Retain Flat Following Life Events
Family structures can change after a life event and affect your eligibility to retain your flat. Read on to find out how such changes may affect you.
You can also email your request to retain the flat to your managing HDB Branch. Please include in your email the details of the flat and particulars of the family members concerned.
If a joint-owner has passed away, his or her share or interest in the flat will be transferred to the remaining owners, who will have to lodge a Notice of Death with the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).
As the remaining family or single occupier, you can retain the existing flat provided you:
For example, a husband and wife are joint-owners of a flat. His widowed wife can take ownership of the flat as the sole owner, if she satisfies all eligibility conditions to own a flat. If the lease of the flat has already been issued, she would need to submit the Notice of Death of her husband to SLA, for the purpose of updating records.
As a remaining joint-owner, you may choose to lodge the Notice of Death personally at SLA (Visit www.sla.gov.sg > FAQs > How do I lodge a Notice of Death to inform SLA of the death of a joint owner), appoint your own solicitor to lodge the Notice of Death on your behalf, or engage our legal services through the managing HDB Branch of the flat.
If the flat’s sole owner or co-owner passes away, his interest in the flat will be distributed according to his will, or the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act if there is no will. A court order is required to obtain legal authority to administer the deceased’s estate.
As the remaining family or single occupier, you are allowed to retain the existing flat, provided you:
The deceased’s interest in the flat will be distributed according to the will.
You will need:
The deceased’s family should engage a private solicitor to apply for this court order, which gives legal authority to the Executor (the person named in the will) to manage the deceased's estate.
The deceased’s interest in the flat will be distributed according to the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act.
The deceased’s family should engage a private solicitor to apply for this court order, which gives legal authority to the Administrator to manage the deceased’s estate.
Once the Grant of Letters of Administration or the Grant of Probate has been obtained, you can engage your own solicitors or appoint our solicitors to act for you to register your legal right as the Administrator or Executor.
If you wish to engage our services, you can approach the HDB Branch managing the deceased’s flat to make the necessary application with the following documents:
If you are an Administrator/ Executor, you will have to:
You can retain the flat if you have custody of the child (including care and control). If you have no children from your marriage, you can take over the flat under the Single Singapore Citizen (SSC) Scheme or to include another person to retain the flat. Alternatively, if the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) is satisfied, you can sell the flat in the open market.
If you have no children from the marriage, you can retain the flat alone if you are a Singapore Citizen, at least 35 years old, and meet the prevailing conditions for retention of the flat under the SSC scheme.
Alternatively, you can include another person to retain the flat with under an eligibility scheme, subject to you meeting the prevailing conditions.
If either of your parents were originally listed in the flat application, you can retain the flat. Otherwise, you may have to return the flat at the prevailing compensation price, subject to our approval.
If a divorce is due to the non-consummation of marriage, annulment of marriage, or if there is a break-up of the fiancé/ fiancée relationship, neither party is allowed to retain the HDB flat.
Retention of the flat is only allowed if either of your parents were originally listed in the application to buy the flat. If none of you are eligible to retain the flat, the flat may have to be returned at the prevailing compensation price, subject to our approval.
If you are seeking an annulment of marriage, you should request for the private solicitor handling your divorce or annulment to submit either an "Agreed Matrimonial Property" Plan or "Standard Query" form to the HDB Branch managing your matrimonial flat. This is to enable us to conduct an assessment of your eligibility to retain the flat.
You can retain the flat if you have custody of the child (including care and control). However, if you have no children from the marriage, only one of you is allowed to include another person to retain the flat. If neither of you are able to retain the flat, it will have to be sold or returned, depending on whether the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) has been completed.
You are allowed to retain the flat if you have legal custody of the child (including care and control) pursuant to a court order. However, this is subjected to the eligibility conditions.
If you have no children from the marriage, one of you can choose to include another person to retain the flat. This is subject to the prevailing eligibility criteria and eligibility scheme, regardless of the occupation period.
If neither of you are able to retain the flat, you will need to dispose of the flat.
If there is a change to your citizenship, we will review your eligibility to retain the flat. You may need to sell your flat or return it.
If there is a change to your Singapore citizenship or Singapore Permanent Resident status, we will review your eligibility for flat ownership.
If the MOP has not been completed, we will have to acquire the flat at a compensation price determined by us.
We will consider your eligibility to retain the flat on a case-by-case basis.
If your child is getting married and moving out, we will determine your eligibility to retain the flat alone based on the merits of each case.
Please approach the managing HDB Branch of the flat.
If you wish to transfer the flat ownership without monetary consideration, or pursuant to Court Order, start by finding out the eligibility criteria and types of transfers you can perform.
