rental flats trying to cope with home-based learning in limited space. In a community collaboration that Nee Soon South had with Yishun Health and SportSG, it was observed by volunteers in a football programme for children from rental block families that the kids had poorer hand-eye coordination and could not throw or catch as well as other kids.

We suspect that space constraints had a role in limiting the amount of play within flats, compromising the psychomotor development of children who live in cramped spaces. One can imagine that children living in such tiny flats are very much curtailed in their play. They cannot really throw a ball to their sibling at home without the risk of hitting something or getting yelled at by a frustrated parent. How can we expect children to study, play, learn and grow up well physically, emotionally and mentally in such conditions?

In the latest URA guidelines issued in January 2023, "the threshold of 70 square meters is a reasonable size for small families." I would like to ask MND what is the prevailing floor area of 1- and 2-room public rental flats and is there a minimum space per resident that is adhered to that provides for conducive living?

In England, the Building Research Establishment estimates that hazards in poor housing costs the National Health Services in England £1.4 billion a year but that the full societal cost, including long-term mental health, suffering and trauma treatment, is around £18.5 billion per annum.

I urge MND to work with MSF to do the necessary research into living spaces and their impact on early childhood development outcomes.

Next, I would like to talk about the role of aesthetics in human potential. From the earliest philosophers to modern-day psychologists, scholars and researchers have recognised the power of beauty to inspire and motivate us. Research in psychology has shown that exposure to beautiful environments can have a positive impact on our mental health and well-being.

For example, a study published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology found that people who worked in aesthetically pleasing environments were more productive and had a greater sense of well-being than those who worked in less aesthetically pleasing environments.

Furthermore, aesthetics can also inspire us to be our best selves. Art can help us to see the world in new and different ways, challenging our perspectives and inspiring us to be more empathetic, compassionate and socially responsible.

What we can infer logically is that just focusing on objective functionality alone, without considering the value of aesthetics is to miss an opportunity – to inspire and catalyse empathy, compassion and an increased sense of civic responsibility in rental housing communities.

If one pays attention, it is not hard to notice that the general cleanliness upkeep in rental estates is much more challenging than those in purchased estates. What is commonly observed are higher rates of high-rise littering, misuse or poor use of common chutes, dirty common corridors and void decks. Most Town Councils share a common challenge in having to deploy more cleaning and maintenance resources in rental block areas.

I say this not to shame rental block residents but for us to really investigate what the causes and reasons behind such behaviours are. They reveal little willingness or motivation in occupants to help upkeep and maintain common spaces. Is this function simply because of a lack of ownership because the flats do not belong to them?

If that is so, how then do we explain the behavior of much more cooperative behavior when people stay at hotels? We do not own the premises in hotels but we do not also commonly hear of people trashing hotel rooms or littering at hotel lobbies and premises even though the people who stay there are temporary occupants.

This begs a deeper examination into the factors contributing to civic behaviour. What common sense tells us is that the common behavior and attitude of people towards places and things that are beautiful and pleasing is that we are naturally inclined to want to keep them that way. As the philosopher Immanuel Kant once aptly said, "Beauty is a symbol of morality."

Beauty has the power to evoke and inspire the higher qualities and virtues in human beings. When we are exposed to beauty, we are more likely to feel motivated to pursue our goals with greater determination and to push ourselves to be our best selves.

My team's research found recent projects in the US that have discovered the tremendous role aesthetics and design play in helping to rehabilitate homeless communities. One of them is the first shelter project in Oregon that uses trauma-informed design by a non-profit called Path Home.

Here, Mr Speaker, I would like to show a visual example of what their shelter for the homeless looks like. Permission to show a slide, please.

Mr Speaker: Go ahead.

Ms Carrie Tan: Does it not look beautiful? This is a homeless shelter. The founder of Path Home shared in an interview that the design was "based on research done since the 1960s in hospitals, looking into what kinds of facilities promote better reactions among patients.

"Some of the key elements they’ve identified include having a connection to nature – lots of light, real plants indoors and outdoors – and building with natural materials, so they used a lot of real wood. The color palette is also very calming – lots of greens and turquoises from the ocean."

The founder also said, "It’s about helping families feel worthy (so) that they can get up and do the hard work to get their lives back on track."

This project has had much success and positive feedback from its inhabitants. It demonstrates the role of aesthetics in uplifting the human spirit and catalysing human motivation.

We under-estimate just how being able to have something beautiful can uplift an individual's sense of self-esteem and fundamentally shift their self-perception and motivation. We see the same principle across many makeover TV shows across different cultures, TV shows where a makeover has the power to change someone's life by changing how they perceive themselves.

There is also a global architecture firm called the Workplace Group at HOK that has created a landmark guidebook on trauma-informed design with the goal of helping people to quiet the part of the brain that stays in survival mode.

Research has shown that the positive emotional effect of the aesthetic experience affects mood and indirectly promotes health and well-being. These benefits include improvement of memory, lower stress levels and increased social connection.

By using design to enhance living spaces with aesthetics, colours, lighting and art, instead of inhabitants coming home feeling fearful and on high alert from a difficult day, chronically operating on flight or fight mode, they can be more relaxed when they return home, which has proven to improve executive functioning. This can help them focus better on actions like applying for jobs or getting their children to school.

