Saturday, August 25, 2007

Higher Grants For More Low-Income Families

Source : Weekend TODAY, August 25, 2007










THE Housing and Development Board (HDB) has announced details of the enhanced Additional CPF Housing Grant (AHG) Scheme that would give lower-income families a bigger subsidy for their first HDB flat purchase.

The income ceiling for the AHG has been raised from $3,000 to $4,000. The maximum grant has gone up from $20,000 to $30,000 for those whose average monthly household income was $1,500 or less over the last two years.

The changes apply to those who book their flats, or whose resale application was received by the HDB, on or after Friday.

The enhanced scheme is expected to benefit an additional 1,300 first-timer households annually, bringing the total number to an estimated 4,000 per year.

The enhanced AHG scheme was first announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally speech last Sunday. Mr Lee had said home ownership was the “best form of social welfare for citizens because it gives every Singaporean a stake in Singapore’s success”.

The AHG scheme was introduced on March 3 last year.

Since then, it has provided lowerincome families with an additional housing subsidy of between $5,000 and $20,000 to buy their first HDB flat. As of July 31 this year, about 3,300 lower-income families have benefited.

To qualify, at least one of the flat buyers must have worked continuously for at least two years when applying to buy the flat. Upon the sale of the flat, the AHG will be reinstated to the recipient’s CPF account.

For enquiries, call the HDB’s sales/resale customer service line: 1800-8663 066, the Sers enquiry line: 1800-8663 070 or the branch office service line: 1800-2255 432.

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