Public housing in Singapore
[1] During British colonial rule, Singapore had an underdeveloped housing infrastructure that led to overcrowding and poor living conditions once it experienced an uptick in immigration.
[6] After the Second World War, Singapore experienced a significant influx of immigrants, many of whom settled in urban kampongs at the edge of the Central Area.
[9] This autonomy led to the colonial government perceiving the kampongs as socially undesirable areas,[10] and as a "margin" that they had little authority over and which had to be cleared and replaced with public housing.
[28] Through the development of public housing, the government attempted to change the behaviour of the kampong residents with prohibitions on modifying or subletting flats, and to have more control over them.
[26] In 1964, a home leasehold ownership scheme was introduced but it was poorly received at first because most public housing residents were unable to afford the flats.
[33] From the 1970s, public housing was constructed further away from the Central Area, more amenities were provided in new towns and flat sizes continued to increase.
[35] Owners were allowed to sell their flats on the resale market from 1971,[37] and from the mid-1970s, the designs of public housing developments became more diverse.
[41] To ensure people of different races were evenly distributed across public housing estates, a limit on Malay residents was introduced for new flats.
The government pursued measures for upgrading and "asset enhancement", and loosened restrictions on the public housing resale market.
The scheme's aim was intended to make older housing estates more attractive to younger people, and included the creation of differentiated precincts, the provision of more amenities, and upgrades to blocks and flats.
[61] Attempts to increase residents' involvement in upgrading schemes were made under the poorly received 2013 Building Our Neighbourhood Dreams!
[70] Access corridors in housing blocks were divided into multiple parts for resident privacy,[77] housing-block designs were made less uniform and more visually appealing,[36] and the ground floors were left empty and unfinished.
[52] Multiple types of services were also provided within integrated developments, while additional community spaces were added in housing estates.
[51] In the 2000s, Singaporean public housing began incorporating technology such as pneumatic waste collection, sensor-activated lights, and eco-friendly and energy-efficient features.
Housing estates began to incorporate more greenery while additional recreation facilities such as cycling tracks and natural features were provided.
[85] From the late 1990s, in light of the increasing number of elderly homeowners, schemes to enable them to monetise their flats, starting with reverse mortgages, were put into place.
[81] Initially, owners were only able to sell their housing units back to the HDB but after 1971, the sale of flats on the private market was allowed.
[88] These measures led to a rapid rise in resale prices by the mid-1990s; in response, the HDB introduced additional taxes and restrictions.
[90] On 4 October 2022, the Minister of National Development, Desmond Lee, elaborated further on the government’s policies to intervene to keep public housing relatively affordable and available.
In hopes of cooling the housing market, the government plans to implement a fifteen-month waiting period before homeowners can buy an HDB resale flat, continued supply of significant grants for first-time buyers, and tightened maximum loan price limits.
[81] In Singapore, public housing estates are maintained by Town Councils, which are divided along political constituency lines and headed by a Member of Parliament, and have full-time estate-management staff.
These improvement works consist of the upgrading of amenities and infrastructure to meet modern standards, and the addition of features and facilities similar to those found in newer housing estates.
[96] Despite singles having access to apartments now, families with three or more children still receive a tax fund and priority in allocating public housing, making it a more streamlined process to obtain home leasehold ownership.
[98] Moreover, during election cycles, the People’s Action Party (PAP) emphasizes the program's success and promises upgrades to improve living conditions to incentivise voters.
MND has emphasized the removal of corridor clutter in order to foster a safe and inclusive living environment for residents.
[105][106] On the subject of noise transmission between units, experts from the Institution of Engineers (IES) and building consultants have highlighted that the reinforced concrete used in the HDB blocks is highly effective in transmitting sound.
[107] There is literature on how bulk insulation embedded within concrete structures separating units can reduce noise transmission[108][109] but not evident to have been explored or implemented in HDB design.
[111] Some notable cases of disputes and their outcomes are summarised below: The dumping of any form of rubbish within the housing estate, such as void decks and other common areas, is considered as a littering offence.
[116] Due to residential zoning in close proximity to active airbases, there have been concerns raised by residents regarding the noise impact of fighter aircraft operations.
The problem was noted to be most acute at HDB estates like the north eastern parts of Punggol, which lie directly under the take-off trajectory of aircraft leaving the Paya Lebar Airbase.
