Families waiting to receive their Build-To-Order (BTO) units can apply for $300 per month in vouchers that will offset the cost of renting an HDB flat or bedroom on the open market from July 1.
From July 2024 until June 2025 From July 2024 until June 2025, the Parenthood Provisional Housing scheme (PPHS) will provide interim rental housing for families with an unfinished home from the Housing Board’s sale exercises.
To be eligible for the entire year of support, which is equal to $3,600, applicants’ tenancies must commence at or before July 31, 2024 and they must submit their application to HDB by August 31st.
This allows households qualified to apply for a PPHS voucher enough time to locate a suitable tenancy, and then apply for it.
The program provides these families with greater assistance in the meantime HDB strives to increase its supply of interim rental flats under the scheme, from 220 units currently to 4,000 by 2025.
Families who make less than $7000 per month to be eligible for the voucher scheme. They must verify that the landlord has registered their tenure with HDB and they must ensure that the NRIC addresses have been updated.
The applicants who are fiancee and fiancee must submit their marriage certificates within the first three months of their tenancy to qualify to receive the voucher.
Families that qualify for the voucher via the reimbursement of tenancies which fall between July 2024 and June 2025. If the applicant begins their tenancy after June 30th, 2025, they are still eligible for $300 vouchers that are valid for the month.
The reimbursements will be made to the PayNow-NRIC linked bank accounts, with each tranche including up to six months worth of vouchers. HDB stated that the first tranche is usually around seven months following the application date.
The voucher cannot be prorated for any period of tenancy which do not comprise a complete month. To qualify for the voucher for any given month, families must complete their application before the end of the following month.
If you are renting a PPHS flat from HDB are also able to rent the flat on the market, and then apply for a voucher, HDB said. They will only be eligible for the voucher after the tenancy of the PPHS apartment has ended.
Families are not eligible for vouchers if they lease an apartment from close family members or immediate relatives.
HDB said in March it would conduct a variety of tests, including physical checks, on the applicant’s tenancy. This could include physical inspections at the tenant’s address before issuing the voucher. They may also refer the case to police for investigation and may withhold payments for suspected abuse instances.
The board stated then that the amount of applications under PPHS has declined significantly since it ramped up the supply of temporary homes from 800 units in 2021 to 2,000.
In the month of February 2024, there were 2.3 applicants for each flat.
On June 13th, HDB said it has been working hard to cut down the wait time for BTO flats. In 2024, 75 per cent of the flats that are scheduled to launch will have waiting times of four years or less the company said.
There are a few reasons to apply for the voucher if the applicant does not obtain an PPHS flat before the 2024 deadline.
A PPHS flat will still be my first choice as it’s affordable for a unit. On the open market, I’d be able to rent only a room and have to sacrifice some privacy
The rental costs for two-room apartments are between $400 and $550 per month, under PPHS, and three-room apartment prices range from $600-$900.
A couple is living apart in Bedok, while they wait for their four-room flat in Bedok to be completed in 2028.
I hope that if renting on the open-market is too costly, and we decide to decline the vouchers then we’ll be in a position to get an PPHS apartment when the supply increases by 2025. We’d rather not hold off on our house to be vacated while we live apart.