Joan Pereira calls for another round of Home Improvement Programme for ageing HDB blocks

Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC Joan Pereira called on the government to consider another round of the Home Improvement Programme (HIP) for ageing HDB blocks.

She was speaking on the second day of the Budget 2026 debates during the parliamentary sitting on Feb. 25.

Pointing to a budget surplus of over S$15 billion in 2025, Pereira urged the government to invest more quickly in rejuvenating older HDB estates, noting that more blocks are now crossing the 50-year mark.

Ageing HDB blocks

Pereira said residents in some ageing blocks face recurring issues such as water seepage, mould and spalling concrete, which have become “sources of stress and anxiety”.

She cited Henderson Crescent in her Henderson-Dawson ward, where flats were built in the 1970s, as an example.

"Life at home can be stressful because they constantly have to watch out for leakages and check their ceilings and walls. They worry about the effect the persistent mould have on their health, especially the children and the elderly," she said.

She added that repair costs also place a financial strain on residents, particularly the elderly and lower-income families.

Pereira noted that the HIP is carried out only twice over a block’s 99-year lease, which leaves residents waiting for a more lasting and sustained solution.

She therefore called on the government to review the HIP policy and consider introducing an additional round that is more flexible in scope, taking into account the specific issues faced by individual estates.

She also urged the government to consider the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) for the blocks in Henderson Crescent. If there are no such plans, she asked that the criteria for the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme be considered, depending on the condition of the blocks.

“This is not a request to help residents enjoy a windfall, but a request for every Singaporean to go home to a pleasant and liveable environment.”

Issues at SkyVille @ Dawson

Pereira also raised what she described as the "ad nauseam" issue affecting residents of SkyVille @ Dawson, which has a rooftop garden open to the public.

She said residents continue to face disturbances and nuisance caused by "inconsiderate visitors" at the rooftop and sky gardens of the HDB blocks.

Among the issues cited were excessive noise, smoking and drinking, urinating at staircase landings, littering and other unsavoury activities.

She reiterated her earlier suggestions, including installing gantries for visitor registration, adding more CCTVs to monitor activities, limiting the number of visitors, and introducing a small fee to help cover operational and cleaning costs for the sky gardens.

"Again, this is because every resident deserves to go home to a pleasant living environment," she said.

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