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HDB buy-back four flats from owners who were unable to sell them owing to ethnic quota



In 2022, the Housing Board repurchased flats from four owners who were unable to sell owing to ethnic quota restrictions.


Minister of National Development Desmond Lee stated on Monday that HDB received 411 complaints linked to the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) last year.


In a written parliamentary response to Workers' Party MP He Ting Ru, he noted that HDB approved 131 appeals and purchased four units under a buyback plan announced in March 2022. (Sengkang GRC).


Mr. Lee stated that the majority of apartment owners who successfully appealed were ineligible for the buyback because they did not fulfill the eligibility conditions of making consistent efforts to sell their flat for at least six months and holding the unit for at least ten years.


14 percent of the 411 appeals received were from Chinese owners, 25 percent from Malay owners, and 61 percent from Indian or Other ethnicities, he added.


The EIP, which was implemented in 1989, imposes racial quotas on flat ownership within each HDB block and neighborhood at the time of purchase and resale.


Over one-third of HDB blocks and 16 percent of HDB neighbourhoods have hit one or more EIP restrictions in recent years. As a result, several owners found it challenging to sell their apartments, with some needing to reduce their asking price or taking longer to find a buyer.


The EIP buyback plan enables owners to request HDB to buy back their apartment provided they fulfill the conditions, which include making frequent, sincere attempts to sell the unit at an acceptable asking price on the open market for a continuous period of six months.


When seeking assistance, flat owners must provide HDB with a monthly record of online or printed property listings with the asking price and listing date, as well as records of flat viewings.


Mr. Lee stated that owners who suffer serious challenges in selling their apartment owing to the ethnic quota have access to a variety of help programs.


They include allowing owners additional time to sell their flat if they have purchased another. In exceptional cases, HDB would waive the EIP restriction, allowing them to sell their apartment to purchasers of a different ethnicity.


Mr. Lee stated that the HDB may consider purchasing back properties from qualified EIP-restricted flat owners if relaxing the EIP restriction will result in additional imbalances in the representation of different ethnic groups in blocks or neighborhoods.


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