Proposal for BTO Ballot System to Automatically Flag Out Applicants' Eligibility for Relevant Priority Schemes
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the automation of HDB’s BTO ballot system for priority schemes and the administrative requirements for applicants as raised by Mr Yip Hon Weng. Minister Desmond Lee explained that while the Parenthood Priority Scheme is automatic, others like the Married Child Priority Scheme require manual selection due to long-term compliance obligations. He noted that the system provides prompts based on applicant data and uses MyInfo to simplify repeat applications, with no documents required until the flat booking appointment. Minister Desmond Lee also stated that applicants receive balloting outcomes within three weeks from the close of the application period.
Transcript
19 Mr Yip Hon Weng asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether the ballot system for HDB’s BTO flats automatically factors in applicants’ eligibility for priority schemes or flags out the schemes which they qualify for, so applicants need not apply themselves; (b) whether the eligible party has to make a new application and submit the relevant documents for every new balloting exercise; and (c) how long do eligible parties have to wait on average for their applications to be approved.
Mr Desmond Lee: HDB has various priority schemes in place to help first-timer families and other applicants with their housing needs. For the Parenthood Priority Scheme (PPS), applicants who meet the eligibility criteria of being first-timer married couples with young children are automatically emplaced on the scheme and do not need to apply. This is because the PPS does not impose additional conditions that need to be met by the applicants after their flat purchase.
However, the other priority schemes, such as the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS) and the Third Child Priority Scheme (TCPS), impose specific terms and conditions that flat buyers need to comply with until the end of the minimum occupation period of their BTO flats. As such, applicants have to apply for these schemes as part of their HDB application to allow them to decide which priority scheme will best suit their needs and whether they will be able to comply with the corresponding terms and conditions. To ease the application process, the HDB flat application system will prompt flat applicants to choose from a drop-down menu of the priority schemes that may be relevant to them, based on the information that they have provided in the online flat application form.
While home seekers have to make a fresh application for each BTO exercise they would like to participate in, those who have applied for a BTO flat previously can retrieve the particulars they provided in their previous application via MyInfo so that they do not have to fill in their particulars again. In addition, applicants do not have to submit documents when they apply for a BTO flat and are only required to do so during their appointment to book a flat.
BTO flat applicants can expect to receive the balloting outcomes within three weeks from the close of the flat application period.