THIS is a personal plea, but it may well be that many others will benefit, if the authorities see it my way.

My younger daughter is 28. She is gainfully employed, has several years of CPF to her name and being frugal, has savings as well. She earns less than $8,000 a month.

But she has to share a rented flat with two others. She cannot buy a new HDB unit.

And that is just because she is single.

It seems there are thousands of new HDB homes that have not been sold, mainly because these are not in locations that buyers want.

Under the present rules, singles under 35 cannot buy these flats.

So, what is a girl to do? Go out, find a boyfriend and marry in haste so that she can own a home? And then what? Repent at leisure in 5-room comfort?

Thankfully, I believe my daughter is more discerning than that.

But I wonder about the need to own a home. How big a role does it play when Singapore couples decide to take the plunge?

The policy of linking marital status to home ownership may have been designed to nudge people towards settling down and starting a family.

But is it possible that it is also nudging, even in a small way, those not really meant for each other into getting married?

Is it too far fetched to think that our rising divorce rate may have something to do with this?

Perhaps it is. But I feel someone could still do a study on whether the policy has had this unintended consequence, whether using housing as a tool to get more people to marry is leading to more divorces as well.

Be that as it may, here is my plea.

Why not allow younger singles - at least those who are employed and have CPF - to buy HDB flats that have already been offered to families and have not been taken up?

Think of the benefits. It may help to keep these individuals - many of them talented and with the drive to succeed - more rooted to Singapore.

It may even stimulate the economy. Plumbers, electricians, tilers, furniture retailers and the like will get more business as these flats are taken up.

So it is over to you, HDB.

Please give some thought to why my daughter has to pay rent for seven more years, when she can instead be enjoying a cosy little 3-roomer somewhere.

What do you say?

The writer is a former Singaporean marketing professional.

This article was first published in The New Paper.