The new Build-To-Order (BTO) programme in which flats are built only when there is demand for them replaces the five-year-old queueing system at the HDB. The HDB launched the new scheme yesterday with the sale of 1,466 four-room HDB units in Punggol 21 and Sengkang. No deposit is required under the new BTO system, but applicants who have cancelled a previous booking must pay up the registration deposit still owed before trying again. (Straits Times 16 Dec 2002) (H5)

  Providing win-win service at the counter

  Minister in the Prime Minister's Office LIM Boon Heng yesterday said that Singapore's executive condominium (EC) scheme should not be scrapped, but work could perhaps be slowed down in view of present market conditions. (Straits Times 11 Nov 2002) (3) 

  The 11-member Land Working Group panel has called for a review of the immensely popular Executive Condominium (EC) Housing scheme - an upmarket hybrid of the Housing Board flat but more affordable than private condos - saying "its continued relevance" has come into question given the falling prices of private residential properties. (Straits Times 7 Nov 2002) (H2)

  From January 2003, a person who wishes to sell his flat bought with bank loans and without a Central provident Fund (CPF) housing grant must have lived in it for at least one year, instead of the present 2½ years. This will also apply to those who had bought resale flats without housing grants, and who choose to refinance their mortgages with a bank loan. These owners will also be allowed to sublet their entire flats, if they have occupied the flats for 10 years or more. (Straits Times 1 Nov 2002) (H3)

  1,152 five-room and 608 executive flats in Jurong West will go on sale this week in the Housing and Development Board's latest walk-in selection exercise at an on-site sales office set up in an open space opposite Jurong Point. (Straits Times 8 Oct 2002) (H5)

  A Housing Board parking officer who took bribes from car repossessors was yesterday jailed three years for corruption. Mazlan Awang, 39, made an easy S$48,360 by giving two car repossessors information on where to find cars belonging to people who had defaulted on their loans. (Straits Times 25 Sep 2002) (H3)

  Five boys, aged between 11 and 14, have been arrested after washing powder was dumped into the water tank on the rooftop of Block 124 Paya Lebar Way on Monday afternoon. Following complaints by residents, a plumber dispatched by the town council found two 1 kg packets of washing powder, both half-emptied, near the two water tanks on the rooftop. Town council staff then flushed out the down-feed pipes so that residents could get clean water from the second tank. (Straits Times 28 Aug 2002) (H8)

  From next year, 90,000 HDB flat owners now paying off HDB loans at market rates can also refinance their mortgages with banks. Home loan rates offered by banks are now at a record low, with some offering rates of around 1.5 per cent for the first year, and a second year rate that is lower than 3 per cent. This compares favourably with HDB's market rate of 3.75 per cent a year. Five banks - DBS, UOB, OCBC, Stanchart and HSBC - have said they would only recall such loans as a last resort. (Straits Times 21 Aug 2002) (3)

  Salesmen are duping Housing Board flat dwellers into paying for security systems by claiming that the HDB requires upgraded flats to have one. Yesterday, the Consumers Association of Singapore (Case) said it had received at least 60 complaints about salesmen using unethical tactics to sell security systems to HDB residents.(Straits Times 15 Aug 2002)

  The Government will not allow HDB flat owners to use their homes as collateral to take out more loans to increase their cash flow for business or personal use. This is to prevent people from abusing the heavily subsidised public-housing system when the more relaxed rule, which allows some HDB flat owners to turn to banks for loans, starts in January 2003. "We would not like to see anybody borrowing extra, or over the amount required for the flat, to buy a car or go for a holiday," said National Development Minister MAH Bow Tan yesterday. (Straits Times 12 Aug 20020 (1)

  The National Development Ministry is studying a proposal to allow HDB homeowners who are not entitled to a subsidised loan to get housing loans from banks. This will free them from having to get mortgage loans from the HDB at market rates. The proposed changes could mean a 33 per cent drop in interest rates for some owners as market rates are now 2.8 per cent, compared with the HDB's 3.75 per cent. (Straits Times 17 Jul 2002) (3)

  The Economic Review Committee's (ERC) sub-committee on taxation, CPF, wages and land yesterday proposed that employers' CPF remains at 16 per cent for 50-55 age group workers so that jobs are kept in the long term. Already, out of the 110,000 workers currently aged between 50 and 55, 11 per cent are now without jobs. The panel also recommended that CPF withdrawals to pay off loans for private homes and market-rate HDB flats be capped this year at 150 per cent of a property's value. This should be gradually reduced to 120 per cent gradually over five years so that savings in the CPF Ordinary Account can be freed for uses such as funding one's retirement. (Straits Times 16 Jul 2002) (1)

