95% of Singapore Housing Board flats under HIP

SINGAPORE: Upgrading work under the Home Improvement Programme HIP has been completed for almost all eligible Housing Board flats built up to 1986.

A total of 320,000 flats were eligible for the scheme.

The Housing and Development Board HDB said on Sunday that 95 per cent of the flats have been completed while 4 per cent are undergoing upgrading, and the remaining 1 per cent has not been polled. Home improvement works can only proceed if at least 75 per cent of eligible Singaporean households vote in favor of it.

The HIP, which was implemented in 2007, focuses on improvements within the flat. These may include repairing structural cracks, installing new doors, better sanitary fittings in bathrooms and retractable clothes drying racks.

There are three main components to the upgrades.

The government pays for spalling concrete repairs, as well as essential improvements such as the repair of spalling concrete. Optional works, which residents partially pay for, include toilet upgrade packages.

The Enhancement for Active Seniors EASE programme offers elderly-friendly fittings such as grab bars, ramps and slip-resistant floor treatments.

On Sunday, HDB said that around 283,900 households have had elderly-friendly fittings installed under the EASE programme - either together with the Home Improvement Programme or direct application for those whose blocks do not qualify for HIP.

On April 4, the EASE programme will include features such as wheelchair lifters, which were previously offered as part of a pilot.

HDB noted that a wheelchair lifter can be a solution for flats where ramps can't be installed due to site constraints.

For flats with more than three steps at the entrance, eligible home owners can choose to have a customised ramp.

Such ramps are fabricated according to the configuration of the unit's entrance and space, subject to site assessment, said HDB.