1-room HDB Flexi flats are not in the Government’s radar

by Ravi Chandran October 21, 2019, 4:23 pm 1.8k Views

The Minister for National Development, Lawrence Wong, replied in Parliament on Oct 7 that the existing 2-room HDB Flexi flats provide affordable housing options for singles, and there may not be a need to make the flat sizes smaller.

He was responding to a parliamentary question asking if HDB will consider building 1-room HDB Flexi flats that are integrated with other flat types for singles who have a lower financial capability to purchase HDB flats.

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In responding to him, Mr Wong said:

“Eligible singles can purchase 2-room Flexi BTO flats in the non-mature estates. Such flats come in two sizes, 36 square metres and 45 square metres, and are integrated with other flat types in the same blocks. The smaller 36-square metre flat is cheaper, and caters to singles who have more limited budgets or less space needs. In fact, after the generous government discounts and subsidies, first-timer singles buying new flats, on average, use only about 20% of their monthly income for mortgage instalments. This means that they are generally able to service their mortgages from their CPF contributions, with little or no cash outlay.”

He added that the existing 2-room HDB Flexi flats provide affordable housing options for singles, and there may not be a need to make the flat sizes smaller.

Under the 2-room Flexi Scheme, elderly Singaporeans have the flexibility of choosing the length of lease on their 2-room flat, based on their age, needs, and preferences. If you are aged 55 and above, you can take up a lease of between 15 and 45 years in 5-year increments, as long as it covers you and your spouse up to the age of at least 95 years. First- and second-timer families, as well as first-timer singles, can buy new 2-room flats on a 99-year lease.

You can apply for a 2-room Flexi flats if you meet these eligibility conditions:

	99-Year Lease	Short Lease
Eligible Applicant/ Family Nucleus	You need to qualify for a new flat under one of our eligibility schemes: Public Scheme Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme Orphans Scheme Single Singapore Citizen Scheme Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme Joint Singles Scheme
Citizenship	At least 1 Singapore Citizen applicant At least 1 other Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident, when applying under these schemes: Public Scheme Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme Orphans Scheme Spouse is not a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident, when applying under the Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme All applicants (maximum of 4) must be Singapore Citizens, when applying under the Joint Singles Scheme
Age	At least 21 years old if applying under the Public Scheme/ Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme/ Orphans Scheme At least 35 years old if applying under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme/ Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme/ Joint Singles Scheme	You, your spouse, and all buyers must be at least 55 years old at the time of flat application The allowable lease period will be based on the age of the youngest applicant/spouse at the time of flat application The chosen lease must be able to last you, your spouse, and all buyers until at least age 95 The selection of lease period will be made during the flat selection
Income Ceiling	Your average gross monthly household income cannot exceed ^{^}$7,000	Your average gross monthly household income cannot exceed ^#$14,000
Property Ownership	All applicants and occupiers listed in the flat application do not own other properties overseas or locally, and have not disposed of any within the last 30 months All applicants and occupiers listed in the flat application cannot invest in private residential property from the date of flat application till after the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). You have not purchased a new HDB/ DBSS flat or EC, or received a CPF Housing Grant before; or, have only purchased 1 of those properties/ received 1 CPF Housing Grant thus far	If you or any person listed in your flat application owns a private property either locally or overseas, you must dispose of all private properties within 6 months from the date of taking possession of the 2-room Flexi flat

You can apply for a 2-room HDB Flexi flats as a couple, a family, a single, or together with unmarried siblings or other singles.

Flat Type	Income Ceiling (Average Gross Monthly Household Income)
2-room Flexi flat on 99-year lease	$7,000 (Applicable for sales exercise launched from September 2019. For flat applications received for sales exercises launched before September 2019, income ceiling is $6,000)
2-room Flexi flat on short-lease (15-year to 45-year lease)	$14,000 (Applicable for sales exercise launched from September 2019. For flat applications received for sales exercises launched before September 2019, income ceiling is $12,000)

Mortgage Financing for HDB Flexi Flats

You can choose to finance your flat with a housing loan from a bank that is regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). If you take a housing loan from a bank, you will not be allowed to refinance your flat with a housing loan from HDB.

Must I take a housing loan from a bank when buying 2-room Flexi Flats?

You can if you choose to, or if any of these apply to you:

You and/ or the essential occupiers are not eligible for an HDB housing loan
You are buying a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat and you and/ or the essential occupiers are not eligible for an HDB housing loan
You are buying an Executive Condominium (EC)