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HDB incurred over S$5.3 billion on public housing expenditure in FY 2022
IN FY 2022, spending on the Home Ownership Programme was 22% higher than the amount spent in FY 2021.
SINGAPORE — The Housing and Development Board (HDB) reported a net deficit of S$5.380 billion in the Financial Year (FY) 2022, marking an increase of about 23 per cent from the S$4.367 billion deficit in FY 2021.
This includes S$4.68 billion spent in FY 2022 to develop Build-To-Order (BTO) flats and provide housing subsidies and grants as part of the Home Ownership Programme, which covers the development and sale of flats to eligible buyers under the various HDB home ownership schemes for public housing, as well as the disbursement of housing grants to eligible households of new and resale flats.
HDB disclosed in a statement released on Tuesday (31 October), that the amount spent on the Home Ownership Programme was 22 per cent higher than the total of S$3.85 billion spent in FY 2021.
Why public housing spending increased in FY 2022
In FY 2022, HDB revealed that the expected loss for flats currently under development saw a net increase of S$2.712 billion compared to S$2.262 billion in FY 2021. Such losses are a recurring issue annually for HDB, as the revenue generated from flat sales is lower than the total development cost of BTO flats and housing grants disbursed.
Additionally, there was a higher gross loss of S$1.2 billion on the sale of flats in FY 2022, which is almost double the S$659 million incurred in FY 2021. HDB said that as more flats were completed in 2022 due to the recovery of the construction sector, more sales were completed as a result. In FY 2022, 18,478 units were sold compared to 13,506 units in FY 2021. It was the highest sales figure in the last five years.
Also read: HDB flat resale prices up 1.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2023
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A total of S$686 million in CPF housing grants was disbursed to eligible buyers of resale flats and Executive Condominiums (EC) in FY 2022, a decrease from the S$849 million disbursed in FY 2021. HDB attributed the decrease in CPF housing grants to a corresponding decline in the number of resale transactions, dropping from 30,400 cases in FY 2021 to 27,900 cases in FY 2022.
Separately, HDB said that it had also increased works to repair and enhance rental flats. As a result, HDB spent about S$141 million in FY 2022 from the provision of rental flats to eligible tenants under the various rental housing schemes, up from S$121 million in FY 2021.
Expenses on HDB flat upgrades and rejuvenation
HDB also said that it spent S$558 million on upgrading programmes in FY 2022, an increase of more than 40 per cent compared with the S$392 million spent in FY 2021. It said that the increase was due to the construction works under the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) which picked up pace in FY 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic measures were eased.
A total of 33,704 flats were upgraded under the HIP, which helps residents address common maintenance issues related to ageing flats. More than half of residents whose flats underwent HIP also opted to install elderly-friendly fittings at subsidised rates under the Enhancement for Active Seniors (EASE) programme.
In addition, a total of S$432 million was spent on residential ancillary functions in FY 2022. This includes lease administration, provision and management of facilities such as car parks in housing estates, and planning and building administration. This was in part due to the expenditure for the upgrading of electrical supply in HDB estates, in which there were earlier delays caused by the pandemic.
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