Lease Buyback Scheme Participation Statistics and Average Payouts by Household Size from 2009 to 2025
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns statistics on Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) participation and payouts from 2009 to 2025 as raised by Mr Fadli Fawzi. Minister Chee Hong Tat reported that approximately 16,000 households have participated, including 6,000 single-person and 7,000 two-person households who retained enough lease to stay until at least age 95. He explained that while overall payout averages are not meaningful, nine in 10 participating households received proceeds between $100,000 and $300,000. The specific duration of the lease sold to HDB is determined by the owners' ages and individual circumstances to ensure they can age-in-place for life. Additionally, seniors who use their proceeds to top up their CPF Retirement Accounts may qualify for cash bonuses ranging from $7,500 to $30,000.
Transcript
24 Mr Fadli Fawzi asked the Minister for National Development from 1 March 2009 to 31 December 2025 (a) what is the total number of flats that have participated in the Lease Buyback Scheme; (b) of these, how many are (i) single and (ii) two-person households; (c) what is the average number of remaining lease years sold to HDB; and (d) what is the average payout in the form of (i) cash and (ii) CPF.
Mr Chee Hong Tat: The Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) enables eligible senior homeowners to monetise their flats by selling a portion of the remaining lease to the Housing and Development Board (HDB), while they continue to age-in-place. As of end-2025, around 16,000 households have participated in LBS since the scheme was launched on 1 March 2009. Of these, around 6,000 are single-person households and around 7,000 are two-person households.
Under LBS, homeowners must retain a lease that can last the youngest owner till at least age 95, providing a home for life. The years of lease retained varies based on the homeowners' ages at the point of LBS and also their individual circumstances. The LBS payouts also vary widely across flat types and vary over time based on prevailing market conditions. It is therefore not meaningful to look at the overall average payout.
About nine in 10 households that participated in LBS received between $100,000 and $300,000 in proceeds. Seniors who top up their Central Provident Fund (CPF) Retirement Account (RA) with the proceeds may also receive a cash bonus ranging from $7,500 to $30,000, depending on their flat type and CPF RA top-up amount.