Ravi Chandran
Extended HIP upgrading to provide new clothes drying rack and better quality fittings
Residents whose flats are eligible for upgrading under the extended Home Improvement Programme (HIP) can now look forward to new and better quality fittings, as part of HDB’s continuous efforts to improve the quality and design of HDB flats. Besides featuring more updated designs, these new fittings also help to enhance residents’ safety and comfort at home.
The HIP was previously offered to HDB flats built up to 1986. About 320,000 flats were eligible for the HIP under this 1986 age-band. The programme focuses on improvements within the flat, and helps flat owners address common maintenance problems related to ageing flats in a systematic and comprehensive manner.
Extended HIP to comprise of flats built between 1987 and 1997
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In August 2018, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced that the programme would be extended to another 230,000 flats built between 1987 and 1997. The first batch of flats, comprising some 55,000 units, will be offered the extended HIP starting from this year.
Extended HIP contains refreshed package with upgraded, better quality fittings
The package for the extended HIP will be refreshed to include more contemporary and better quality improvement items. Residents can also choose from a wider range of improvement items, including:
Retractable Clothes Drying Rack
As part of continual efforts to enhance the comfort and safety of our residents, HDB has developed a new retractable laundry rack. Designed with elderly residents in mind, the new rack comes with six horizontal stainless steel poles installed externally. The poles can be extended and retracted within the frame of the rack, so that residents can easily reach them from the kitchen window to hang or retrieve their laundry. Besides requiring less effort to use, the new retractable laundry rack is also safer as residents no longer need to lift and manoeuvre bamboo poles loaded with laundry out of the window to dry.
More Durable Main Entrance Door and Gate
Laminated timber doors will be included as an option under the extended HIP, in place of veneer doors. The new laminated timber doors are more scratch-resistant and durable compared to veneer doors. The decorative timber door will continue to be offered as an option.
A modern steel grille entrance gate with an interior thumb-turn knob will be offered as an option, replacing the current mild steel gate. The new steel grille entrance gate comes in more contemporary designs, and features an interior thumb-turn knob so residents who prefer not to use a key can unlock the gate from the inside using the knob. The wrought iron gate will continue to be offered as an option where the gate can be unlocked with a key.
Toilet / Bathroom Package
Larger wall and floor tiles in a wider range of modern designs will be offered. Walls will be fitted with 300mm x 600mm tiles, instead of 250mm x 200mm tiles, while the floor will be fitted with 300mm x 300mm tiles instead of 200mm x 200mm tiles. The larger tiles provide for a more modern look and feel, and allow for better visual continuity.
Better quality, water-efficient sanitary fittings, comprising a new range of dual flush low capacity WCs, along with tap and sanitary fittings with better quality finishes, will be introduced. All fittings (i.e basins and taps, toilet cisterns) will have a rating of at least “Very Good” under PUB’s Water Efficient Labelling Scheme.
HIP and Extended HIP affordable says HDB
HIP is heavily subsidised by the Government to ensure that it is affordable for residents. The cost of the Essential Improvements is fully borne by the Government, while the subsidy for Optional improvements remains unchanged, at up to 95% of the total cost, so benefitting Singaporean households need only pay a small fraction of the upgrading works. Depending on their flat type, Singaporean households pay between 5% and 12.5% of the cost for the Optional Improvements that they have chosen. The maximum amount payable for a full suite of Optional Improvements will range from $550 to $1,375, depending on flat type. Meanwhile, the cost of offering HIP to 230,000 flats is expected to cost the Government more than $2bn.
HDB says the extended HIP is testament to HDB’s commitment to continuously rejuvenate our towns and flats, to maintain their vibrancy and create even better homes for all.
Introduced in 2007, the Home Improvement Programme was offered to HDB flats built up to 1986 that had not undergone the previous Main Upgrading Programme (MUP). There are about 320,000 flats eligible for the HIP under this 1986 age-band. The HIP focuses on improvements within the flat and helps flat owners address common maintenance problems related to ageing flats in a systematic and comprehensive manner. There are two main components of work under the HIP – Essential and Optional.
The Essential Improvements enhance public health and safety standards, and are fully paid for by the Government. They include repair of spalling concrete, replacement of waste/soil discharge stacks if damaged, replacement of pipe sockets with a new clothes drying rack, as well as upgrading of the electrical load. Optional Improvements include items such as upgrading of the existing toilet/bathrooms, installation of a new decorative door and metal grille gate, and a new refuse chute hopper. Flat owners can choose the improvements they need in their flat, and pay only for those items selected.
The Home Improvement Programme will only proceed when at least 75 per cent of a block’s eligible Singapore Citizen households have voted in favour of it.
