I REFER to the letters, 'Wow! Time to outsource public housing?' by Mr Richard Ho Wai Chui, 'Govt should relook income qualifying levels' by Mr Lee Wee Chong and 'No reason to impose higher S&C charges' by Mr Wee Sung Cheng (ST, Oct 7).
The Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) is a new public-housing initiative under which a private developer undertakes the entire public- housing development process, from purchase of land to design and planning, to construction and sale.
The developer has the flexibility to design and price the flats, based on his assessment of market demand.
The purpose is to provide greater choice for HDB flat buyers. DBSS flats form part of the total public-housing supply. Hence, the eligibility conditions for purchase are similar to those for new HDB flats, for example, family nucleus and household income ceiling.
DBSS flat buyers pay market prices, hence second-timers will not be subject to the resale levy when they purchase the flats, similar to HDB resale flats.
Eligible DBSS flat buyers who are first-timers can apply for a housing subsidy in the form of the CPF Housing Grant.
At the current household income ceiling of $8,000 per month, the vast majority, over 80 per cent, of Singaporean households qualify to buy HDB flats, including DBSS flats.
Households whose incomes exceed $8,000 have many options, other than private property. These include resale HDB flats (including resale DBSS flats in future) and executive condominiums.
Service and conservancy (S&C) charges are collected for the purpose of maintenance and upkeep of the common areas in an estate. In the case of The Premiere
@Tampines, the S&C charges were set by the developer and the town council, which will be responsible for the maintenance of the estate.
The higher charges are due to the greater number of lifts and precinct facilities, such as link buildings and playgrounds, per dwelling unit.
We note the strong response to the pilot DBSS project. HDB is currently studying the feasibility of suitable sites for future DBSS launches.
Nevertheless, as the public-housing authority, HDB will continue to launch new HDB flats for sale under its regular Build-to-Order exercises, as well as under the Balloting and Walk-in-Selection modes to cater to different segments of flat buyers.
We thank the writers for their feedback and the opportunity to clarify our policies.
Tay Boon Sun
Senior Public Relations Officer
for Director (Corporate Development)
Housing & Development Board
