Tenants' Priority Scheme

The Tenants' Priority Scheme (TPS) is an HDB priority route for tenants of HDB rental flats who are ready to move toward homeownership. HDB lists TPS among the priority schemes for buying a new flat. It changes priority within the new-flat application system; it is not a rental subsidy, a cash payment, or a guarantee that a tenant will receive a flat (HDB, accessed Aug 2026).

Published eligibility condition

HDB states that the applicant and family must have been living in an HDB public rental flat for at least two years at the time of the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter application. The timing point matters: the two-year condition is tied to the HFE application, not simply to a later booking appointment or an informal period of housing need. Other conditions for buying a new flat and the relevant household or family nucleus still apply (HDB, accessed Aug 2026).

Allocation and denominator

HDB describes the TPS quota as up to 10% of 2-room Flexi and 3-room BTO or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) units. The denominator is the relevant 2-room Flexi and 3-room BTO/SBF supply in the applicable exercise, not all new flats or all public-rental households. HDB also says the quota is shared with applicants under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), relocation, resettlement, and SLA acquisition categories; the headline 10% therefore should not be read as a TPS-only allocation in every exercise (HDB, accessed Aug 2026).

What TPS does and does not change

TPS helps a qualifying public-rental household compete for a selected new flat through priority allocation. It does not remove the HFE requirement, replace financing or grant rules, or make every 2-room Flexi or 3-room unit available to TPS applicants. “Up to 10%” is a set-aside ceiling and not a success rate; if demand exceeds the relevant supply, some eligible applicants may still be unsuccessful (HDB, accessed Aug 2026).

Relationship to other routes

TPS is distinct from ASSIST, which targets second-timer divorced or widowed parents with children, and from the Family Care Scheme, which concerns parents and children living with or near each other. It also differs from the Public Rental Scheme itself: TPS is a route from public rental toward ownership, while public rental eligibility and tenancy matters concern the household's continued rental arrangement. Applicants should check the current HDB sales exercise, HFE requirements, and the allocation categories that share the TPS quota before treating the scheme as an individual entitlement.