 The lack of good public housing , poor sanitation , and high unemployment led to social problems from crime to health issues . The proliferation of squatter settlements resulted in safety hazards and caused the Bukit Ho Swee Fire in 1961 that killed four people and left 16 @,@ 000 others homeless . The Housing Development Board set up before independence continued to be largely successful and huge building projects sprung up to provide affordable public housing to resettle the squatters . Within a decade , the majority of the population had been housed in these apartments . The Central Provident Fund ( CPF ) Housing Scheme , introduced in 1968 , allows residents to use their compulsory savings account to purchase HDB flats and gradually increases home ownership in Singapore . 
