In the history of governments, public housing has often been looked down upon; it is low in quality, high in crime rates, and hard to lay hands on. Quite contrary to other nations however, Singapore has defied the odds: about 80% of its population currently resides in houses built by the government. The government-built houses are clean, safe, well maintained, and well accessible. Moreover, the boom of the public-housing sector has enabled the country to achieve almost full homeownership status: over 90% of its population own their own homes.
However, like in most things, it wasn’t the case always. In 1959, Singapore gained its self-governance status from the British. At that point of time, the country comprised of people who fled their mother nations for a better chance at life, a new beginning. It consisted of posh Chinese immigrants, Malaysians who provided cheap labour, and Indians who fell somewhere in the middle of things. The country was facing a severe housing crisis besides having a hard time accommodating its population in proper shelters. Its first housing initiative, the Singapore Improvement Trust, fell apart in these hard times. In the late 1950s, Singapore was facing one of the worst housing crises in the world. Then came the initiative which proved to be a massive overhaul.
The first Prime Minister of Singapore, Lee Kaun Yew, saw this as the biggest and most pertinent issue of his time. To tackle the problem in hand, he set up the Housing and Development Board, famously known as HDB. The move turned out to be the very kick-start that Singapore needed to build an effective housing policy. HDB incorporated legal powers to implement policies–and legal backing was key. Moreover, the seriousness to solve the housing crisis was exceedingly evident in the policies of that time: the budget of the 1970s required 8% of GDP to be spent on housing and that rose to 15% in the decades of 1980s and 1990s. That’s some commitment right there, isn’t it?
The HDB was able to establish the fact that it had the best interest of people at its core. It came out with a policy to solve the down-payment issue. Since everyone couldn’t have the money required to pay the 20% deposit, a compulsory pension scheme for workers was forced. It required everyone to save money that could later be used as a down-payment for their houses. What started as savings for pension after retirement soon became savings for a new house. After a point, it became second nature for the Singaporeans.
An unfortunate incident in 1961 paved the way for HDB to lay a foundation of their credentials. An unexplainable fire broke out in the squatter settlement of Bukit Ho Swee on May 25, 1961. An area of over four hundred square kilometres was affected, four people were killed, and about 16 thousand were left homeless. HDB took the rehousing project under its control. It successfully resettled all the victims within a year and built new houses on the affected area over the next five years. The institution's speedy reaction helped it win the people thereby establishing a sense of faith in them.
HDB, over the years, has tried several methods for the process to be fair and concise. It provides houses not only for the poor but also for the masses, i.e., they specialize not only in one or two bedroom apartments but also penthouses with jacuzzies and gyms. They try to provide most amenities with prices often 20% to 30% lower than the private competition. They even have laid out rules for the process to be accessible to more and more Singaporeans. To be eligible for a public housing facility, you are required to apply first and get on the order list. Then, you must wait for several years while the house is being built. Once you receive the possession of the house, you need to serve an occupation period for about four to five years before you could sell the house. The occupation period prevents an excess demand of the houses for investment purposes.
HDB has built over a million apartments, and it’s the sole reason behind the boom of public-housing-sector in Singapore. Singaporean population residing in public houses went from 9% in 1961 to 82% in 2016.
You see, HDB eliminates a lot of problems that consumers might face when it comes to availing services they provide. HDB, however, has been accused and criticized for its system’s similarity to social control. For example, it has a quota system to ensure a proper mix of Chinese, Indian, and Malays in each HDB block. Arguably, it can hinder an adequate distribution of houses based on need.
True, there is no denying that there are issues with HDB’s approach when examined from the other perspectives, but in their defense, it works!
WRITTEN BY:
Shivam Kumar Singh
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