First-Timer Applicants

Eligible first-timer applicants can apply for the Family Grant and the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG). Those who are buying a resale flat to live with or near their parents or child can also apply for the Proximity Housing Grant.

 

Family Grant

Amount
Household Buying 2- to 4-room Resale Flat Buying 5-room or Bigger Resale Flat
SC/SC $50,000 $40,000
SC/SPR $40,000 $30,000
Assistance For

Married/ engaged couples or families who are first-timer applicants buying an HDB resale flat
Recipient May Also Be Eligible For

Enhanced CPF Housing Grant
Recipient May Later Be Eligible For

Citizen Top-Up (for SC/SPR household)

Eligibility

Citizenship

Singapore Citizen and at least another Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident
Age

At least 21 years old
Family Nucleus

You must form a family nucleus with one of the following groups. Your:

  • Spouse and children (if any)
  • Fiancé(e) (a copy of your marriage certificate must be submitted to the HDB Branch within 3 months from the resale completion date, if your marriage is registered overseas)
  • Children under your legal custody, care and control (if widowed/divorced#)

#If the care and control of your children under the age of 21 is shared with your ex-spouse, you must obtain his/her written agreement before you can list your children in a flat application.

If you face difficulties in obtaining the agreement or have a question for us, please contact us via our e-Feedback Form.
Household Status You and your spouse/ fiancé(e) (or child, for widowed/divorced applicants) must be first-timer applicants, meaning that both of you must meet the following criteria:
  • Not the owner of a flat bought from HDB, or an Executive Condominium (EC) unit/ Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat bought from a developer
  • Not sold a flat bought from HDB, or an EC unit/ DBSS flat bought from a developer
  • Not received any CPF Housing Grant for the purchase of an HDB resale flat
  • Not received other forms of housing subsidy, e.g. benefitted under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), HUDC estate privatisation

Note:

If you and your spouse are first-timer applicants and are applying with a child who has previously enjoyed any housing subsidy, you may apply for the Family Grant and/or the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant.
Income Ceiling Your average gross monthly household income must not exceed:
  • $14,000
  • $21,000 if purchasing with extended family
Flat Type 2-room or bigger
Remaining Lease of Flat
20 years or more
Ownership/ Interest in Property All applicants and occupiers listed in the flat application: 
  • Do not own other property locally or overseas, and have not disposed of any within the last 30 months
  • Cannot invest in private residential property from the date of flat application until after the 5-year Minimum Occupation Period of the flat 
  • Must not be buying an HDB flat that has been announced for SERS
 

 

Extended family income ceiling

The income ceiling for an extended family is set at a higher level of $21,000 to encourage and help parents and working children to live together in the same flat for mutual care and support. It is calculated using the combined income of 2 groups in the extended family. 

How to calculate the extended family income ceiling

The groups and income ceiling calculation are as follows:

Household Type Income of Group A (Cannot exceed $14,000) Income of Group B (Cannot exceed $14,000) Extended Family Income Ceiling
Parent(s)* with single children Parent(s) and 1 of the single children Remaining single children Income of Group A + Group B must not exceed $21,000
Parent(s)* with married children^ Parent(s) and remaining working children The married children and their children

* Includes widow/ widower or divorcee
^ Includes applicants applying under the Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme 

Example

A married couple and their 3 working children wish to buy a resale flat. Individually, their average gross monthly income is:

  • Husband: $7,000
  • Wife: $4,000
  • Child A: $4,000
  • Child B: $3,000
  • Child C: $2,000

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

Household Type Income of Group A
  • Parent(s) and 1 of the single child(ren)
  • Cannot exceed $14,000
 Income of Group B
  • Remaining single child(ren)
  • Cannot exceed $14,000
 Extended Family Income Ceiling
  • Income of Group A + Group B must not exceed $21,000
Parent(s)* with single children
Husband: $7,000
Wife: $4,000
Child C: $2,000
 
Total = $13,000
Child A: $4,000
Child B: $3,000
 
Total = $7,000

Group A: $13,000

Group B: $7,000

Total = $20,000
      The extended family's income is within the income ceiling
 

Income document guidelines

For your flat application, you and the other applicants and essential occupiers will need to get ready the following documents for our verification:

  • 3 months’ payslips preceding the month of application, if employed full-time (not on commission-basis)
  • 6 months’ of income documents preceding the month of application, for other types of employment
  • Proof of unemployment, if not working

Aside from the above documents, we may also request other documents for verification if needed.

