HDB Seller Guide
Unlike private property, HDB flats are governed by many ruling and policy. If you plan to sell your HDB flat, this is what you need to know and consider, for both your sale and the purchase of your next home.
HDB MINIMUM OCCUPATION PERIOD (MOP)
Login To Your MyHDB Page With Your SingPass. Under - My Flat, Proceed To Purchased Flat > Flat Details > Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) Or Add 5 Years To The Date Of Purchase Or Simply By Submitting An HDB Seller Intent To Check For Eligibility.
| PURCHASE MODE | MOP | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Flats purchased from HDB | 5 years | ||
| Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat bought from a developer | 5 years | ||
| Flat bought under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) | For SERS sites announced before 7 Apr 2022 - whichever is earlier: With portable rehousing benefits: For SERS sites announced on or after 7 Apr 2022 | ||
| Resale flat bought from the open market with or without CPF Housing Grant | 5 years | ||
| Flats bought under the Fresh Start Housing Scheme | 20 years | ||
| Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) flats | 10 years | ||
Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) & Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) Quota
Should the EIP and/or SPR quota to exceeded, you will not be able to sell your HDB flat to Ethnic and/or SPR as stated. Malaysians do not need to adhere to the SPR quota, since they have close cultural similarities with Singaporeans. To check Click here.
HDB's Upgrading/Estate Renewal Programmes
Flat owners need to check and alarm potential buyers on the upgrading fee involved prior to the transaction. As such cost even thou is heavily subsided by the government but not for Singapore Permanent Residents (SPR). Hence SPR cost for upgrading is much higher. To check Click here.
The 2 main upgradings are Lift Upgrading Programme (LUP) and Home Improvement Programme (HIP).
Sales Proceed Calculations
First, determine your selling price, you may check the past transaction prices for the HDB flats in your location to guide you in deciding your resale price. Click here.
Use the formula chart below to estimate your sale proceeds, and see how much of the cash proceeds you might need to use to finance your next purchase.
| Estimated Selling Price | - | Outstanding Loan | - | CPF used with accrued interest (Seller 1) | - | CPF used with accrued interest (Seller 2) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| = Estimated Sales Proceeds ($) |
Planning for your next flat accommodation and financial for purchasing
Before putting your current flat on the market for sale. Are you planning to buy or rent a place? This timeline will be directly affected by which property you buying or what mode of payment or mortgage loan you are taking up and hence consideration of temporary extension stays might be required. Temporary extension stays term and conditions. Read More.
If you are considering getting a second property without disposing the current flat, the mortgage loan and hefty stamp duty is an important consideration.
On your next purchase, you must check on your mortgage loan amount that you can get. Otherwise, you may be caught in a situation where the mortgage loan amount is not able to cover up to the amount you need.
For HDB loan, you can submit an application for the HDB housing loan. It be valid for 6 months and it will state the amount that you can loan base on your income and other conditions. HLE Application Click Here.
For Bank loan, approach a bank/banker and seek for an Approval In Principle (AIP) loan amount.
| HDB | BANK | |
|---|---|---|
| Interest Rate | 2.6% | 2.7% - 3.8% (subject to fixed or floating SIBOR) |
| Income Ceiling | Monthly household Income must not exceed $7,000 (singles) $14,000 (families) | Subject to Bank |
| Maximum Loan Amount | Up to 80% of the value or price, whichever is lower | Up to 75% of the purchase price |
| Downpayment | Up to 20% (CPF or Cash) | Up to 25% (5% Cash, 20% Cash or CPF) |
| Early Repayment Penalty | No Penalty | Various with Bank |
| Late Repayment | 7.5% per annum | Various with Bank |
| In-Principle Approval (IPA) for Loan Amount | HDB Loan Eligibility (HLE) Application (14 days) Click here | In-Principle Approval (IPA) apply from bank and valid for 30 days |
| Place Deposit to obtain OTP | After HLE ready | Before Loan ready |
Costs and fees that you may need to pay
Resale application administrative fees
Legal fees
Seller's Stamp Duty
Property tax
Service & Conservancy Charges
Professional Agent Fee
Seller stamp duty
| HOLDING PERIOD | RATE ON AND AFTER 11 MAR 2017 | |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1 year | 12 % | |
| More than 1 year and up to 2 years | 8 % | |
| More than 2 years and up to 3 years | 4 % | |
| More than 3 years | NO SSD Payable | |
| *SSD payable to be rounded down to the nearest dollar. | ||
Submitting HDB Seller Intent via HDB Resale Portal
After registering seller intent, you will be able to confirm your eligibility to sell. Click here.
The whole resale process, takes approximately 8 weeks to complete from the date of HDB's acceptance of the resale application.
Bankruptcy or Divorce
Bankruptcy
Consent of the Official Assignee is not required in the event that the bankruptcy flat owners wish to sell the flat as long as any of the HDB flat owners is a Singapore Citizen.
However, if all the owners of your HDB flat are not Singaporean Citizens, consent of the Official Assignee is required.
Divorce
If you go through a divorce after meeting the MOP, you can sell the flat if all eligibility conditions are met.