  Almost S$900 million has been spent building 88,000 civil defence shelters in Housing Board flats and private homes since 1997. Such shelters have been a requirement in all new residential developments since the Civil Defence Shelter Bill was passed in 1997, to make shelters more accessible in emergencies. A household shelter ranges in size from 2 to 5 sq m, depending on flat size. The demand for HDB flats, on average, is 15,000 to 20,000 units a year and it would cost up to S$200 million a year to equip these flats with shelters. (STraits Times 3 Jul 2002) (H2)

  From Monday, Housing Board flat owners who are in financial difficulty can apply to pay as little as half their normal monthly home-loan instalments for two years. For those who need help beyond the two years, the HDB will consider extensions on a case-by-case basis. As of March this year, 19,400 mortgagors were at least three months in arrears, compared to 14,400 in March 2001. (Straits Times 28 Jun 2002) (1)

  The Manpower Ministry has reversed an earlier ruling and awarded widowed mother of two Jenny KOH S$185,600 in mortgage insurance. The Ministry yesterday said its decision was based on a review of "the circumstances and the law". Madam KOH's husband, Mr YEE Poh Keen, 25, had died in a motorcycle accident last August - just three days before the couple could take legal possession of their four-room resale flat in Hougang. Shortly before his death, they took out a Central Provident Fund (CPF) Home Protection Scheme insurance policy to ensure they would be covered in the event of a tragedy. (Straits Times 25 Jun 2002) (1)

  The HDB said yesterday that 649 five-room flats and 698 executive flats in Sembawang will be offered at the latest walk-in selection exercise on Monday. No four-room flats will be offered in Sembawang as they have all been snapped up. The detailed list of the units on sale is available from today, 8am to 5pm, at the on-site sales office set up at the open space behind Sembawang MRT station. (Straits Times 8 Jun 2002) (4)

  From Monday, the Housing Board's head office will be at the new HDB Hub in Toa Payoh Central. Its main telephone number will be changed to 6490 1111 from Monday. (Straits Times 6 Jun 2002) (H6)

  The resale market for three-room HDB flats is hotting up, with buyers willing to pay as much as S$30,000 above the HDB's valuation, especially for flats in places like Ghim Moh, Commonwealth Avenue and Holland Village, which are prime spots for singles. This is despite the current property slump sending the prices of bigger flats sliding. There are more than 223,000 three-room HDB flats islandwide. Supply on the open resale market is limited as the board does not build such flats anymore. (Straits Times 5 Jun 2002) (H1)

  Small scale businesses can be conducted in HDB flats and there is no need for residents to register with the board. Residents can make satay, or tarts, bake cakes, run music and tuition classes, as long as these activities do not change the fundamental nature of the flats, which is residential, said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister of State for National Development, in Parliament yesterday. (Straits Times 21 May 2002) (H4)

  Even after parking fees are raised in September, the HDB's carpark operations will still be in the red. In the last financial year, HDB subsidised carparks in housing estates to the tune of S$115 million, said National Development Minister MAH Bow Tan in Parliament yesterday. (Straits Times 21 May 2002) (H4)

  The HDB received 18,200 applications from homeowners seeking help with loan payments, between January 2001 and March 2002. As most of these were genuine hardship cases, it turned down only 14. Last year, HDB handled 14,200 new cases, 42 per cent more than in 2000, when there were 10,000 new cases. (Straits Times 15 May 2002) (H5)

  Between 1997 and last year, HDB approved an average of 1,300 new applications annually from HDB shopowners to lease out part of their retail space to other retailers. Figures show only about 100 new HDB shops are constructed every year. There are about 14,000 HDB shops now occupying 1.1 million sq m in retail space, forming more than a third of all retail space in Singapore. (Straits Times 14 May 2002) (A20)

  Hours before the Housing Board (HDB) announced the next batch of flats for sale, a queue had started forming at the queue site at Choa Chu Kang Avenue 4, opposite Lot 1 Shoppers Mall. By 7.30pm, about 150 people had turned up at the sales office there. The white tent in the open field was a giveaway, said contractor CHONG Seik Keong, 50, who was first in the line there at 10am on Wednesday. Some 1,900 new flats, including 380 four-room units, are available in the HDB's latest walk-in selection exercise. (Straits Times 10 May 2002) (H1)

