Under the Housing & Development Act, so long as one of the flat owners of the HDB flats is a Singapore citizen, the HDB flat (of any type) will not vest in the Official Assignee ("OA") in the event of bankruptcy of any or all of the flat owners; ie the flat owners would not be compelled to dispose of their flat. However, notwithstanding the above, if the purchase of the flat has been financed with a mortgage loan from a bank or the HDB, then the flat may be sold by the bank through a mortgagee sale or compulsory acquired by the HDB in the event the owners default in the mortgage repayment and run up mortgage arrears.

The Official Assignee's consent is not required if a bankrupt wishes to sell his/her HDB flat which does not vest in the Official Assignee. This applies to bankrupt flat owners who belong to Singapore citizen households.

For bankrupt flat owners of Singapore Permanent Resident Households ("SPR households"), it is a requirement that they get the Official Assignee's consent before they can sell their flat. The letter of consent must be obtained from the OA before the owners grant an Option to Purchase to the prospective buyers.

FAQ

My wife and I are co-owners of an HDB flat and we intend to sell our flat in the open market. If I am an undischarged bankrupt but my wife is not, do we need to obtain a letter of consent from the Official Assignee?

This will depend on whether you belong to a Singapore citizen household or a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) household.

For Singapore citizen households, their HDB flat does not vest in the Official Assignee in the event of bankruptcy of any or all the flat owners. The Official Assignee does not require bankrupt flat owners who belong to Singapore citizen households to get OA's consent before they can sell their flat.

A bankrupt flat owner of an SPR household will however be required to obtain a letter of consent from the Official Assignee before they can sell their flat. The letter of consent must be obtained prior to granting the Option to Purchase to prospective flat buyers.