SINGAPORE — A new scheme to help former homeowners living in rental flats buy two-room flats, as well as provide support for their other problems — like debt or unemployment — could be rolled out early next year, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan today (Aug 24), as social workers welcomed the additional support for these families.

The Fresh Start Housing Scheme requires “lot of thinking through”, but Mr Khaw was confident the details could be sorted out over the next few months. “The objective (is) to see how we can help these families with young kids to have a much more stable environment,” he told reporters today after a media briefing.

The scheme was announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in his National Day Rally yesterday. In his speech, Mr Lee said the scheme is intended to help families whose housing problems are a result of other issues, and the Government will provide more holistic support such as counsellors for families.

In turn, the families must commit to putting their lives in order and the two-room flats will be tagged with shorter leases and stricter resale conditions.

At the media briefing, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) said there are about 50,000 families in rental flats, of which half would be second-timers. This group would also include elderly Singaporeans but the scheme will likely focus on second-timer families with young children.

Details to be worked out include deciding on the children’s age limit for families to qualify for the scheme, and the HDB will hold public consultations. It will also work closely with the Ministry of Social and Family Development.

Social workers and community leaders TODAY spoke felt the scheme would benefit families who face a myriad of problems. This could include single-parent families, or families where the spouses have children from previous marriages, said WeCare@MarineParade head Dominic Lim.

Other issues observed in families living in rental flats include unemployment, divorces and health issues, said Ms Julia Lee, director of the social work department at TOUCH Community Services.

Chua Chu Kang Group Representation Constituency Member of Parliament Zaqy Mohamad said of the second or third-time buyers who cannot buy another HDB flat — some of whom live in rental flats — some have poor credit records, while others used profits from past sales to pay off credit card debts.

In some of the rental flats, two to five people share a room, and sometimes different families share one rental flat. These families also grapple with an “element of uncertainty”, as the arrangement is temporary. “So living in their own flat … will be beneficial for families, especially those who have young children as they can have their own space and mix around with other children,” Mr Zaqy said.

To support the families under the scheme, Ms Julia Lee said each household could have a social worker attached. “The social worker can help them to ensure that the grants are properly managed and utilised,” she added.

Fei Yue Family Service Centre principal social worker Rachel Lee said home buyers under the scheme could be required to hold down a full-time job. Parents should also be encouraged to spend time with their children and encourage them to do well in school. “(In doing) so … they don’t repeat the cycle of the financial struggle,” she added.

While families are expected to commit to turning their lives around, Mr Zaqy felt simply enforcing “key performance indicators” would not solve the problem. “Authorities should understand each family’s situation and match social programmes for families to get on track and find out what kind of social assistance the family needs,” he said.