The Lift access Housing Grant (LHG) will also be increased 
to support residents whose flats do not have direct lift access, if they need to purchase another flat with direct lift access 

At the Community Build Day event at Toa Payoh N1 Neighbourhood Park on 6 April, Minister for National Development Desmond Lee announced that over 36,000 HDB households will benefit from the upgrading works to be implemented under the latest batch of the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme (NRP) and Silver Upgrading Programme (SUP). Additionally, for the small number of HDB residents who currently do not have direct lift access to their flats, HDB will increase the Lift access Housing Grant (LHG) by almost threefold, to help seniors and residents with mobility challenges to purchase a new or resale HDB flat with direct lift access. 

Update on the Neighbourhood Renewal Programme 

2 The Ministry of National Development (MND) and HDB have selected 17 projects for upgrading in the latest 16th batch of the NRP. The projects are located island-wide including in Bukit Panjang, Sembawang, and Sengkang. More information on the projects can be found in Annex A. In total, over $165 million will be allocated to these projects, which are expected to benefit more than 25,000 households.

3 Introduced in August 2007, NRP carries out improvements at the block and precinct levels for HDB blocks built up to 1995. With all eligible blocks built up to 1995 already selected for the NRP, the programme has been extended to include blocks built up to 1999. The 17 projects selected will be the first batch of NRP projects to benefit from this extension, and the 16th batch of NRP projects since NRP was first introduced. 

4 The improvement items for each project are tailored based on residents’ feedback on the features they hope to see in their neighbourhoods. Examples of block-level improvements under the NRP include the provision of Residents’ Corners and seating areas in the common spaces within the block. Precinct-level improvements could include drop-off porches, covered linkways, fitness corners, playgrounds, and landscaping. The works are fully funded by the Government and implemented by the respective Town Councils that will engage their own design consultants and building contractors, as well as monitor the progress of the projects.      

5 Since 2007, over $1.5 billion has been set aside to fund a total of 229 NRP projects across the past 15 batches. As of 31 March 2025, 131 projects benefitting about 187,000 households have been completed, while the remaining 98 projects benefitting over 103,000 households are at different stages of implementation (e.g. public engagement, tender, and construction). 

Additional funding support for senior-friendly amenities 

6 In line with Age Well SG¹, future NRP projects will now include more senior-friendly amenities, such as therapeutic gardens with wheelchair-friendly planter boxes, fitness trails connecting senior-centric amenities, and wayfinding features along routes frequently used by seniors. These enhancements will help seniors to stay active and independent, enabling them to age in place and live comfortably within their community.  

7 To support the upgrading works for these senior-friendly amenities, HDB will increase the budget starting from the 16th batch of NRP projects, from $6,100 per flat currently to around $6,600 per flat.

Creating More Senior-Friendly Neighbourhoods with Silver Upgrading Programme (SUP)

8 Residents living in older precincts that underwent upgrading in the past, and hence do not qualify for NRP, can still benefit from senior-friendly enhancements under SUP. Launched in August 2024, SUP targets older HDB precincts, offering senior-centric upgrades to help seniors age in place more comfortably. Precincts selected for SUP are prioritised based on a higher proportion of soon-to-be seniors (aged 55 years old and above) and seniors (aged 65 years old and above), compared to the national average. The programme is fully funded by the Government. 

9 SUP was first rolled out in four precincts in Chong Boon within Ang Mo Kio town benefitting about 3,400 households in 2024. HDB worked with our design consultants and relevant partners to seek residents’ feedback through a Community Improvement Walk in August 2024, before reviewing the SUP design for the Chong Boon precincts. The final SUP design includes features that promote residents’ well-being, encourage more active lifestyles, and enhance accessibility around the estate. These include a therapeutic garden, 3-Generation fitness trail with exercise equipment suitable for seniors, new barrier-free access ramps, rest stops with seating along linkways, and wayfinding features such as signages with pictograms at the community deck. 

10 The SUP works for the Chong Boon precincts are slated to commence in the second quarter of 2025 and are expected to complete in the second half of 2026. More information on the enhancements can be found in Annex B.

11 HDB will now roll out SUP progressively to another 12 precincts in Ang Mo Kio, Bukit Merah, and Toa Payoh (refer to Annex C for details of their locations), benefitting about 11,000 households. These upgrading works will be progressively completed from 2H 2027. Details on the specific SUP works in these precincts and implementation timelines will be shared with residents when ready. 

More Support for Residents Requiring Direct Lift Access

12 Since the mid-1990s, all new HDB blocks have been built with lifts serving every floor. Prior to that, most HDB blocks were designed with lifts that stopped only on certain floors, due to the need to build cost-efficient homes quickly to house Singapore’s growing population then. In 2001, HDB introduced the Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) to retrofit older blocks with lifts that stopped at every floor, to improve accessibility and mobility for residents. 

13 Since then, HDB has implemented the LUP in more than 5,000 blocks that were originally without full lift access. Today, around 99% of all HDB blocks have direct lift access on every floor. For the remaining blocks, HDB continues to explore possible ways to enhance the accessibility of these blocks. Nonetheless, we recognise that some households residing in these blocks may have more urgent need for direct lift access due to their family members’ medical or mobility conditions. 

14 For such households, HDB introduced the LHG in 2020 to help them purchase a new or resale HDB flat with direct lift access. Currently, the LHG is set at up to $30,000 for families and up to $15,000 for singles. From 6 April 2025, the LHG amount will be increased by almost threefold as follows, to provide more support for households: 

15 Households can use the increased grant to offset the cost of buying another flat directly from HDB, or a resale flat with direct lift access from the open market, depending on their budget and needs. 

¹Age Well SG is a national programme that supports seniors to age actively and independently in their homes and communities.