Nature of Employment

Documents to Submit

Notes

Employed person
  • 3 months’ payslips preceding the month of application

or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for 3 months preceding the month of application; the letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation

Note: If your income includes allowances, we will require 6 months’ payslips preceding the month of application.
  • Assessment is based on the average gross monthly income, which:
    • Excludes bonuses and income earned from ad hoc overtime work
    • Includes allowances (fixed/ variable) received on a regular basis (e.g. allowances for food, transport, laundry, uniform, etc.)
  • If you are employed full-time but on no-pay leave for less than 6 months, we will consider you as employed and use your last drawn pay for assessment. If you are on no-pay leave for 6 months or more, your income will not be considered in the assessment.
  • Notice of Assessment (NOA) from the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) will not be accepted

Self-employed person
  • Latest NOA from IRAS or Statement of Annual Accounts certified by an audit firm

and

and

  • Undertaking affirming the average gross monthly income for 6 months preceding the month of application

  • Assessment is based on the average gross monthly income

  • The undertaking for applicants/occupiers to affirm their average gross monthly income will be sent to applicants via email (if required).

Part-time worker
  • 6 months’ payslips preceding the month of application

or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for 6 months preceding the month of application; the letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation
  • Assessment is based on the average gross monthly income.

Commission-based person
  • 6 months’ commission statements/ payslips preceding the month of application

or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for 6 months preceding the month of application; the letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation
  • Assessment is based on the average gross monthly income.

Odd job worker

or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for 6 months preceding the month of application; the letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation
  • Assessment is based on the average gross monthly income.

Unemployed person (between 18 to 62 years old)
  • Valid Student Pass or letter from school/ college/ institute of learning to confirm student status, if currently a full-time student
  • If unemployed for less than 3 months, the following documents are required:
 

 

Income/ allowance that will be considered for income assessment

  • Allowances (fixed/ variable) received on a regular basis (e.g. allowances for food, transport, laundry, uniform, etc.)

  • Sustenance allowance

  • Stipend received on a regular basis for work conducted for the educational institute, during full-time studies
Income/ allowance that will not be considered for income assessment

  • Alimony allowance

  • Bonuses

  • Director's fee

  • Income from ad hoc overtime work

  • Interest from deposit accounts

  • National Service Allowance

  • Rental income

  • Scholarship overseas allowance

  • Overseas cost of living allowance

  • Pension

 

 

 

Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG)

First-timer flat buyers who qualify for the Family Grant may also benefit from the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of up to $80,000.

Amount

 $5,000 to $80,000

Assistance for
  • Lower to upper - middle income applicants who are eligible for the Family Grant
  • At least 1 of the applicants or spouse/ fiancé(e) must have worked continuously for the 12 months prior to the flat application and still be working at the point of the flat application

Grant Amount and Eligibility

Grant Amount

The EHG amount is based on the average gross monthly household income assessed over the months worked during the assessment period, i.e. a 12-month period prior to the date of your resale application (see example 1 below). The incomes of all working persons in the household (i.e. applicants and occupiers) are included in the assessment. Families with lower household incomes will receive a larger grant amount.

Average Monthly Household Income
EHG Amount
Not more than $1,500
$80,000
$1,501 to $2,000
$75,000
$2,001 to $2,500
$70,000
$2,501 to $3,000
$65,000
$3,001 to $3,500
$60,000
$3,501 to $4,000
$55,000
$4,001 to $4,500
$50,000
$4,501 to $5,000
$45,000
$5,001 to $5,500 $40,000
$5,501 to $6,000 $35,000
$6,001 to $6,500 $30,000
$6,501 to $7,000 $25,000
$7,001 to $7,500 $20,000
$7,501 to $8,000 $15,000
$8,001 to $8,500 $10,000
$8,501 to $9,000 $5,000

 

Eligibility

You must first qualify for a Family Grant before applying for the EHG. In addition, you must satisfy these conditions:
 
Employment

You or your spouse/ fiancé(e) must:

• Have worked continuously for the 12 months prior to the resale application
• Still be working at the time you submitted the resale application
Income Ceiling
Your average gross monthly household income for the months worked during the 12 months before your flat application must not exceed $9,000.

