Under the Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS), when the homeowners pass on, any remaining lease will be left to the beneficiaries, the Ministry of National Development (MND) said in Parliament yesterday.
The beneficiaries can either continue living in the flat for the remaining lease, or return the flat to the HDB and receive the residual value of the remaining lease.
When asked if the children of the Scheme’s participants can buy back the balance of the lease, Minister of National Development Khaw Boon Wan replied, “Whether the family members can buy the tail end of the lease sold to the HDB would depend on their eligibility to buy a HDB flat. For example, they may already be flat owners and under current rules will not be allowed to own a second HDB flat. In any case, any such transaction would have to be conducted at the prevailing price.”
Responding to another query on the age requirement under the Enhanced Lease Buyback Scheme, the government said the qualifying age for the LBS is set at the CPF draw-down age. “This is to ensure that all LBS participants can enjoy immediate monthly payouts under CPF LIFE after topping up their CPF Retirement Accounts with the LBS proceeds.”
Households which do not meet the age criterion can consider other options, such as subletting a bedroom or the whole flat for rental income. Alternatively, they can also move to a smaller flat or Studio Apartment.
Image source: Mailer diablo; Wikimedia Commons
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, wrote this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
