When assessing a property’s location, many homebuyers consider proximity to their parents or in-laws. While couples and singles may desire independence, a significant number still prefer to live close to their family home. This preference has shaped property-buying trends over the years.
There are various reasons for this. Beyond the grants available, living near ageing parents offers convenience and accessibility to care for their needs. For parents with young children, being close to their own parents provides a valuable support system for childcare—something any young parent would welcome.
To encourage families to live closer, HDB is introducing the Family Care Scheme (FCS), set to roll out progressively from mid-2025. Announced by Minister for National Development Mr. Desmond Lee last month, this initiative aims to strengthen intergenerational family support by promoting proximity living between parents and their children.
What are the current policies in place?
Before diving into the new scheme, here’s a quick refresher on the existing policies concerning proximity living.
Proximity Housing Grant
Currently, if you are purchasing a resale flat to live with or near your parents or children, you may be eligible for the Proximity Housing Grant. This grant offers:
- $30,000 for applicants (couples) who live with their parents/child.
- $20,000 for couples living near their parents/child (defined as within 4km).
- For singles, the grant amounts are $15,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Do note that this grant applies exclusively to resale flats—BTO flats are not eligible.
Priority Schemes
There are currently three priority schemes in place:
- Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS): For married children and parents to live with or near each other.
- Senior Priority Scheme (SPS): For seniors to live with or near their parents or married children.
- Multi-Generation Priority Scheme (MGPS): For married children and parents to live near each other within the same BTO project.
Unlike the Proximity Housing Grant, which provides financial assistance to improve flat affordability, these schemes offer applicants priority in the ballot for BTO and SBF exercises.
Starting mid-2025, these three schemes will be replaced by the new Family Care Scheme (FCS). The FCS will provide priority access to all parents and their children (whether married or single) when applying for a new flat to live with or near each other.
New Family Care Scheme Starting Mid-2025
The new FCS will be rolled out progressively starting mid-2025 and will consist of two phases: FCS (Proximity) and FCS (Joint Balloting).
Image credit: HDB
For FCS (Proximity), the main idea is to give parents and children priority access if they are applying for a new flat to live with or near each other, regardless of marital status. This is essentially a combination of the existing MCPS and SPS, but with one key change—this priority access will now be extended to single children as well, unlike the current policy where singles do not enjoy priority access when balloting for new flats to live with or near their parents.
As for FCS (Joint Balloting), it will allow both parents and children to jointly apply for two new BTO units within the same project, specifically for 2-room Flexi or 3-room flats. Apart from replacing the existing MGPS, the key change is similar to that of FCS (Proximity)—the marital status of the children will no longer matter for applications.
New Family Care Scheme: Great News for Singles?
The introduction of the FCS comes at a time when significant changes are being made to the BTO application rules and eligibility requirements. Since October this year, singles can now apply for 2-room Flexi units across all BTO project classifications (Standard, Plus, and Prime), unlike previously, when they were limited to non-mature locations that were typically classified as Standard.
With Plus and Prime projects—likely in mature estates—now open to singles, they have more opportunities to ballot for new flats near their parents, many of whom reside in older, mature estates. This is undoubtedly a welcome change, especially for singles who act as caregivers for their parents.
From the last BTO exercise concluded in October 2024, the easing of application restrictions for singles saw a considerable surge in demand. With the exception of Jurong West, all other estates with 2-room flats saw application rates ranging from 13.4 in Sengkang to a high of 36.2 in Bukit Batok.
As Singapore’s population continues to age, parental caregiving responsibilities will likely become a significant factor for younger homebuyers. The introduction of the FCS will undoubtedly help alleviate some of the pressures of caring for ageing parents while still enabling singles or couples to achieve their dream of owning their own space and building their own families.
More details to be unveiled closer to the date
According to HDB, more details will be unveiled closer to the date. Even though the broad objectives of the newly minted FCS have been laid out, there are still some key details to be clarified, such as how many additional ballot chances will be granted and whether the percentage of flat supply set aside for the scheme will be adjusted from the current allotment for the three existing schemes.
In the meantime, the prevailing rules will apply, meaning the upcoming February 2025 BTO and SBF exercises will continue to operate under the current MCPS, SPS, and MGPS. Watch this space for more updates to come!
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