Self-employed Persons Paying for HDB Flats by Cash and CPF and Plans to Encourage Payment by CPF Instead

42 Ms See Jinli Jean asked the Minister for National Development (a) how many self-employed persons (SEPS) are currently paying for their HDB flats by (i) cash and (ii) CPF respectively; (b) what is the percentage of SEPS from each group who are at higher-risk of having their flats repossessed because of frequent default on instalments; and (c) whether there are plans to introduce incentives and assistance to encourage SEPs who have been paying for their flat by cash to switch to using CPF to pay instead.

Mr Desmond Lee: The Housing and Development Board (HDB) does not collect information on whether flat owners are self-employed, as HDB treats all flat owners the same way, regardless of their occupation. We are, therefore, unable to provide the data requested in parts (a) and (b) of the Member's question.

HDB has no preference whether flat owners service their mortgage loans by cash, the Central Provident Fund or a combination of both. We, therefore, do not plan to introduce incentives and assistance to encourage flat buyers to adopt a particular mode of payment.

We encourage homeowners facing difficulties with their mortgage payments to approach HDB early, to explore options for support.