Housing and Development Board

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The HDB Hub at Toa Payoh, headquarters of the Housing and Development Board of Singapore.
The HDB Hub at Toa Payoh, headquarters of the Housing and Development Board of Singapore.
A typical HDB Estate
A typical HDB Estate
Large scale new towns are characteristic of HDB projects.
Large scale new towns are characteristic of HDB projects.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB; Simplified Chinese: 建屋发展局; Malay: Lembaga Pembangunan dan Perumahan) is the statutory board of the Ministry of National Development responsible for public housing in Singapore. It is generally credited with clearing up the squatters and slums of the 1960s and resettling residents into low-cost government-built housing.

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[edit] History

Shortly after independence, Singapore faced a serious problem of housing shortages. In response, the government passed the Housing and Development Act of 1960 which replaced the existing Singapore Improvement Trust with the Housing and Development Board.

Led by Lim Kim San, its first priority during formation was to build as many low-cost housing units as possible, and the Five-Year Plan was introduced. The housing that was initially built was mostly meant for rental by the low income group. The Home Ownership Scheme was also introduced to help this group of people to buy instead of rent their flats. Later, the people were allowed to use their Central Provident Fund money for downpayment. These efforts were however not successful enough then in convincing the people living in the squatter settlements to move into these flats. It was only later, after the Bukit Ho Swee Fire, that HDB's efficiency and earnestness won the people over.

54,430 housing units were built between 1960 and 1965 by the HDB. Due to land constraints, high-rise and high-density flats were chosen.

The policies of the HDB were largely in line of the manifesto set out by the Singapore government; the government was promoting social cohesion and patriotism within the country. In 1968, citizens were allowed to use their pension fund (Central Provident Fund) to purchase and own the homes they were renting to give them a stake of the country and as an incentive to work hard. In 1980, a quota was introduced to ensure that no particular racial group concentrated together to prevent sectarianism. To prevent social stratification that may lead to social conflict, the housing of different income groups are mixed together in estates and new towns.

In the 1990s, the HDB concentrated on the upgrading of existing older flats, installing new facilities such as lifts that stop on every floor. Studio apartments were built specially to suit the needs of senior citizens in Singapore's aging society. However, some of these flats were quickly bought up by young working singles.

[edit] Eligibility and price

A block of HDB flats along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5
A block of HDB flats along Bukit Batok West Avenue 5

About 80-90% of Singapore's population are currently living in HDB flats, with high-density housing being a solution to the problem of overcrowding. There are a number of eligibility conditions in order for a flat to be purchased. A buyer must be a Singaporean citizen, and be 21 years of age and have a "proper family nucleus". Other requirements concern household status, time requirements, income and other special requirements (see here for details).

Ownership in public housing is limited to a 99-year lease. There are several types of public and semi-public housing available, classified on the basis of the number of rooms and size of the flat. Semi-public housing is governed under HUDC instead of HDB and have a much larger floor area. Size is usually denoted by the terms such as four-room, five-room or similar, and is based on the number of rooms in addition to the living room but newer five-room apartments come with only 3-rooms & dining room. Some newer HDB developed flats in new towns include some condominium facilities.

Most of the residential housing developments in Singapore are publicly built. Thus, public housing in Singapore is not considered a sign of poverty or a lower standard of living; as compared to public housing in other developed countries where land constraint is a non-issue and property pricing is significantly cheaper. Very few people in Singapore live below the poverty line.

For example, a HDB 4-room flat depending on age, environment and surrounding amenities can have a sale value of between S$200,000 to above S$300,000 and a HUDC Executive maisonette above S$500,000. However, in contrast a privately developed condominium type housing can cost as much as S$1,000,000 and above. The largest HDB flats (in terms of floor area) ever built are two-storey Executive Masionettes built in the 1990s which can have floor area ranging from 160 - 190 m².

List of average new & resale prices of Housing Development Board flats
Period Room Type Size in sq m (Avg) Price (in S$) New Price (in S$) Resale
1970s 3 room 50 $15,000 -
4 room 75 $20,000 -
5 room 100 $25,000 -
1980s sharp rise@81 3 room 65 $50,000 -
4 room 90 $80,000 -
5 room 115 $110,000 -
Executive 140 $140,000 -
1990s sharp rise@93 till 97 3 room 70 $120,000 $200,000
4 room 95 $170,000 $270,000
5 room 125 $230,000 $350,000
Executive 145 $280,000 $420,000
2000s 1 3 room 65 $110,000 $150,000
4 room 90 $180,000 $230,000
5 room 110 $240,000 $290,000
Executive 130 $300,000 $350,000
1 Average floor sizes was decreased for new flat build around year 2000 but with premium design finishing except 3-rm unit.

[edit] Candidacy

Neighbours in an HDB block usually share a common corridor.
Neighbours in an HDB block usually share a common corridor.

Singapore maintains a quota system of ethnicities within the HDB program. There are strict requirements as to who can move into an HDB flat, based on whether they are Chinese, Indian, Malay, or that they belong to another race. Singapore maintains that there must be a certain ratio of ethnicities within the HDB blocks, and any move-in or move-out must adhere to this policy. The HDB declares that this is to promote homogeny amongst Singapore's diverse population, in order to prevent racialism and racial segregation and preventing heterogeneous racial blocks from forming. This system arose after Singapore's 1965 split from Malaysia, due, in part, to their dissatisfaction with Ketuanan Melayu, a Malaysian system of racialist beliefs.

However, the quota system has been criticised for being racist in itself. Some minority residents have complained that they were required to sell only to people of their own race to preserve the quota. Since the minorities have fewer people to sell their houses to, this ironically winds up disadvantaging the minorities.

Other considerations for granting the application of a HDB flat include the priority given to buyers, as well as citizenship and residency requirements, based on the number of children.

[edit] New flats and upgrading programmes

Buying a new flat through HDB can be done by three different modes, Build To Order, Walk In Selection and Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme.

Apartment block in Yishun New Town undergoing IUP Plus
Apartment block in Yishun New Town undergoing IUP Plus

[edit] Headquarters

HDB's headquarters were previously located at Bukit Merah. They were moved to its new premises at the HDB Hub at 480 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh on 10 June 2002 [1].

[edit] HDB towns

A block of HDB flats in Queenstown
A block of HDB flats in Queenstown
Multi-storey carparks can be found at newer HDB estates in Singapore.
Multi-storey carparks can be found at newer HDB estates in Singapore.
Main article: Public housing new towns in Singapore

[edit] HDB estates

Main article: Public housing estates in Singapore

[edit] HDB precincts

Main article: Public housing precincts in Singapore

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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