Budget 2024: Couples waiting for BTOs to get govt vouchers for HDB rentals, preschools to be more affordable

The government will be providing more support for young families with urgent housing needs under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) as they wait for the completion of their Build-To-Order (BTO) flats, DPM Lawrence Wong announced in his Budget speech today (Feb 16).

Eligible families will receive a one-year PPHS voucher to rent a Housing Development Board (HDB) flat in the open market, however, the dollar amount of the voucher was not announced. 

Currently, HDB offers subsidised rental housing under the PPHS, with the statutory board receiving many applications for the scheme. Although HDB is ramping up supply to meet the demand, DPM Wong said that the government wants to do more in the interim to support young families with their urgent housing needs.

The government is rolling out support measures to make preschools more affordable

As the government aims to “build a Singapore made for families”, parents can look forward to more assistance with preschool.

For one, the government aims to lower full-day preschool expenses for dual-income families, making them comparable to those of primary school and after-school student care.

This includes the lowering of monthly childcare fee caps in government-supported preschools in 2025. The caps will be reduced to S$640 for anchor operator preschools, and S$680 for partner operator preschools, down from S$680 and S$720 per month respectively.

These caps will be lowered further in 2026.

To support lower-income families with young children who live in public rental flats, the government has also designed new ComLink+ Progress Packages. These families will receive financial top-ups when they make progress on long-term goals of preschool education, sustained employment, financial stability and saving for home ownership.

For instance, a family will receive top-ups to a child’s Child Development Assistance account if they ensure the child’s preschool enrolment and regular preschool attendance under the preschool ComLink+ Progress Package.

In the employment package, adults could receive payouts of up to S$600 every quarter if they secure a job and stay employed. Those who make voluntary contributions to their Central Provident Fund (CPF) will also receive matching government grants to grow their savings for home ownership.

The ComLink+ Progress Packages will be piloted for three years before assessing their effectiveness.

To provide further aid to lower-income families, the government will enhance existing preschool subsidies for lower-income families. The higher subsidies that are currently given to children with working mothers will be extended to all children from lower-income families, including those with mothers who are not working.

These initiatives will benefit up to 17,000 children.

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