700 families in rental flats bought homes last year

Fresh Start Housing Scheme allows some to buy units on shorter leases, receive grants

- Isabelle Liew

For the first time in more than a decade, Madam Lee Ah Mui spent Chinese New Year in a home of her own, which she decorated with rabbit-themed festive stickers.

"I can finally invite family and friends over for the new year. When I was living in a rental flat, everything was too messy. Now, I can be proud of my own home as it's renovated and more beautiful," she said last Friday.

Madam Lee, 53, moved into a two-room Housing Board flexi flat in Punggol in January, after living for 12 years in a rental flat with her two sons. She bought the unit on a shorter lease of 50 years paying about $122,000, including a resale levy - under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme.

The scheme made the purchase more affordable for the assistant infantcare teacher, who also received a housing grant of $35,000.

"It's so comfortable and, when I turn on the air-con, it feels like I'm in a hotel room. I can even see the sea from my living room," said Madam Lee.

HDB said more than 700 households who lived in public rental flats bought homes in 2022, with some tapping the scheme.

Over the past 10 years, more than 7,800 rental households have bought homes, while another 2,300 households have booked units and are waiting for them to be completed.