MND reviewing eligibility age for singles buying HDB flats, says Chee Hong Tat
Minister Chee Hong Tat says the government is carefully reviewing the age at which singles can buy HDB flats, after MPs repeatedly pressed for a lower threshold during the March Committee of Supply debate.
- Chee confirms singles' BTO eligibility age of 35 under "careful review"
- MPs in March had called for the age to be lowered to 30 to 33
- Chee has repeatedly said timing depends on housing supply being adequate first
Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said on Tuesday (28 July) that the government is reviewing the eligibility age at which singles can buy Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, currently set at 35.
Speaking at the opening of the 11th Singapore Economic Review Conference, Chee described the policy as being under "careful review", according to a Channel News Asia report shared on Instagram.
He said the government would continue to encourage marriage and parenthood while supporting families to achieve home ownership, but had "progressively opened up public housing options to singles" over the years.
Chee's remarks are the latest in a series of statements on the issue stretching back to March, when the same question was raised repeatedly by MPs during the Committee of Supply debate on the Ministry of National Development's budget.
Backbenchers push for lower age in March
During the budget debate on 4 March 2026, several MPs from the ruling party's Government Parliamentary Committee for National Development called on the ministry to lower the age threshold.
Henry Kwek Hian Chuan, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kebun Baru, opened the debate by saying he looked forward to a timely policy move to lower the BTO eligibility age for singles, hoping for a reduction to 33.
Cai Yinzhou, MP for Bishan-Toa Payoh, asked whether the government would consider lowering the eligibility age from 35, arguing this would allow singles to "anchor their futures earlier".
Ang Wei Neng, MP for West Coast-Jurong West, urged the Housing and Development Board (HDB) to review the eligibility age "with consideration to lower to 30 years old".
Nadia Ahmad Samdin, MP for Ang Mo Kio, also raised broader concerns about housing options for singles, including access to two-room Flexi flats and the expansion of shared-facility rental schemes, without specifying an age.
Minister's response in March
Responding to these cuts in his round-up speech, Chee said the government was "looking at increasing the income ceiling for all buyers and lowering the eligibility age for singles to buy HDB flats", and that the ministry was also reviewing schemes for other groups of singles.
He did not commit to a figure or a date at that point.
The issue resurfaced later in the sitting when Workers' Party chief Pritam Singh sought clarification, asking Chee to confirm that the ministry was indeed looking into the matter, and when a new age threshold might be announced.
Chee said he did not have data on hand on the median application rate for singles applying for two-room Flexi flats specifically, but noted this rate was higher than the rate for families, which was why the government planned to increase two-room Flexi supply by around 50% over the next three years.
On timing, Chee told Singh directly that he "cannot give a timing on when we can review this", adding that any decision depended on when the ministry felt confident that supply was adequate.
He warned that lowering the eligibility age before supply improved risked drawing in more applicants and disadvantaging existing applicants aged 35 and above, who currently have first priority for these flats.
Wider context on housing for singles
The government has gradually expanded public housing access for singles over the past decade. In the 2010s, singles were permitted to buy two-room BTO flats directly from HDB, but only in non-mature estates such as Choa Chu Kang, Jurong East and Woodlands.
In 2024, a new flat classification framework extended this scheme islandwide, allowing singles to apply for two-room Flexi flats regardless of location, including in Plus and Prime projects.
In 2025, the government extended priority access under the Family Care Scheme to singles applying for a flat to live with or near their parents, a form of priority previously reserved for married children under the Married Child Priority Scheme.
Chee described these incremental expansions on Tuesday as reflecting the government's "pragmatic approach to policy making", saying that moving in tandem with changing times was essential to keeping policies relevant.
