Minister for National Development (MND) Lawrence Wong confirms that the Singapore government will confiscate all HDB apartments once the HDB 99-year lease is finished. The Minister wrote on the MND blog:
“For the vast majority of HDB flats, the leases will eventually run out, and the flats will be returned to HDB, who will in turn have to surrender the land to the State.”
Many Singaporeans, especially the ruling party supporters, are however wrongly impressed that the “benevolent” government will not “robbed them of their homes” once the HDB lease finished.
Most HDB flats built during the 1960s will likely see their 99-year lease finished by 2060. To this, Minister Lawrence Wong said that it is unrealistic to expect the government to buy over all of these old units:
“Do not assume that all old HDB flats will be automatically eligible for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, or SERS. SERS, as the name implies, is on a selective basis.”
Minister Lawrence Wong also told young couples to be “realistic” when buying flats with short leases because the flat prices will drop as it approaches the end of the lease.