Given the availability of such information and knowledge on how space and aesthetics can help improve human performance, we would be doing a disservice if the Government does not start incorporating such principles in the way we design public rental housing.

The prevailing approach that provides only a basic and functional roof over people's heads needs to change. This belief, long held by too many in the system, that providing a pleasing and comfortable environment for public rental housing residents might demotivate them from working hard to move out, also really needs to change. These are limiting beliefs that curtail the possibilities and potential of our own citizens who are striving hard to improve their lives.

We can do more for the Singaporeans who need our utmost support to help them overcome the adversities in their lives. And having aesthetically pleasing homes, with just sufficient space for inhabitants to participate in daily activities stress-free, is akin to having an ever-present cheerleader that one can come home to everyday.

Instead of assuming and blaming lack of personal motivation for poor social mobility outcomes, let us take a more scientific and proactive approach to study the environmental factors that we can enhance to improve human motivation and potential.

I recognise that in these fiscally challenging times, cost is always a consideration. Instead of increasing costs, there are ways we can rethink the design and construction of rental housing to optimise the value of expenditure we are already planning to spend on rental housing provision.

Furthermore, any incremental costs could have a disproportionate positive return in terms of wellbeing and savings in longer-term healthcare and welfare spending. The long-term gains may well outweigh the short-term incremental costs.

Architects and design thinkers know full well how design influences and shapes human behaviour. We must recognise the importance of space and beauty in our lives and strive to create environments that inspire and enable human thriving. By doing so, we can unlock the full potential of our rental housing families and give them that much more – a better starting point to recover and thrive from their adversities.

The Government does not need to do this alone. There are philanthropists and now, many family offices we can tap on to do this with. I urge MND to partner with the philanthropic and private sectors, to get sponsorships and to work with arts groups, Design Singapore, local artists, designers, developers and volunteers to create uplifting designs and furnishings in rental living spaces.

The co-living pilot refurbished from the old Anderson Junior College hostel was well intended but implementation fell too far short. MND launched this in March and I believe it is not too late to still harness this opportunity to pilot such partnerships for the transformation to redesign and rethink our rental housing approach. We can do better, so let us do it together.

Mr Speaker: Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim.

10.01 pm

The Minister of State for National Development (Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim): Mr Speaker, Sir, I thank Ms Tan for her passionate speech on enhancing the living environment to motivate, empower and uplift public rental households.

We share Ms Tan's belief in the power and social impact of good design. As the master planner and developer of Singapore's public housing estates, HDB appreciates the importance of quality homes and environments that enhance residents' wellbeing and support Singaporeans to lead their best lives.

To that end, HDB launched its "Designing for Life" roadmap in 2020. The roadmap seeks to enhance residents' physical, mental and social well-being through thoughtful, resident-centred design, for example, by bringing nature and greenery closer to residents, improving facilities for active living and providing ample community spaces to encourage social connections.

Rental flats are always built as part of a wider HDB neighbourhood. This means that rental tenants enjoy the same communal facilities and amenities as sold flat owners, including community living rooms, roof gardens, fitness facilities, playgrounds, neighbourhood shops, preschool centres and Active Ageing Centres.

Over the years, we have made progressive improvements to our rental flats to enhance their design and provide a better living environment for our tenants. Rental blocks that were built since 2007 are better designed with enhanced natural lighting and ventilation within units and at the corridors. These newer blocks are very different from the older rental blocks that have long corridors with units lined on both sides.

In addition, we have been building public rental flats alongside sold flats – in the same projects and, since 2014, in the same blocks and on the same floors. In integrated blocks such as those at Marsiling Greenview and West Plains @ Bukit Batok, public rental flats look no different from sold flats from the outside. On the inside, they have similar finishes and fittings as 2-room Flexi sold flats.

We do this because having a good social mix is a key objective of our public housing programme.

After the first integrated block was completed at Marsiling Greenview, we commissioned a study with the National University of Singapore to understand the impact of this integrated design. We found that the design features have encouraged interactions and ties between owners and tenants, for example, by locating sold flats and rental flats on the same floor, minimising visible differences between sold flats, and rental flats and having shared amenities such as playgrounds.

The study also found that owners and tenants have the same perceptions of what constitutes a liveable environment and they act in similar ways to uphold these standards, for example, in terms of upkeeping shared corridor spaces and managing cleanliness.

We are encouraged by these findings and will apply these learnings to the design of future integrated blocks. Another 17 integrated blocks will be completed in the next five years and we will continue to build them, including in future Prime and Plus projects.

We also explore new typologies to improve the living environment for public rental tenants. For example, we announced earlier, as shared by Ms Tan, that we are piloting a new public rental typology for singles called the Single Room Shared Facilities (SRSF). The SRSF aims to give tenants greater privacy while providing shared facilities to prevent social isolation. Each tenant will have their own private bedroom that comes with basic furnishings such as a bedframe, table and wardrobe. Amenities like toilets, kitchens, dining areas and laundry rooms will be shared to ensure that we make good use of the space and to facilitate social interaction.