Remaining Lease of Flat 

20 years or more

Flat must have sufficient lease to cover the youngest buyer and spouse/ fiancé(e) to the age of 95 to qualify for the full EHG. Otherwise, the EHG will be pro-rated. 

You can get a flat lease’s details with our HDB Map Services

 

Income document guidelines

As eligibility for the EHG is based on 12 months of employment, these are the income guidelines when applying for this grant. Aside from these mentioned documents, we may also request other documents for verification, if needed.

Nature of Employment

Documents to Submit

Employed person
  • 12 months’ payslips preceding the flat application

Or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for 12 months preceding the flat application. The letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation

And

  • CPF Yearly Statement of Account for current year and the immediate past year
  • CPF statements  showing contributions for the 12 months preceding the flat application

Notes:

  • If you are employed full-time but on no-pay leave (e.g. full-time studies) for less than 6 months out of the 12 months in review, we will consider you as employed and take your last drawn full-time pay to assess your eligibility for the housing grant(s).
  • If you are employed full-time but on no-pay leave for 6 months or more out of the 12 months in review, your income will not be considered in the assessment.

Self-employed person

Or

  • Statement of Annual Accounts certified by an audit firm

And

Or

  • Valid licence of trade

Part-time worker/ Commission-based person
  • 12 months’ payslips/ commission statements preceding the flat application

Or

  • Letter from employer  certifying salaries for the 12 months preceding the flat application. The letter must contain the:
    • Company stamp/ letterhead
    • Certifying officer’s name, signature, and designation

And (for commission-based person)

  • CPF Yearly Statement of Account for current year and the immediate past year
  • CPF statements  showing contributions for the 12 months preceding the flat application

Odd job worker

And

  • Previous year’s NOA from IRAS

Full-time student receiving stipends
  • Letter from the education institute stating the period and nature of study (full or part-time)
  • Copy of signed contract between the applicant and the education institute stating the conditions of the stipend

Notes:

  • You will be considered as employed if you receive regular payment for work conducted for the educational institute as required, during your full-time studies. E.g. you conduct teaching/ research work for the educational institute, as required in the contract for the payments

  • You will not be considered as employed for all other work done during full-time studies.
Income/ allowance that will be considered for the income ceiling
  • Allowances (fixed/ variable) received on a regular basis, such as allowances for food, transport, laundry, uniform
  • Sustenance Allowance
  • Stipend received on a regular basis for work conducted for the educational institute, during full-time studies
Income/ allowance that is not considered for the income ceiling

  • Alimony allowance
  • Bonuses
  • Income from ad hoc overtime work
  • Interest from deposit accounts
  • National Service Allowance
  • Pension
  • Rental income
  • Scholarship overseas allowance
  • Overseas cost of living allowance
  • Director’s fee

 

Examples

Example 1

Mr and Mrs A (both SCs) are a first-timer couple. They submitted their resale application to buy a 4-room flat in Tampines in end September 2019, and they are eligible for the Family Grant.

Mr A has been working continuously since September 2018, and his average gross monthly income for the 12 months worked from September 2018 to August 2019 was $2,300.

Mrs A worked only in October to December 2018, and her average gross monthly income for the 3 months worked was $2,100.

Mr and Mrs A’s average gross monthly household income would be $4,400 and they would be given an EHG of $50,000.

Example 2

Mr and Mrs B (both SCs) are a first-timer couple. They submitted a resale application to buy a 5-room flat in Tampines in end September 2019, and they are eligible for the Family Grant.

Mr B was not working between September 2018 and July 2019. Nevertheless, he has been working since August 2019, drawing an average gross monthly income of $2,000.

Mrs B worked in December 2018 to February 2019 with an average gross monthly income of $1,800. However, she has not been working since March 2019.

Mr and Mrs B are not eligible for the EHG as none of them has worked continuously for a 12-month period prior to their resale application.

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