• On 1 March 2009, the Housing & Development Board (HDB) launched the Lease Buyback Scheme.
• The scheme aims to help Singaporeans deal with inflation and the rising cost of living. Its main objective is to give low-income elderly homeowners a stable source of funds for their living expenses in their later years.
• HDB flats are sold on 99-year leases. However, as most homeowners will not live in them for the full 99 years, this scheme allows them to sell part of the remaining lease to HDB, and retain a shorter lease under their ownership (between 15 to 35 years, based on their age).
• The proceeds from the sale are used to top up the homeowner’s Central Provident Fund Retirement Account (CPF RA). Their savings from their CPF RA can then be used to join the CPF LIFE plan, from which they will receive a sum every month. Participants may also be eligible to receive a cash bonus of up to S$30,000.
• Participants of the scheme cannot transfer the lease, sell the flat, or rent out the entire flat in the open market.
• The following conditions must be met for applicants of the Lease Buyback Scheme:

1. All owners must be 65 years old and above;
2. At least one owner must be a Singapore citizen;
3. The gross monthly household income must be S$14,000 or less;
4. The owners cannot concurrently own a second property;
5. All owners must have been living in the flat for at least five years;
6. There must be at least 20 years of lease remaining to sell to HDB.

• The Lease Buyback Scheme was originally limited to 3-room flats or smaller. In 2015, HDB relaxed the restriction to include 4-room flats. In 2019, the scheme was extended to all flat types.

The Government launched the Lease Buyback Scheme in March 2019, allowing elderly homeowners of HDB flats to sell part of their lease to HDB, with the number of years of the lease to be retained to be based on the age of the youngest owner. (Lianhe Zaobao, 1/1/2019)