Home owners in HDB loan arrears to receive help servicing mortgage under new programme

SINGAPORE — Home owners facing financial difficulties due to job or income loss will be allowed to reduce or defer their monthly loan instalments for up to one year, instead of the current six months, under a new programme starting on April 15.

Under the Homeowner Job Support (HJS) pilot programme, the Housing Board will also suspend mortgage interest for home owners in mortgage arrears for one year.

These measures are conditional on the home owners working actively with a career coach from Workforce Singapore (WSG) or NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) to develop an employment plan to secure a full-time, permanent job.

HDB said about 1,200 households who are in HDB loan arrears could potentially benefit from the programme. 

"Buying a home is a significant financial commitment," Minister of State for National Development Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim said in a Facebook post on April 15.

"We understand that some households may face difficulty in servicing their mortgage instalments, especially during periods of financial hardship or unexpected setbacks such as income loss or sudden medical expenses."

Minister for National Development Desmond Lee said in a separate Facebook post that the programme is a step further to help home owners in mortgage arrears.

He noted that the programme is in addition to one-to-one financial counselling and various financial assistance measures that HDB already provides. These include allowing them to pay their loan arrears by instalment until their financial situation improves.

HDB said the partnerships with WSG and e2i aim to support unemployed HDB home owners who have fallen behind in their mortgage payments, and help them secure stable employment to work towards repaying their mortgage arrears.

Other existing short-term forms of financial assistance include adding working family members as joint flat owners to help with mortgage payments, and lowering one's monthly loan instalment amount by extending the housing loan term up to the maximum repayment period.

For long-term assistance, HDB suggests renting out a spare bedroom to generate additional income, or right-sizing to a smaller flat that is more financially manageable.

"We will be gathering feedback from participants as we evaluate the outcome of the pilot, before considering the feasibility of an extension or expansion of the programme," said Associate Professor Faishal.

Starting from April 15, those who are unemployed and are eligible can also apply for the SkillsFuture Jobseeker Support scheme to receive temporary payouts of up to $6,000 over six months.

Once their application is approved, they can join a variety of job search activities, from networking to attending career coaching sessions, to earn points.

To qualify, they cannot live in a property with an annual value of more than $31,000.

The annual value of a property is the estimated gross annual rent if it were to be rented out.

Those interested in applying for the HJS programme can book an appointment with HDB at go.gov.sg/hdb-branch-appt

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.