800,000 HDB households to receive $106m utility rebates

800,000 HDB households to receive $106m utility rebates
Jan 4, 2010 - PropertyGuru.com.sg

Around 800,000 HDB households will receive utilities U-Save rebates worth $106 million in 2010. The $60 million initial payout will be made in January, with the next payout expected in July.

Based on the schedule that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) released yesterday, households with one and two rooms will receive rebates amounting to $200 this year. Executive flats will receive $55; $160 for three-room flats; $150 for four-room flats; and $90 for five-room flats.

The U-Save rebates are aimed only at flats owned by Singaporeans. However, over the last few years, there has been a rise in Singapore-owned HDB flats being completely sublet, even involving non-citizen tenants.

The scheme has been revised from January this year onwards, with HDB flats fully sublet to non-citizens being ineligible for rebates.

HDB flats owned by Singaporeans, which are owner-occupied or sublet to at least one citizen tenant, will continue to receive rebates.

“U-Save rebates are used to offset utility charges directly. The amount of rebates in the forthcoming payout will be reflected in the utility bills for January 2010 of all eligible households,” said the MOF.

Intended to help Singaporeans cope with earlier two-percentage point increases in goods and services tax (GST), these rebates are part of the GST Offset Package in Budget 2007. The government will have to spend for the scheme around $620 million for a period of five years from 2007 to 2011.