The Design Build And Sell Scheme (DBSS) was first introduced by the then Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan in 2005. It aimed to involve private developers in the building of public housing to offer buyers with higher incomes a wider variety of housing. DBSS flats do not have full-suite condo facilities, such as pools, gyms, etc. as ECs do. It is simply that the unit interiors have a higher quality of finishing, and are more varied than the standardised HDB floor plans.
The DBSS flats suffered from two major issues in their day: workmanship and pricing.
Workmanship issues are the most relevant to buyers, even today. Unfortunately, some DBSS developments were afflicted by complaints.
In this video, we explore how and why the DBSS project was scrapped.
At Stacked, we like to look beyond the headlines and surface-level numbers, and focus on how things play out in the real world.
If you’d like to discuss how this applies to your own circumstances, you can reach out for a one-to-one consultation here.
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Frequently asked questions
What was the purpose of the DBSS scheme introduced in Singapore?
How do DBSS flats differ from standard HDB flats?
What were the main issues that led to the decline of the DBSS scheme?
Are DBSS flats similar to Executive Condominiums (ECs)?
Why was the DBSS project eventually scrapped?
