Eligible families in rental flats to get higher grant of $75,000 for BTO purchase

Families with children living in rental flats will get a higher grant when they buy a two-room flexi or three-room Build-To-Order (BTO) flat, while eligible families who are first-time home buyers will be allowed to purchase shorter-lease flats.

- Isabelle Liew

These measures are meant to help lower-income and vulnerable families that face more challenges, Prime Minister and Finance Minister Lawrence Wong said in his Budget speech on Feb 18.

Under the enhanced Fresh Start Housing Scheme, eligible families who are second-time home buyers will get $75,000 in grants to buy two-room flexi or three-room Standard flats on a shorter lease. This is up from the current grant of $50,000.

Standard flats were offered in towns such as Woodlands, Yishun, Bukit Batok and Sengkang in recent launches. They form the bulk of housing supply and come with a five-year minimum occupation period (MOP), without other restrictions upon resale.

Plus and Prime flats, which are in more attractive locations, come with a subsidy clawback clause and a 10-year MOP.

The Fresh Start Housing Scheme was launched in 2016 to help families with at least one child below age 18 and that had bought a subsidised Housing Board flat previously.