Eligibility Conditions for HDB Housing Loan

The eligibility conditions for an HDB concessionary housing loan are detailed below. Alternatively, you can also use these enquiry facilities:

• Eligibility Check – Buying an HDB Flat and Applying for an HDB Housing Loan
• Application for HDB Loan Eligibility letter

Eligibility

You can apply for a housing loan from HDB if you and your family members meet the following eligibility conditions.

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Citizenship	At least 1 buyer is a Singapore citizen
Household Status	Have not previously taken 2 or more housing loans from HDB Have taken 1 housing loan from HDB and the last owned property is not a private residential property (local or overseas) such as: HUDC flat Property acquired by gift Property inherited as a beneficiary under a will or as a result of the Intestate Succession Act Property owned/ acquired/ disposed of through nominees
Income Ceiling	Average gross monthly household income^ does not exceed: $12,000 for families $18,000 for extended families $6,000 for singles buying a 5-room or smaller resale flat or a 2-room new flat in a non-mature estate, under the Single Singapore Citizen (SSC) Scheme ^ To find out about the documents to submit, please refer to our income guidelines. If an applicant or occupier is unemployed for less than 3 months, his/ her average income will be computed based on the actual number of months he/ she has worked.
Ownership/ Interest in Property	Must not own or have disposed of any private residential property in the 30 months before the date of application for an HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter. A private residential property (local or overseas) will include: Property acquired by gift Property inherited as a beneficiary under a will or as a result of the Intestate Succession Act Property owned/ acquired/ disposed of through nominees Do not own more than 1 market/ hawker stall or commercial/ industrial property If only 1 market/ hawker stall or commercial/ industrial property is owned, you must be operating the business there, and have no other sources of income
Remaining Lease	The HDB housing loan is for buying or taking over ownership of a flat with a remaining lease of 60 years or more If the flat has a remaining lease of less than 60 years, the HDB housing loan may be reduced or disallowed Remaining Lease of HDB Flat HDB Housing Loan 60 years or more Allowed 30 to 59 years Allowed, if remaining lease covers the buyer* up to the age of at least 80. The loan tenure will be the shortest of: 25 years; 65 years minus the average age of the buyers; or Balance lease at the point of purchase, minus 20 years 20 to 29 years Allowed, if remaining lease covers the buyer* up to the age of at least 80. The loan tenure will be the shortest of: 25 years; 65  years minus the average age of the buyers; or Balance lease at the point of purchase, minus 20 years Less than 20 years Not allowed * Based on the average age if there is more than one buyer

The HDB housing loan amount you can take will depend on credit assessment, loan ceiling, remaining lease of the flat you are buying or taking over, and other HDB policies applicable at the point of the loan application. 

Income ceiling for extended family

The average gross monthly household income of extended families is calculated as follows:

 

Category	Group A's Income (Income cannot exceed $12,000 per month)	Group B's Income (Income cannot exceed $12,000 per month)	Extended Family Income Ceiling
Parents^ with single children	Parents with 1 single working child	Other single children	Total income of Group A and Group B must not exceed $18,000
Parents^ with married child+	Parents with any single working children	Married child's+ family

^{^} Includes widow/ widower or divorcee

⁺ Includes applicants applying under the Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme

Example

A married couple with 3 working children wishes to get an HDB housing loan to buy an HDB flat.  Their average gross monthly income is as follows:

Husband = $4,000
Wife = $4,000
Child 1 = $4,000
Child 2 = $2,000
Child 3 = $4,000

Their average gross monthly income as an extended family works out to:

Income of Group A Parents and 1 of the children Cannot exceed $12,000	Income of Group B Remaining children Cannot exceed $12,000	Extended Family Income Ceiling Total income of Group A and Group B must not exceed $18,000
Husband + Wife + Child 2 = $10,000	Child 1 + Child 3 = $8,000	$18,000 The family is able to meet the income ceiling for the extended family.

HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter

If you wish to take an HDB housing loan to buy or take over ownership of a flat, you will need to first apply for an HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) letter before committing to the transaction. The HLE letter will be valid for 6 months. You have to wait out 30 months from the date of disbursement of an HDB housing loan before you can apply for another loan.

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Do apply early as you need to have a valid HLE letter when you:

• Book a new flat^{^} from HDB^*#
• Obtain an Option to Purchase from a resale flat seller
• Apply to take over the ownership of a flat (by way of transfer)

^{^} There is no mortgage loan financing for the purchase of a 2-room Flexi flat on short lease. You will have to pay for the flat using your cash and/ or CPF savings.

^* Eligible first-timer couples who are full-time students or National Servicemen, or have completed their studies or National Service in the last 12 months before their flat application may defer the income assessment for an HDB housing loan and Additional Housing Grant/ Special CPF Housing Grant till just before key collection.

^# Applicants without a valid HLE letter when they book a flat will not be eligible to apply for an HDB housing loan later on.

About the HLE letter

Knowing the housing loan amount will help you to work out your budget to buy, or take over ownership of a flat. The HLE letter is a financial planning tool, and will provide information on the:

• Eligible loan amount
• Monthly instalments
• Repayment period
• Amount of cash proceeds from disposal of the existing or previous flat to be used to pay for the next flat (if applying for second HDB concessionary housing loan)
• Other terms and conditions

Validity of HLE letter

It will be valid for 6 months from the date of issue. There is no need for re-assessment during this period, so long as there is no change in financial position and family members. A week before expiry of the HLE letter, you may apply for a new one if you still need a valid HLE letter.

Review of HLE letter

The loan offer will be reviewed if:

• Any given information is untrue or incorrect
• There are any changes in your household income, family nucleus or other circumstances which may affect your eligibility for an HDB housing loan
• You are buying or taking over ownership of a flat with a remaining lease of less than 60 years
• You and your family members listed in the application do not comply with any of the terms and conditions

If you have purchased an uncompleted flat from HDB, we will review your financial position nearer the completion of the flat. This is to confirm that there is no change in your ability to service the housing loan.