Needy households to receive more help amid electricity tariff hikes
The government on Friday announced a final round of rebates for Housing and Development Board (HDB) households, and improvements to one of its temporary rental housing schemes, amid a 2.3 per cent electricity tariff hike across the board.
It first announced that HDB flat dwellers will receive the final of four installments in Utilities-Save (U-Save) rebates come next month.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF) on Friday, it announced the final tranche of some five years of rebates disbursed to Singaporeans as part of the GST Offset Package, which began in 2007.
After the final rebates have been disbursed, some 800,000 HDB households in Singapore will have received anywhere between $255 and $450 each over the past year, as part of the “Grow and Share” package initiative this year.
Next month, residents of one- and two-room flats will receive $90 in U-Save rebates, while residents of three-room flats will be given $50. Four-room flat dwellers will receive $45, while households of five-room and executive flats will receive $30 and $20 respectively.
The MOF also said in its statement that with the U-Save scheme, households in four-room and smaller HDB flats have not seen any increase in their total annual utility bills since 2007, while other HDB households have also enjoyed “significant offsets”.
Average electricity tariffs to rise by 2.3 per cent
The U-Save rebates were announced at the same time as an impending net increase in electricity bills for households in Singapore islandwide, owing to higher fuel prices.
The average monthly electricity bill for residents of four-room HDB flats will increase by $2.30, with the tariff rising from 26.98 to 27.59 cents per kWh.
Energy utility company Singapore Power Services said in a statement that the increase was necessary in response to a 4.4 per cent increase in average fuel oil prices over the past three months.
The company reviews its tariffs on a quarterly basis based on guidelines set by the Energy Market Authority, Singapore’s electricity industry regulator, which approves its rate hikes.
Interim Rental Housing (IRH) measures improved to help needy families
Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan also announced on Friday new measures to help better serve families in greater need of subsidised temporary housing.
The minister shared on his blog his plans to improve on the existing interim rental housing (IRH) scheme that was introduced two years ago.
Under the IRH scheme, private operators offer rental housing at subsidised rates to needy families while being allowed to lease portions of their flats at market rental rates to other Singaporeans or foreigners working and studying here, in order to cover costs. Some 1,500 households fall under this scheme, while 45,000 others stay in HDB’s public rental flats.
Khaw wrote of three main amendments to the scheme, the first of which includes giving the HDB greater oversight of the scheme, by limiting the role of private operators to managing tenancies and premises on the board’s behalf.
He said that HDB will also introduce guidelines that ensure better pairing of households that share each IRH rental flat to help minimise conflicts between co-dwelling parties, and extend the tenancy period from six months to one year, renewable for up to two years.
“This will reduce the anxiety that families feel, and give greater certainty to tenants who may need more time to work out a longer-term housing option,” wrote Khaw, adding that families who are waiting for their new flat or public rental flat can renew their tenancies until their flats are ready for them to move in.
Khaw added that the first IRH site for which these terms will apply is at Dover Road, which houses about 500 flats. Private contractors at five other sites will have their leases honoured until their expiry with HDB.
