Starting from the end of this year, low-income singles will be able to apply for the new type of shared rental housing on their own, except for the single room, where they will share common facilities such as toilets and kitchens with other tenants.

The pilot scheme will be implemented at the former Anderson Serangoon Junior College student hostel on 8 Ang Mo Kio Road, with two 11-storey blocks of 480 units.

Each tenant will have his or her own single room, measuring about 9 square metres, containing a bed frame, wardrobe, table and small fridge. Tenants will also have access to shared facilities such as toilets, kitchens, laundry rooms and activity rooms.

Applications are expected to open at the end of this year. Applicants must meet the existing public rental conditions. HDB will appoint a social service agency to manage this new shared rental housing to handle tenancy matters, provide social services and maintain facilities for the tenants.

The authorities will conduct a pilot scheme for one to two years before exploring the suitability of formally implementing this rental model.

HDB launched a series of new policies in March.

1. On 2 March, it was announced that first-time buyers (parents and couples) will be given three chances to win a lottery when applying for a pre-purchase HDB flat, starting from the pre-purchase sale in August this year.

The Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS) has been expanded to include first-time buyers with children and pregnant couples, as well as young couples who do not yet have children. They will also enjoy priority allocation.