Data Related to Number of Vacant HDB Rental Flats Available for Allocation
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the current number of vacant HDB rental flats and wait times for applicants, as raised by Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis. Minister Desmond Lee stated that 4,800 flats are available, but over half require sprucing works that have been slowed by a construction labour crunch. This has caused the waiting list to rise to 1,500 applicants and average wait times to increase to six months from a three-month average. Matching issues regarding flat types and location demand also affect allocation speed for specific application zones. HDB is now working to expedite sprucing while maintaining priority allocation for applicants with urgent housing needs.
Transcript
55 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the current number of vacant HDB rental flats available for allocation; (b) what is the number of approved HDB rental flat applicants on the waiting list pending allocation compared to past five years’ averages; and (c) what is the average waiting time from the date of registration compared to past five years’ averages.
Mr Desmond Lee: Currently, there are about 4,800 vacant rental flats intended for allocation to new tenants. More than half of these flats need to be spruced up before they can be let out. Due to the severe labour crunch in the construction industry, the pace of sprucing works has slowed down. This had led to longer waiting times for rental flats.
The number of approved HDB rental flat applicants on the waiting list has increased from an average of 660 in the past five years to 1,500 now. The waiting time for successful applicants to be allocated a rental flat has also increased from an average of three months in the past five years to about six months currently. Even though the number of vacant flats exceeds the number of applicants on the waiting list at the overall level, applicants need to be matched to the flat type and location that they applied for. In addition, some flat types and application zones have higher demand and a more limited supply of flats, which results in a longer waiting time.
HDB is working on measures to speed up the sprucing works and to facilitate key collections as quickly as possible. For applicants with urgent housing needs, such as medical grounds or other extenuating circumstances, HDB will prioritise allocating a flat to them. In 2020, about a third of our successful rental applicants were granted priority allocation.