It is a well known fact that private property owners/essential occupiers need to dispose of all their private properties before starting the process of applying for a Housing Development Board (HDB) Built-to-order (BTO) flat. However, it appears that the board is loosening this eligibility criterion, at least for the recently announced Community Care Apartments.
Below is the standard text for eligibility criteria in regards to private property ownership:
“All applicants and occupiers listed in the flat application do not own other property overseas or locally, and have not disposed of any within the last 30 months”
We notice with interest the text used in publicity material for the ongoing Community Care Apartments exhibition in held in HDB Hub organised jointly by HDB and Ministry of Health (MOH).
We elaborate here:
“Applicant(s) who own a private property or an HDB flat must dispose of the property within 6 months from collecting keys to the Community Care Apartment.”
Notice the difference. One can only infer that private property owners can apply for BTO, the only condition being that they need to dispose of existing private properties within 6 months of collecting keys.
In HDB’s microsite for Community Care Apartments, this point is similarly worded:
“You, your spouse and all listed in the application who own a private property either locally or overseas or an HDB flat must dispose of the property within 6 months from the date of taking possession of the Community Care Apartment.”
This is quite a departure from the typical BTO.
I guess private property owners who are seniors above the age of 65 now have one more option of applying for BTO flats instead of restricting themselves to resale HDB flats, should they be looking to downgrade from private property to HDB flat, provided they meet all other eligibility criteria.
More information about Community Care Apartments can be found in HDB’s microsite: