Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme
Singapore public housing redevelopment programme
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The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) was an urban redevelopment strategy employed by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in Singapore. Launched in August 1995, it involved the forced acquisition and redevelopment of old flats to optimise land use.[1] All residents displaced by the redevelopment works were offered a new 99-year lease in new flats constructed nearby.[citation needed] These residents had the privilege to select their units prior to public release of the remaining units, were compensated financially, and were given subsidised prices for their new flats.[citation needed] The scheme also allowed residents to continue living near their kin and neighbours.[citation needed]
Some flats acquired by SERS provided temporary housing before their demolition. In April 2020, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in foreign worker dormitories, flats in Bukit Merah vacated in 2018 were used to house foreign workers.[2][3] Three flats at MacPherson are also being used as temporary rental flats until their scheduled demolition in 2028.[4]
By 2018, 4% of all HDB flats were identified for SERS since launch.[5] The final SERS project was announced in April 2022, involving four flats at Ang Mo Kio.[6] 80 SERS projects were completed by August 2025, with another two ongoing.[7]
Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme
By August 2025, there were no longer any plans for additional SERS projects; the scheme will be replaced by the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS) in the 2030s.[1] First announced in 2018, VERS will involve a voting system by the owners of the selected flats. If the majority vote against the scheme, they will be able to continue living in their flats until their 99-year lease expires.[8]