  HDB's 5,000-strong workforce will move into the new HDB Centre headquarters in Toa Payoh Central on 10 Jun 2002. The centre has 26 office units and 75 retail and service units, totalling 30,000 sq m of space, for lease. HDB Centre's anchor tenants are NTUC Fairprice, Starbucks, McDonald's and Popular Bookstore. (Straits Times 9 May 2002) (A16)

  Seven slim HDB towers, each 48-storeys tall, will be ready in Duxton Plain in Tanjong Pagar in 2007. Occupying a site only sightly bigger than two football fields, the buildings will house some 1,800 families. This is part of a plan to quadruple the number of households living in the city from 30,000 to 120,000. Construction is expected to commence in September 2003 and HDB will invite people to book the flats in 2004. (Straits Times 1 May 2002) (1)

  Two queues which formed at the Housing Board's main office in Bukit Merah and its branch office in Sengkang are growing longer - and turning ugly. Latecomers are unhappy about being beaten, as the early birds started lining up on Tuesday afternoon. A total of 628 flats are available in tomorrow's selection, which allows anyone who qualifies for a new flat to book one on the spot without having th pay the normal application fee of S$500. (Straits Times 19 Apr 2002) (3)

  A senior Housing Board executive was found dead in a river inlet in the American city of Boston on Sunday, at about 7 am Boston time. Mr LIM Kok Leong, 49, the board's chief administration officer, was on a study trip to Houston, Boston and New York in the United States with six other HDB officials. (Straits Times 17 Apr 2002) (4)

  Only 3,200 out of 16,900 unsold HDB flats in new estates have been taken up by the 11,000 flat-buyers in the Housing Board's queue. The remaining 13,700 flats will now be available to anyone who qualifies for a new HDB flat. They can simply walk in and book a flat without queueing. This month, there will be 1,600 four-room and larger units on offer in Sengkang - tomorrow and on 20 Apr 2002. (Straits Times 9 Apr 2002) (6)

  The Government plans to review its housing policy in the next one to two years, including its long-term target of having 70 per cent of Singaporeans living in public housing and 30 per cent in private housing. (Straits Times 23 Feb 2002)(1)

  The Housing and Development Board (HDB) has, for the first time, set up a marketing section to come up with strategies to sell flats. The three-member team intends to find ways of marketing empty flats in less popular estates. It will also conduct surveys on applicants and new flat owners to find out their preferences. Currently, the HDB has 17,500 empty flats in areas like Bukit Panjang, Sengkang and Jurong West. Its 2000/2001 annual report shows that 85 per cent of the population live in HDB flats now, down 1 percentage point from the previous financial year. The HDB's aim is to see 70 per cent of households in HDB flats and 30 per cent in private housing. The 70:30 ratio was envisaged in the Urban Redevelopment Authority's 1991 Concept Plan. (Straits Times 8 Feb 2002)(1)

  The size of mandatory bomb shelters in each housing unit will be reduced by about 12 to 15 per cent following amendments to the construction laws approved in April this year. Since May 1998, when the Civil Defence Shelter Act was introduced, developers have had to build a shelter - or concrete-reinforced "storeroom" - in each house in Singapore, including Housing Board flats. There are now 87,000 such shelters in HDB estates and about 1,000 in private estates. (Straits Times 16 Nov 2001) (H1) 

  Over 46,000 HDB households will benefit from a S$1 billion programme to upgrade the lifts, interiors and common areas of Housing Board flats over the next five years. The flats are spread out over 64 precincts around the island, including 14 precincts picked for the first phase of the Lift Upgrading Programme, which aims to have lift stops on every floor of the 4,000 high-rise HDB blocks built before 1990. Blocks built since 1990 already have such lifts.(Straits Times 8 Sep 2001)(1) 

    Nine public-service agencies, headed by the Law Ministry, are planning to sell unused land, such as the land under MRT and LRT viaducts, to the HDB if it is near public housing estates. The ministry estimates that about half of the land sits close to HDB estates. By conservative estimates, the land, totalling 60 ha, is worth about S$1 billion, said industry sources. The land could be used for playgrounds, fitness centres, golf-putting greens or other recreational facilities. It could also be used to site town centres, carparks, food centres, and even homes under these viaducts. (Straits Times 7 Sep 2001) (H1)

