Buying from the Open Market

You can apply for the resale/ transfer of HDB sold shop premises via GoBusiness Licensing. This service is not applicable to units in HDB shopping and office complexes, which are managed by Managing Agents.

Due to recent surge in the number of requests for resale and change of use of sold shops, please expect a longer processing time of at least 4 weeks after all supporting documents/payment are received. Therefore, do check and ensure that all supporting documents/payments required for your application(s) are duly submitted. Please be assured that we will process your requests as quickly as we can. 

Here are the criteria and required documents you need to fulfil and submit before you can purchase a shop from the open market.

Criteria for application

The criteria for application are:

• You must be 21 years and above at the date of application
• If the sellers/ buyers are undischarged bankrupts, the consent of the Official Assignee is needed for the resale

Please read the terms and conditions before applying.

Supporting documents

• Photocopies of buyers’ NRIC
• Latest business registration record from the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority
• Company's resolution (For Pte. Ltd. Co.)
• Letter of Authorisation/ Power of Attorney (For Mortgagee Sale)
• Letter of Undertaking for Mortgagee Sale
• Grant of Probate/ Grant of Letters of Administration (For deceased cases)
• Undertaking for proposed trade as stated in Clause 14 of the terms and conditions
  • Unless the proposed trade is already operating in the premises, it must start within 2 months from the date of the resale/ transfer completion. If the proposed trade cannot be confirmed or is subject to tenancy, an undertaking signed by all the transferees must be submitted. The undertaking should state that the transferees will operate an approved service/ retail trade within 2 months of the resale/ transfer completion

Lodgement scheme

Under the lodgement scheme, those who would like to sell their shops only need to lodge or file their resale details via GoBusiness Licensing with an administrative fee of $107 (inclusive of GST) from 5 July 2006.

The lodgement scheme is not applicable under the following scenarios:

• Shops that have not been issued with leases. In this case, the owners need to sign a fresh Agreement for Lease with us
• Exceptional cases that involve a material change of use requiring our evaluation. In this case, we will first assess whether the proposed use will cause any inconvenience to the surroundings. Examples of such cases are family restaurants and those who would like to change their living quarters to non-residential use

Requesting for inspection reports

When you purchase a shop, you can choose not to have an inspection of the premises during the resale/ transfer application. The alternative to us conducting a site inspection, is for you to engage a Qualified Person or accredited checker to make sure that any alteration and addition works carried out/ to be carried out in the premises meet all legal requirements. For this option, both transferors and transferees need to submit the Declaration and Undertaking form.

For works done before 1 October 2005, the shop owners can request for our renovation records/ inspection report for $321 (inclusive of GST). For works done after 1 October 2005, they can appoint their own Qualified Person to verify that the works meet the requirements of the Building & Construction Authority/ Fire Safety & Shelter Department.

Administrative fees

The following table lists the total fees payable based on the type of application and the options that are chosen: