Families who require housing while waiting for the completion of their Build-To-Order (BTO) flats can expect additional assistance in the form of one-year open market rental vouchers, says Lawrence Wong, Minister of Finance and Deputy Prime Minister, during his budget speech on Feb 16.

The dollar amount for the ‘One-year Parental Provisional Housing Scheme or PPHS (Open Market) Voucher’ was not disclosed.

“It will be particularly helpful since HDB flat rentals have risen over the last couple of years,” says Ismail Gafoor, CEO of PropNex Realty. According to rental transactions, the average monthly rents for HDB flats have risen substantially from 2021 to 2023 across all flat types. Therefore, the PPHS voucher will come in handy to offset the rental expenses, he adds.

Gafoor hopes the PPHS voucher could be extended beyond a year to provide eligible families with continued support until their BTO flat is ready. “It will also help to minimise any disruption to their housing in the interim should their new flats take more than a year to complete,” he notes.

HDB currently provides subsidised housing for couples awaiting completion of their BTO flats through its Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS), which was established in 2013. About 2,000 flats are managed under the scheme, but HDB announced on Feb 5 that it intends to double that number to 4,000 by 2025. The scheme prioritises married couples with at least one child below 18 and includes expectant parents.