You need to produce the following documents:
Writ for Judicial Separation (previously known as Deed of Separation); or
Interim Judgment (previously known as Decree Nisi) and Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final (previously known as Decree Nisi Absolute); or
Divorce Certificate (for Muslims); and
Order of Court (if any).
HDB Seller Intent
To start your journey of selling your flat, you will need to register an Intent to Sell by logging into the HDB Resale Portal using your Singpass. Upon registering an Intent to Sell, you will be informed of when you can grant an Option to Purchase (OTP). There is no fee payable. Click here.
The resale portal includes the following steps:
Register Intent to Sell
Submit Resale Application
Acknowledge Resale Documents
Pay Fees (Online Payment)
Approval of Resale
Completion of Resale
The Intent to Sell is valid for 12 months. It must be valid when you grant the OTP to the buyer(s).
ensure that the information provided is accurate when registering your Intent to sell.
After registering an Intent to Sell, you are required to wait out a 7-day cooling-off period before granting the OTP to the buyers.
Option to Purchase (OTP)
You and the buyers have to negotiate and agree on the resale price of the flat. Upon the terms and conditions being accepted by both parties, both sellers and buyers must use the HDB-prescribed OTP (10 pages) in the transaction. You can download a copy of the HDB-prescribed OTP form, and each form has a unique serial number. Download here.
The Option period is 21 calendar days (including Saturdays, Sundays, and Public Holidays), from the date of granting the OTP. It expires at 4pm on the 21st calendar day.
When the buyers exercise the OTP, the buyers will need to pay the option exercise fee as stated on page 2 and all buyers must sign the "Acceptance" on page 8 with a witness. The deposit, including the Option Fee previously paid, must not exceed $5,000 in total. This amount of deposit is negotiable.
If the buyers do not wish to proceed to exercise the OTP, you will need to wait for the Option Expiry Date to lapse and buyers will forfeit the Option Fee.
HDB Submission
After the buyers have exercised the Option, Both Parties Submit Their Respective Portions Of The Resale Application To HDB Via The HDB Resale Portal within 7 days of each other within the previously agreed number of days on page 4 of the OTP.
You Will Each Pay An Administrative Fee (Inclusive Of GST) Of $40 (1 And 2-Room) Or $80 (3-Room And Bigger).
During the submission, all information provided must be accurate as per the OTP such as;
Details of OTP (i.e. OTP Serial No., Option Grant/Exercise Date, Purchase price, Option Fee/Option Exercise Fee = Total Deposit)
Buyers’ particulars
Sellers’ particulars
Indicate whether you have an existing loan with HDB/ Financial Institution (FI)
Declarations regarding your purchase
After the resale application submission, HDB will arrange for Technical Executives from the HDB Branch to inspect your flat for unauthorised renovation works in the flat that may damage HDB property and affect the structural stability of the flats/building.
Upon receipt of the resale application, HDB will verify and assess the eligibility of the buyer and the seller. If the application is in order, HDB will notify of the acceptance of the application via SMS/ email on average within 2-3 weeks.
The whole resale process takes approximately 8 weeks to complete from the date of HDB's acceptance of the resale application.
You and the buyers may request a later Resale Completion date with a consensus given by both parties, via EFeedbacks@HDB.
HDB Completion what to expect from the seller?
The client will attend only ONE resale appointment at HDB. HDB will notify you via SMS of the actual date and time of your resale completion once it is scheduled. You can also check the appointment details from the HDB Resale Portal.
If you have engaged private solicitors, your solicitor representative will attend the resale completion appointment on your behalf. Or If you are unable to attend the resale completion personally, e.g. you are overseas, you can prepare a Power of Attorney.
Things to do before completion
Rectify any unauthorised renovation work.
Terminate any GIRO arrangements for all payments pertaining to the flat.
Make payments of Service and conservancy charges up to the day of resale completion.
Settle Property tax up to the end of the year.
Vacate the flat and invite the buyers to inspect the flat.
During completion
The signing of the transfer document and mortgage document.
The handing over of the keys to buyer (If you have discussed and agreed with buyer for temporary extension of stay (up to 3 months), the keys and handover of unit will be private settlement).
You will receive your cheque for the net sale proceeds (if any), for HDB act.
CPF refund to your CPF account within 7-14 working days from the date of the completion appointment.
If you have engaged a private solicitor to act for you, your solicitors will be responsible for effecting the refund of the CPF monies to your CPF account and collect cheque for the net sale proceeds (if any).
Temporary Extension of Stay for sellers
This temporary extension of stay is regarded as a private arrangement between the flat sellers and buyers, HDB will not mediate if there is any dispute. Both parties may sign a private agreement on the terms of the extension of stay.
To be eligible for the temporary extension, you must:
Have committed to buy a completed property (HDB flat or private residential property) at the time of the resale application, and are required to submit an exercised Option To Purchase or signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement
Not be renting out the whole flat at the time of resale application
Be the contra party if the transactions are under the Enhanced Contra Facility
An administrative fee of $20 (inclusive of GST) is payable by the flat buyers, the future owners of the flat agreeing to the extension.
Read more on the Terms & Conditions for Temporary Extension of Stay by flat sellers. Click here.
