Conditions After Buying

After you buy a flat, there are conditions that apply to flat owners and occupiers.

Taking a housing subsidy

Find out if you have taken a housing subsidy, and if you qualify for the Citizen Top-Up Grant and Top-Up Grant.

You and your co-applicant(s) have taken a housing subsidy if you have bought:

  • A flat from HDB
  • A resale flat with CPF Housing Grant
  • A Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat from a property developer
  • An Executive Condominium (EC) unit from a property developer

Citizen Top-Up

If you are from a Singapore Citizen (SC)/ Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) household, you may apply for a Citizen Top-Up Grant of $10,000 when your SPR family member obtains Singapore citizenship or when you have an SC child. Find out more information about the eligibility conditions of the Citizen Top-Up Grant.

Top Up Grant

If you have bought a resale flat with the Singles Grant or a 2-room Flexi flat (99-year lease) from HDB as a single, and are now married, you may apply for the Top-Up Grant. Find out more about the eligibility conditions of the Top-up Grant.

Disposal of existing flat or property

You are required to dispose your existing flat or property, or terminate the tenancy of your rental flat, when you buy another flat from HDB.

If you are buying a flat from HDB

You, your spouse, co-applicants, and any occupiers listed in the flat will have to dispose of the existing flat within 6 months from the date of key collection to the flat.

If you are buying a resale flat

You, your spouse, co-applicants, and any occupiers listed in the resale application must dispose of any interest in any existing HDB flat or private residential property within 6 months of the legal completion of the resale flat purchase.

HDB rental flat tenants

All flat buyers who are renting a flat from HDB must terminate the tenancy and surrender the rental flat with vacant possession within 4 months of the date of key collection to a new flat or legal completion of the resale flat purchase.

Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)

The MOP is the period that you are required to physically occupy your flat before you can sell it on the open market.

All owners and occupiers listed in the flat application must occupy the flat for a minimum period of 5 years before you may:

  • Apply for a flat in HDB sales exercises
  • Sell the flat on the open market
  • Rent out the whole flat*
  • Invest in private property, both local and overseas* (However, you have to continue living in the flat after the purchase of the private property unless you have obtained HDB's prior approval to rent it out)

* Note: There are eligibility conditions that you and your tenants have to meet. SPR households, i.e. all owners of a flat are SPRs, are not eligible to rent out whole flat or invest in private property.

The MOP starts from the day your flat purchase is legally completed.

For owners of Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) flats, the MOP is 10 years.

Essential occupiers in the flat

Occupiers who are essential in forming a family nucleus with you in the flat application must continue to be listed in the application and live in the flat during the MOP.

They cannot apply or be listed as occupiers in another application to buy an HDB flat or Executive Condominium unit from a property developer within the MOP.

Waiver of MOP (only for Top-Up Grant)

If you and your spouse each own a flat and wish to dispose of both flats to get an HDB resale flat using the Top-Up Grant, the MOP may be waived for 1 flat to allow you to sell it in the open market. The other flat can be transferred to eligible family members or persons.

Resale levy

The resale levy is meant to reduce the housing subsidy on the flat buyers' second subsidised flat. It also ensures a fairer allocation of housing subsidies among flat buyers.

If you have bought a subsidised housing, you will need to pay a resale levy when you buy a second subsidised flat. A subsidised housing is:

  • A flat bought from HDB
  • A resale flat bought with CPF housing grant
  • A Design Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat bought from a property developer
  • An Executive Condominium (EC) unit bought from a property developer
  • Other forms of housing subsidy (e.g. enjoyed benefits under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), privatisation of HUDC estate etc.)

If you do not intend to buy a second subsidised flat from HDB, i.e., you are buying a resale flat or private residential property, you need not pay the resale levy.

Payment of resale levy

The resale levy payable is determined at the point you book your second subsidised flat. It applies regardless of ownership type (joint-tenancy or tenancy-in-common) or shared interest in the flat. Payment must be made using your flat sale proceeds and/or cash. HDB housing loan will not be extended to the payment of a resale levy.

