Often, older HDB flats find themselves in a kind of planning limbo, left out of the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) for now while residents watch the clock on their leases. The scheme, introduced in 1995, has always been narrowly targeted, applied mainly to precincts where land can be put to higher-density or more efficient urban use. Over the decades, planning authorities have picked sites strategically, favoring central and popular locations where redevelopment can deliver bigger gains in infrastructure and housing supply. That selectivity means most obvious candidates have already been redeveloped, and only a dwindling number of older blocks remain eligible for SERS in future rounds. VERS is being developed within the current term of government and is expected to be worked out before 2030, starting rollout at selected sites in the first half of the next decade VERS rollout. The government plans to progressively offer Vers to selected estates in different parts of Singapore.
Older HDB flats often sit in planning limbo, overlooked by narrowly targeted SERS while residents watch lease timelines.
Flats that are left out tend to be in areas judged less suitable for intensive redevelopment, so entire cohorts of ageing residences will not see compulsory acquisition. SERS is distinct because it is mandatory: affected households receive replacement flats in modern developments, plus market-value compensation and relocation support. By contrast, the voluntary successor, VERS, introduced in policy discussion since 2018, proposes buybacks around the 70-year mark and requires resident consent. VERS is intended as the next major tool for managing ageing estates, but its mechanics and compensation levels are still being designed, and officials have signaled no need to scale it up until the late 2030s.
For owners of unselected flats, practical concerns are pressing. As leases run down toward the critical years in the 2030s, resale values often fall, and prospective buyers grow wary of properties with shrinking tenure. HDB owners must remember that violating the Minimum Occupation Period can result in severe financial penalties and legal consequences. Many residents feel uncertain about long-term security, since neither mandatory buyback nor guaranteed renewal is assured for their blocks. The last notable SERS announcement, for Ang Mo Kio Ave 3 in April 2022, underscored how rare new SERS cases have become, reinforcing the sense that most older flats will need alternative solutions.
Policymakers are shifting emphasis away from compulsory schemes toward voluntary, consultative options, while working out compensation frameworks for VERS. For now, older flat owners remain observers of a slow shift: redevelopment may come, but timing and terms are still very much a matter of future policy, negotiation, and, yes, patience.
