Everything You Need to Know About the New Rules for HDB Flats in Prime Location (Prime Location Public Housing)

After months of searching for your forever home, you’ve finally found the perfect abode. A year later, you discover that there’s a similarly-priced resale flat in a better location, and more importantly, that it has five different bubble tea stores near it.

You come up with a plan to sell your current house after four more years, and purchase a new one with your hubby where you can drown all your sorrows in bubble tea whenever you want.

Whether it’s to make a profit or for logistical reasons, it’s not an uncommon practice for homeowners to sell their HDB flats after five years.

However, if your new flat is in a prime location, you might have to wait a little longer to do so.

Everything You Need to Know About the New Rules for HDB Flats in Prime Location (Prime Location Public Housing)

The government has announced a new scheme for housing projects in prime locations in an effort to keep resale prices affordable and reduce the “lottery effect” in balloting for flats.

In other words, to stop “millionaire-dollar HDB flats”.

The Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) scheme is set to kick in next month with its first housing project at the Rochor Road district.

As National Development Minister Desmond Lee noted, properties in attractive locations tend to be very expensive, and without government intervention, many average-income families could be at a disadvantage.

So, what are some of the new rules under the scheme?

PLC Flats Can Only be Sold After 10 Years

Unlike the current restriction of five years, PLH flats can only be sold in the resale market after a decade.

What’s more, homeowners will not be able to put up their whole flat for rent after 10 years, though they may do so for individual rooms.

These rules will apply to the first and subsequent buyers.

Location, Location, Location

So, where exactly are these prime locations?

For now, PLH housing projects will be at the city centre and the towns surrounding it, as well as the Greater Southern Waterfront.

However, it is not the entire area of these locations. Only specific projects will come under the new scheme.

Bishan, maybe? #justsaying

Singles Excluded From Scheme

Bad news for singles: unlike the current rules for other flats, singles will not be able to purchase resale PLH flats even if they’re above the age of 35.

Mr Lee explained that there are already very few flats to begin with, and the government wants to cater to families first.

The other eligibility conditions under the PLH scheme will be the same as the current ones for three- to five-room BTO flats – one of which is that at least one applicant has to be a Singapore citizen.

More Subsidies

While the government will provide more subsidies to BTO flat buyers, they will have to pay a portion of the flat’s resale price back to the government if they sell it after 10 years.

The number of flats set aside for applicants who live near their parents or children may also be reduced, as priority schemes like the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS) could give wealthier families, or those living near prime locations, an advantage.

As for the type of houses that will be built under the schemes, the government is not ruling anything out. For the Rochor project, there will be 960 three-room and four-room units, as well as 40 rental flats. There may also be two-room flexi units in the future.

Mr Lee said the PLH model is not “cast in stone” however, meaning things could change.

To know more about BTO, watch this video to the end:

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