Flexibility in Imposing Household Income Ceiling on Singaporeans who Need to Care for Mentally Disabled Persons

40 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for National Development whether the current policy of imposing a household income ceiling on Singapore citizens intending to purchase BTO flats may be reviewed to provide some flexibility to households who have unique family circumstances such as the need to take care of mentally disabled family members that require these families to incur higher expenditures or put aside money to deal with the future needs of the disabled family members.

Mr Lawrence Wong: The Housing & Development Board (HDB) is committed to helping Singaporeans, particularly first-timers and lower to middle-income families, to own a home. The income ceiling helps to ensure that housing subsidies are prioritised for those who need them most.

The current income ceiling of $12,000 covers the majority of Singaporeans. Nonetheless, for families who exceed the income ceiling but face difficulties such as heavy financial commitments to support family members' medical and living expenses, HDB will review these cases to see how best we can assist them.

In addition, households earning more than $12,000 a month can purchase a flat from the HDB resale market, where there is no income ceiling restriction.