3 Gen Under One Roof

Designed for multigenerational families, these special Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have been proving pretty popular. We weigh their pros and cons.

- Stella Thng

However you may feel about our newly crowned President, Halimah Yacob, there is one thing we can all agree on. Her Jumbo flat, which her husband says is “as huge as a penthouse”, is probably – if not one of – the largest HDB apartment in Singapore.

Back in the 1980s, before she entered politics, President Halimah had purchased a corner five-room flat and the four-room flat next door to convert into one sprawling apartment, so that she, her husband and their five children could live with the grandparents.

Such gigantic flats are hard to come by these days. But for those of us with similar dreams of keeping the family together, the HDB has new BTO 3Gen flats that you can apply for. First launched in September 2013, over 1,100 units have been offered across 18 projects as of December 2016.

Take-up rate has been surprisingly high. From 2013 to 2015, 83 per cent – or 651 of 786 units offered – were booked. 3Gen flats in three projects – Saraca Breeze @ Yishun, 52 in Punggol BayView and 56 in Tampines GreenRidges – were even completely snapped up.

Thinking of booking your own presidential 3Gen home? Consider these pointers.

• You get to buy a subsidised HDB flat…

As long as you meet the criteria, you and your family can apply for a 3Gen flat. A multigenerational family is defined as either a married or engaged couple (using the fiance/fiancee scheme) and parent(s), or a widowed/divorced person, a child and parent(s). At least one parent must be a Singapore citizen or a Singapore Permanent Resident. Your combined household income cannot exceed $18,000.