Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme
The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) is an urban redevelopment strategy employed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in Singapore. Launched in August 1995, it involved the forced acquisition and redevelopment of old flats to optimise land use.[1] All residents displaced by the redevelopment works were offered a new 99-year lease in new flats constructed nearby.[citation needed] These residents had the privilege to select their units prior to public release of the remaining units, were compensated financially, and were given subsidised prices for their new flats.[citation needed] The scheme also allowed residents to continue living near their kin and neighbours.[citation needed]
Some flats acquired by SERS were repurposed after they were vacated. In 2002, Neo Tiew Estate at Lim Chu Kang was taken by the Singapore Armed Forces, and has since been used as a FIBUA training facility.[2] In April 2020, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in foreign worker dormitories, flats in Bukit Merah vacated in 2018 were used to house foreign workers.[3][4] Three flats at MacPherson are also being used as temporary rental flats until their scheduled demolition in 2028.[5]
By 2018, 4% of all HDB flats were identified for SERS since launch.[6] The final SERS project was announced in April 2022, involving four flats at Ang Mo Kio.[7] By August 2025, 80 SERS projects were completed, with another two ongoing,[8] and no plan for additional projects.[1]
Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme
[edit]A new scheme to replace SERS, the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS), was announced in 2018. VERS will involve a voting system by the owners of the selected flats. If the majority vote against the scheme, they will be able to continue living in their flats until their 99-year lease expires.[9] VERS is expected to be launched in the 2030s.[1]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 Ng, Keng Gene (10 August 2025). "First Vers projects for HDB flats likely to be launched in first half of 2030s". The Straits Times. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ Tan, Alvin (1 April 2023). "Neo Tiew: The Man Who Built Lim Chu Kang". BiblioAsia. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ Yong, Clement (8 April 2020). "Coronavirus: 21 vacant HDB blocks in Bukit Merah being refurbished to house essential foreign workers". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "'Dedicated strategy' to break COVID-19 spread in dormitories, including housing healthy workers in army camps". CNA. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ↑ Liew, Isabelle; Wong, Yang (28 March 2025). "Vacant HDB blocks in MacPherson to be used as temporary rental flats". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 28 November 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ "Not all old HDB flats are eligible for en bloc: Lawrence Wong". Today. 24 March 2017. Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ Ng, Michelle (7 April 2022). "4 HDB blocks in Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 picked for Sers; over 600 households affected". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 11 September 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ Liew, Isabelle (11 August 2025). "ST Explains: What is Vers and which HDB estates could it be rolled out in?". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 7 July 2026. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
- ↑ Au-Yong, Rachel (20 August 2018). "Vers allows for more orderly redevelopment". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 12 November 2025. Retrieved 2 September 2026.
