SINGAPORE: Some flat owners whose homes have been chosen for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) will be given the option of buying a new replacement unit on a shorter 50-year lease instead of a fresh 99-year one.
Announcing this on Saturday (Jul 2), the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said it is among two additional rehousing options that will be offered to eligible flat owners, starting from the four blocks in Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3 that were recently picked to undergo SERS.
The second option allows eligible elderly home owners to take up the lease buyback scheme for their existing flat. They can then buy a new replacement flat on a short lease similar to that left on their SERS flat after selling the lease to HDB.
Previously, home owners can no longer apply for the lease buyback scheme after their flat has been announced for SERS.
HDB said on Saturday that the two additional rehousing options take into consideration feedback from some older residents who said they do not need a fresh 99-year lease for their new replacement flat. Some had also expressed concerns about needing to top up cash for replacement flats that are similar in size to their existing homes.
"HDB understands their concerns and has therefore provided the additional options to help them purchase their new replacement flats," said the agency in a media release.
"These options will also be extended to flat owners of Blocks 212 to 218 Marsiling Crescent/Lane whose flats were announced for acquisition on May 26, 2022, for the redevelopment and extension of Woodlands Checkpoint."
50-YEAR LEASES FOR NEW REPLACEMENT FLATS
SERS home owners can choose to buy a three-room or larger new flat at the designated SERS replacement site on a 50-year lease - if the 50-year lease flat is able to last them until at least age 95.
This means owners and their spouses need to be at least 45 years old at the point of the SERS announcement, to be eligible.
“For the flat owners at Ang Mo Kio, this 50-year lease length would be close to the balance lease of their existing flats when they move to their replacement flats around end-2027,” HDB noted.
"Further details on the actual selling prices of the replacement flats at the designated SERS replacement site in Ang Mo Kio Drive will be made known to SERS residents during flat selection."
In an example provided by HDB in its media release, the agency said that the estimated market value of a four-room SERS flat (92/93 sq m) on the sixth floor is valued at around S$415,000.
The estimated subsidised selling price of a 90 sq m replacement flat that is also on the sixth floor - after factoring in a S$30,000 SERS grant - is S$470,000 for a unit that is on a 99-year lease. It is S$359,000 for a unit on a 50-year-lease.
This means that instead of having to fork out S$55,000 for a replacement flat on a 99-year lease, home owners will get to keep S$56,000 instead, either in cash or in their Central Provident Fund (CPF).
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...ar-lease-hdb-lease-buyback-ang-mo-kio-2786411
