LifeStyle Updates: Why HDB Needs To Start Building Bigger Flats For “Large Families”

Source:

https://dollarsandsense.sg/why-hdb-needs-to-start-building-bigger-flats-for-large-families/

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The article argues that Singapore should start building larger HDB flats to better support “large families” with three or more children, as part of broader efforts to address the country’s persistently low fertility rate. During Budget 2025, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong introduced the Large Families Scheme, while in Budget 2026, MP David Hoe proposed a new “jumbo BTO flat” with extra bedroom space.

Although Housing & Development Board (HDB) already offers 5-room and 3Gen flats, flat combinations, and priority schemes for families with three or more children, the average size of 5-room flats has stayed at about 110 sqm since 1997. This is despite changes in household structures and living needs. Official data shows that while average household size has declined, the absolute number of large households (five or more persons) has remained broadly stable over the past decades. The fall in average household size is mainly due to rapid growth in smaller households, not a disappearance of large families.

Census data further reveals that households with five or more members are far more likely to live in homes larger than 120 sqm, yet most newer HDB flats fall below this threshold. Large families also have significantly less living space per person. For example, a five-person household in a typical 5-room flat has around 22 sqm per person, roughly half the space enjoyed by a single person in a 2-room unit.

The article concludes that housing design matters for family formation. If Singapore is serious about encouraging larger families, policies should go beyond incentives and priorities, and include building genuinely larger flats that are more conducive to raising children.

Comments:

Agree that I need bigger flats 😏