Support For Sers Stays Strong

Source : The Straits Times, Aug 6, 2008

HDB poll: 85% nod for scheme where old estates are rebuilt while residents get new flats nearby

RESIDENTS affected by the Housing Board's Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (Sers) are still generally happy with the programme, according to an HDB survey.

It polled 1,019 affected households between August and October last year and found that 85 per cent backed the scheme. This is about the same level as in 2005 but down from 90 per cent in 2003.

Sers, launched in 1995, allows the HDB to tear down and rebuild older estates while rehousing existing residents in new flats nearby with modern facilities and a fresh 99-year lease.

In the latest round of surveys, the households polled showed overwhelming satisfaction - well above 90 per cent - with the quality of their new blocks and lift lobbies.

They were also pleased with the workmanship of the common areas within their new precincts.

More than nine in 10 also said that the relocation allowed them to maintain their family and community ties, as their replacement flats were located near their old homes.

But respondents were less happy about the quality of the individual flats, with the satisfaction level dipping to 77 per cent for the workmanship of walls and ceilings.

In total, 4,418 households moved into their replacement flats from 2001 to 2006, the HDB said yesterday.

Most had been living in three-room or smaller flats, but had upgraded because of Sers. Now, 89 per cent live in four- and five-room flats.

The HDB said that its latest survey - the fourth it has conducted - reaffirmed the popularity of the Sers programme.

This was 'not surprising', it added, as Sers offered residents a new home at a subsidised price and gave old estates a new lease on life.

The HDB regularly conducts surveys of Sers-affected residents to gauge their satisfaction levels and support for Sers and to learn if the programme has affected community ties.