  Come 2006, in Ang Mo Kio, a mega-complex, featuring a 31-storey condominium and a 21-storey office building, will tower over a new bus interchange with air-conditioned waiting area for passengers. A 5,574sq m NTUC hypermart will anchor the retail section. The existing bus terminal and Block 701 - the two-storey building that houses the NTUC supermarket and fast-food outlets - will be demolished early next year. The new S$200-million town centre will be developed jointly by the Singapore Labour Foundation, NTUC Income, NTUC Choice Homes and NTUC Fairprice. (Straits Times 29 Aug 2001)(H1)

  The woman who forged a marriage certificate to rent a Housing Board flat is likely to lose her home. Madam LEE Chin Phong, 54, and her lover have been told to move out of their rental flat by the end of the month. She was fined S$2,000 last Friday for faking her marriage certificate.(Straits Times 2 Aug 2001)(H6)

  Housing Board residents affected by the current economic downturn do not have to worry about losing their flats as the Government has put in place schemes to help them extend or defer payments for their flats, said National Development Minister Mr MAH Bow Tan yesterday. He noted that the HDB had also put similar schemes in place to help owners during the last financial crisis. While more people were retrenched then, he said that only about 3 per cent of the total flat owners with mortgage loans applied for such schemes in 1999. (Straits Times 23 Jul 2001) (3)

  Despite the economic slowdown, plans for the upgrading of public housing estates will continue for at least this year, said National Development Minister MAH Bow Tan yesterday. This year, programmes are targeting 17 to 18 MUP precincts, and more than 20 IUP precincts. (Straits Times 16 Jul 2001)(1)

  Housing Board shopkeepers around the island have been hit by rent increases of as much as 30 per cent. The hike resulted from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) asking shopkeepers to pay the full market rental rate. The new rents will take effect this year, when most shopkeepers renew their leases. Since 1989, most of the 8,000 or so shopkeepers who rent premises from the HDB have been on three-year leases. They have been paying rents - set at 75 per cent of the prevailing market rate - since 1998. (Straits Times 11 Jul 2001) (4)

  New HDB flats will be information hubs where residents can enjoy data and telephone points for computers, television sets, fax machines, telephones and other devices in virtually every room in the house. These flats will have new cabling systems, which means that residents can wire up the entire home as a single unit. HDB said that new flats tendered from July 2000 will have six telephone lines and six cable outlets. Flats tendered from January 2000 will have six telephone points and five cable outlets, while those tendered from July 1997 onwards, including some in Jurong West and Sembawang, have five telephone lines and five cable outlets. Some of the new flats will be in Punggol 21 and Sengkang. (Straits Times 23 Jun 2001)

  Five-room flats on the first to 20th storeys of the four new 40-storey HDB blocks in Toa Payoh will cost S$333,000 each, on average, while those on the 39th and 40th storeys will be priced at S$374,000 each. Four-room flats will range from S$210,000 to S$241,000. Each block will be served by four lifts, two of which will be express elevators serving only those above the 21st storey. (Straits Times 16 Jun 2001)

  More elderly folk have taken up Housing Board granny flats, after the rules for qualifying for them were relaxed late last month to allow more people to apply. Between 28 May and 7 Jun 2001, 163 of the applicants were approved and went on to book the flats. Of these 163 new takers, 95 - or about six in 10 - would not have been eligible under the old rules, said an HDB spokesman. (Straits Times 9 Jun 2001)

  HDB Resale Seminar - July 2001

  In just three weeks, the Housing Board (HDB) has received applications for about half the 2,500 or so flats it is offering in its pilot build-to-order scheme. It said it had received more than 1,200 applications for the flats it is proposing to build at four sites in Sembawang in the north zone and Sengkang, in the North-east zone. The pilot scheme allows home buyers to specify where and when they want their flats. (Straits Times 16 May 2001)

  40-storey Housing Board flats are already in the works. They will appear in Toa Payoh in two years' time, said National development Minister MAH Bow Tan on 11 May 2001. He was chairing a public dialogue on the draft Concept Plan, attended by 300 members of the public. The plan is revised once every ten years, and the latest version will be ready later this year. (Straits Times 12 May 2001)

  The Government has set aside S$4.8 billion to put lifts on every floor of the 4,000 high-rise HDB blocks built before 1990, where technically feasible. This will be done in blocks where 75% of residents vote for it. Residents, except those who live on the ground floor of the blocks, will have to pay part of the cost. Flats built between 1981 and 1986, instead of those built between 1976 and 1983, will now qualify for the interim upgrading programme (IUP), which improves common areas in HDB estates. The total cost of these two programmes to the Government over 10 years or more, is S$10 billion. This was announced by National Development Minister MAH Bow Tan in Parliament on 14 Mar 2001. (Straits Times 15 Mar 2001)