A Whopping $2.9Billion Has Been Spent On HDB Flat Home Improvement Programmes

Time to rename HDBs to HDBae HDBeautiful.

As of 31 March 2019, the government has spent a whopping $2.9 billion on the Home Improvement Programme by the Housing Board (HDB).

And as of 31 October, around 170,400 flats have undergone upgrading works and have completed them. Meanwhile, another 132,300 flats are still undergoing upgrades.

In total, around 320,000 flats were selected under the 1986 age band to be eligible for the Home Improvement Programme.

It’s heartening to know that the older flats have not been forgotten, considering the fact that many new and shiny BTOs have been built all over Singapore, with plans to build even more due to increasing demand.

A Whopping $2.9Billion Has Been Spent On HDB Flat Home Improvement Programmes

HDB released the figures in a statement stating that all remaining work will be implemented progressively.

The programme was announced 12 years ago in 2007 and was aimed at improving the quality of life through increasing “safety and comfort at home”.

These include improvements inside the flat like addressing maintenance problems that have to do with aged units.

In the past, the scheme was only offered to HDB flats built up to 1986, but just last year, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the programme will be extended to flats built between 1987 to 1997.

This means that as many as 230,000 more households will get to enjoy the benefits of the Home Improvement Programme.

That’s a lot of families.

Improvements

These improvements include repairing structural cracks, replacing waste or soil discharge stacks, and upgrading the electrical load.

The owners of these flats also have an option to carry out their own improvements such as installing new doors and gates using their own cash.

One important thing to note is that the upgrading can only happen if at least three-quarters of the block’s eligible households that are made of Singapore citizens have voted for it.

The best part? Thre is an option for elderly and vulnerable residents to install elderly-friendly fittings under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (Ease) programme.

Over time, this scheme has gained traction because thus far, 206,000 households have applied for it and the government has forked out $80 million as of 31 March.

Let’s hope that our homes will become even more functional and HDBeautiful in the future.