When and how payment is made

Flat Sale Timeline Resale Levy Payment
First subsidised flat was disposed of after key collection to the second subsidised flat

Resale levy deducted from the net proceeds upon the sale of the first subsidised flat

Any shortfall to be paid in cash
First subsidised flat was disposed of before key collection to the second subsidised flat Resale levy paid in cash upon key collection to the second subsidised flat

Subsidised flat sold on or after 3 March 2006

If you have sold your first subsidised flat from 3 March 2006 onwards, you will pay a fixed amount resale levy as follows:

First Subsidised Housing Type Resale Levy Amount
Households Recipient of CPF Housing Grant (Singles)
2-room/ 2-room Flexi flat $15,000 $7,500
3-room flat $30,000 $15,000
4-room flat $40,000 $20,000
5-room flat $45,000 $22,500
Executive flat $50,000 $25,000
Executive Condominium $55,000 Not applicable

Subsidised flat sold before 3 March 2006

If the first subsidised flat was sold before 3 March 2006, a percentage graded resale levy will apply (see table for more details).

If you have opted to defer the payment of the resale levy until you buy another flat from HDB, an interest at a prevailing rate of 5% per annum is charged.

First Subsidised Housing Type Resale Levy Amount
(Based on resale price of the sold flat, or 90% of its market valuation, whichever was higher)
Households Recipient of CPF Housing Grant (Singles)
2-room flat 10%* or 15% 5%* or 7.50%
3-room flat 20% 10%
4-room flat 22.50% 11.25%
5-room and Executive flat 25% 12.50%
* Only applicable to 2-room flat sellers who buy a larger flat type.

If you and your spouse are aged 55 and above, have sold your first subsidised flat before 3 March 2006 and right-sizing to a new 3-room or smaller flat, you will pay only the percentage graded resale levy, with the interest waived. The resale levy payable is also subject to a minimum amount of $15,000 for 2-room, $30,000 for 3-room, $40,000 for 4-room, $45,000 for 5-room, and $50,000 for Executive flat sold. These are the same resale levy amounts payable by second-timers who sold their first subsidised flat on or after 3 March 2006.

If you have any questions about the amount of resale levy payable, you may contact us via e-Feedback form.

Renting out

Conditions apply for renting out your whole flat or your bedroom(s).

Renting out whole flat

You may rent out your whole flat after the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP) and after you have obtained an approval from HDB.

Owners of Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) flats are not allowed to rent out the whole flat.

Renting out room(s)

You must seek HDB’s approval before renting out your bedroom(s). Applications to rent out flat/ bedrooms can be submitted online via HDB’s e-Services.

If you own a 3Gen flat, you cannot rent out any bedrooms within the MOP.

If you own a PLH flat, you may rent out your spare bedrooms.

Read more guidelines on renting out rooms.

Ownership/ interest in property

Find out the conditions if you wish to acquire interest in another property.

For households with at least one Singapore Citizen flat owner

All owners and occupiers listed in the flat may only invest in private residential property only after the minimum occupation period. However, you have to continue living in the flat after the purchase of the private residential property unless you have obtained HDB’s prior approval to rent* it out.

* There are eligibility conditions that you and your tenants have to meet.
For households where all flat owners are Singapore Permanent Residents The flat owners must notify HDB of the intention to acquire a private residential property and sell the flat within 6 months of acquisition of the completed/ uncompleted local private residential property by the flat owner, spouse, or occupier.

Further conditions

Further conditions apply if you applied for a flat under the Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS), intend to sell your 3Gen flat, or obtained a Proximity Housing Grant for your resale flat.

New flat

Married Child Priority Scheme (MCPS)

Your parents/ married child must continue living in the same town or within 4km of the new flat during the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP).

For flats offered under the Prime Location Public Housing model, the period is 10 years.

3Gen Flats

3Gen flats can only be resold in the open market to eligible multi-generation families.

Resale flat

Proximity Housing Grant (PHG)
If you took the PHG to: Your parents/ married child who helped you to qualify for the PHG must:
Live with your parents/ married child Continue to live with you in your resale flat throughout the MOP
Live near your parents/ married child Continue to live within 4 km of your resale flat throughout the MOP