Flats Available under HDB's Interim Rental Housing Scheme

27 Mr Muhamad Faisal Bin Abdul Manap asked the Minister for National Development (a) what is the number of rental flats that are presently made available under HDB's Interim Rental Housing Scheme (IRH); (b) how many families can the existing IRH scheme accommodate; and (c) whether the present number of rental flats is adequate to ensure that the most vulnerable in our society has a roof over their heads.

Mr Lawrence Wong: There are currently about 500 Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme flats which provide housing for 1,000 families on a flat-sharing basis.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) reviews its rental flat supply regularly to ensure that there are sufficient flats. This is why HDB has progressively increased the public rental flat supply from 42,000 in 2007 to the present 53,000 units, with the aim of reaching 60,000 by 2017. In addition, HDB evaluates applications carefully to ensure that rental flats are safeguarded for the lower-income and vulnerable households.