Things to note for change in flat ownership (not through a sale) arising from divorce

Upon divorce, the Court may grant an order for either party to the divorce to take over the matrimonial flat. This party must meet the eligibility conditions to take over ownership of the flat. The divorce parties would need to decide on the mode of effecting the ownership change - whether it is through a change in flat ownership (not through a sale) or through a resale of part-share.

Parties may apply for the intended change in flat ownership upon receiving the Interim Judgement for civil divorces or Decree of Divorce for Muslim divorces. At the time of application, they must have settled ancillary matters pertaining to the matrimonial property and custody, care and control of their children. The Final Judgement or Certificate of Divorce must be produced by the legal completion date of the ownership change.

Applicants should take note of the following:

HDB does not grant any loan for the amount of consideration/ sum payment if the Court has ordered for such sum to be paid to one of the parties as one of the terms of the divorce. This includes the CPF refund to be borne by the withdrawing owner upon the ownership change.
HDB does not accept requests for valuation by owners who need a valuation report for purposes other than mortgage financing (e.g. to determine the settlement of the matrimonial property/ consideration sum payable).
If the withdrawing owner has bought or intends to buy a flat with a second mortgage loan from HDB, he/she must use his/her CPF refund and consideration sum received (if any, up to 50% of the consideration) to reduce the second mortgage loan quantum.
If the terms of divorce state that the withdrawing owner will receive a partial or zero CPF refund upon withdrawing ownership from the matrimonial flat, the CPF Board’s confirmation letter indicating their consent to such Court Order must be submitted to HDB at the point of application.
Note: If you have not received CPF Board’s confirmation letter, please submit your divorce documents on CPF Board’s website (under 'Use these forms to submit court orders').
If the matrimonial flat is a subsidised flat, the current owners (and ex-spouse) will be considered to have enjoyed 1 housing subsidy. The current owners will need to pay their respective share of the resale levy when they buy another subsidised flat/ Executive Condominium unit (if eligible).
Banks or financial institutions licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) generally only grant a mortgage loan if the change in flat ownership is done through a fractional purchase (i.e. resale of part-share). Proposed owners who are considering a mortgage loan from a bank or financial institution are advised to check the terms of financing before deciding on whether the ownership change should be done through a change in flat ownership (not through a sale) or through a resale of part-share.

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