Data on Applicants with Shared Care and Control of Children Purchasing or Renting HDB Flats
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns HDB applications from parents with shared care and control of children, specifically addressing consent issues between 2021 and 2023. Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang inquired about the number of applications approved or rejected when ex-spouse consent to list children could not be obtained. Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee reported that 11 out of 18 purchase appeals were approved without such consent, alongside eight rental approvals. He clarified that HDB does not reject rental applications solely because an applicant is unable to secure consent from their former spouse. Minister for National Development Mr Desmond Lee also referred the Member to a 2021 written reply for broader data on this applicant demographic.
Transcript
44 Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang asked the Minister for National Development in each year from 2021 to 2023 (a) how many applications with applicants having shared care and control of their children were received by HDB to purchase or rent a flat respectively; and (b) of these, what is the number of applications that were (i) rejected as applicants were unable to obtain the consent of their ex-spouse to list their children for the application and (ii) approved without requiring the consent of their ex-spouse.
Mr Desmond Lee: On the total number of applicants with shared care and control of their children, the Member may wish to refer to the written reply given by the Minister for National Development to a similar Parliamentary Question posed by the Member on 1 November 2021. [Please refer to "Proposal to Require Divorce Rulings for Shared Care and Control to Identify which Party is Allowed to List Child as "Essential Occupier" in Application to Buy Subsidised HDB Flat", Official Report, 1 November 2021, Vol 95, Issue 41, Written Answers to Questions section.]
On applicants who were unable to obtain their ex-spouse's consent, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) received 18 appeals from such applicants to buy an HDB flat with their children from January 2021 to December 2023, of which 11 were approved (see Table 1 below).
In the same period, HDB also approved eight cases from such applicants to rent an HDB flat with their children (see Table 2 below). HDB does not reject applications to rent a flat solely on the basis of an applicant's inability to obtain their ex-spouse's consent.