For older public rental blocks, HDB keeps them in good condition through regular maintenance and upgrading. Older rental blocks will typically be upgraded together with sold blocks when the entire area is rejuvenated through HDB's various upgrading programmes. We are also progressively redeveloping older clusters of rental flats. Tenants who are relocated can move to newer rental flats with improved designs.

We empathise with Ms Tan's point about providing a good living environment for rental families with young children. We have been making efforts in this area and will seek to further improve the design of flats.

Under the Public Rental Scheme, HDB generally offers 1- and 2-room flats to cater to both singles and families. The vast majority of our public rental households – more than nine in 10 – have four or fewer persons. We do not have a hard space norm per person but we recognise that some larger households may have space concerns and have already started some efforts to help provide a better environment for families with young children, including using good design to overcome the constraints of land and space. Families with at least three members will be allocated a 2-room public rental flat. These are typically sized similarly to 2-room Flexi sold flats.

In recent years, HDB has also started building 2-room rental flats that come with an additional partitioned space. The space can be used as a child's room with a single bed and a small wardrobe, or as a study or activity room to support children's development.

For larger families, those able to form two family nuclei will be allocated two public rental flats. Where possible, HDB strives to ensure that both flats are located near each other to facilitate mutual care and support. HDB also works with MSF to offer 3-room public rental flats to selected large families with children on a case-by-case basis.

Like Ms Tan, we are driven by the desire to see families achieving social mobility and seniors ageing well even if they live in public rental. But to achieve these, hardware alone is insufficient. We need to pair hardware with good social support and programming to make concerted efforts to address households' needs and aspirations holistically.

For example, HDB works with relevant people sector partners to support seniors in public rental flats with active ageing programmes and assisted living services.

At a rental block in Kebun Baru, the Integrated Dementia Assisted Living project by Dementia Singapore offers a telehealth room, community kitchen and social programming to support seniors living in the rental block to age well in place.

For families with young children living in public rental flats, Government agencies and community partners work closely together through the ComLink+ programme to provide coordinated support. ComLink officers and Family Coaches will journey with families, understand their needs and aspirations and work with them to develop goals and action plans. Different agencies and partners then work together backend, behind the scenes, to support families' individual needs – the Ministry of Education for school subsidies, the Ministry of Health for healthcare, Family Service Centres for family counselling, community-based after-school care and programmes for children, and so on.

In Boon Lay, for example, children in ComLink+ families may spend their after-school hours at the Tak Takut Kids Club. The club is operated by 3Pumpkins, a community-based organisation. Located at the ground floor of a rental block, it runs various free play, sports and crafts activities, and provides a safe and supportive environment where children can grow and express themselves.

In November last year, we worked with MSF to launch the ComLink Rental Scheme to strengthen our efforts and go further upstream. Once families apply for a public rental flat and are assessed to be eligible, they will automatically be enrolled in ComLink+. A ComLink officer will then proactively reach out to them to offer support even before they move into their rental flat and continue to journey with them as they work towards achieving stability, self-reliance and social mobility.

To date, over 700 families have been engaged under this scheme. When public rental families achieve stability and build up their finances, we support them on their journey towards homeownership.

I have met many rental families and I know that many of them hope to buy their own flats. Families can count on our full support.

We provide substantial housing grants for lower-income families on top of the significant subsidies that we provide for all BTO flats. First-timers can tap on the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant and receive up to $80,000 while second-timers can tap on the $15,000 Step-Up CPF Housing Grant.

We also have the Fresh Start Housing Scheme, which helps second-timer families with young children living in public rental flats to own a home again. The design of this scheme embodies the idea of social empowerment – coupling strong support from the Government and the community, with commitment and hard work from families. We enhanced the scheme recently to offer 3-room flats on shorter leases so that families have more housing options and increased the grant amount from $35,000 to $50,000.

There is also a dedicated Home ownership Support Team at HDB, who will provide one-to-one guidance to tenants on their homebuying journey. The team will share practical tips and advice on their housing budget and options and guide families through the process of flat selection, application and booking.

The team has reached out to about 1,500 households over the past three years. Mr Khairi and Mdm Dayang is one of them. Together with their five children —

Mr Speaker: Minister of State Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, you have a minute left. Just to let you know.

Assoc Prof Dr Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim: Together with their five children, they moved into their new home earlier this year. Before that, they had been living in public rental for some years. The Home ownership Support Team worked closely with them for over a year, guiding them on their housing budget and options. I am happy to hear that Mr Khairi and Mdm Dayang are now the proud owners of a 3-room resale flat. They were able to tap on housing grants totalling $87,500 and can service their mortgage entirely using their monthly CPF contributions, without any cash outlay.

In conclusion, Sir, supporting and uplifting those who are more vulnerable among us requires a holistic approach. We pay attention to the design of our homes and living environments and we go one step further, to pair hardware with software, and marshal resources from across Government and society to support families.

We welcome the people and private sectors to contribute your ideas and resources too and work with us to uplift families in public rental flats.

Question put, and agreed to.

Resolved, "That Parliament do now adjourn."

Adjourned accordingly at 10.13 pm.