ST : Rental flat scheme has helped over 1,300 families

Nov 24, 2010

Parliament

Rental flat scheme has helped over 1,300 families

A TOTAL of 1,318 families have benefited from the Interim Rental Housing (IRH) scheme since it was introduced in January last year to help citizens in financial difficulties.

Of these, 311 have since moved out of IRH flats. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan provided the update in a written answer to Dr Lam Pin Min (Ang Mo Kio GRC).

Dr Lam had asked about the demand for the scheme, which was designed to provide temporary accommodation for needy families while they worked out their housing issues or waited for more permanent housing.

The number of those who have benefited from the scheme has grown since March 31. Then, 611 families had been helped and 87 families had moved on.

Under the scheme, two families have to share a three-room flat. Dr Lam asked if that requirement could be waived for larger families.

Mr Mah explained that flat sharing was necessary 'to keep rents low for these families in financial difficulty'.

Each family is charged between $300 to $400 a month, which includes utilities and service and conservancy charges.

But in cases where a family's size is large, the appointed operator of the IRH flats can choose to rent out to the family a two-room flat, or two rooms in a four-room flat.

The IRH flats are located in places such as Toa Payoh, Havelock Road and Bedok South, where three-room flats are usually rented out for $1,200 a month.

When it was introduced last year, the IRH scheme was meant to help families that had run into financial difficulties and needed to downgrade quickly.

With the scheme, families could sell their flats immediately, and buy new smaller flats. While these were being built, they could live in rental flats priced below market rate.

This was then part of a series of measures to reduce the number of defaults on home loans.

TESSA WONG