Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on disincentivising HDB owners to sell their flat if they wish to purchase private property

Oct 20, 2022

Mr Yip Hon Weng: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider disincentivising or requiring HDB owners to sell their flat if they wish to purchase private property, and to do likewise for private property owners who want to buy a HDB flat.

Answer:

HDB flats are meant for owner-occupation. To reinforce this principle, HDB flat owners are not allowed to concurrently own any private property during the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of five years or more for their flat.

2        Nevertheless, HDB recognises that the financial position of HDB flat owners may improve over time, and some may aspire to own private residential property.  Hence, HDB flat owners are allowed to buy private residential property after meeting the MOP without selling their HDB flat. Those who do not dispose of their HDB flat will be subject to Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty of at least 17% on the purchase of their second and subsequent residential property.

3        Currently, private property owners (PPOs) who want to buy an HDB flat are already required to dispose of their property before buying an HDB flat. This is to prioritise our limited supply of public housing for home seekers who do not own other properties. PPOs must wait out 30 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a new flat from the HDB or resale flat with the CPF Housing Grant. From 30 Sep 2022, PPOs must wait out 15 months from the disposal of their property before they buy a non-subsidised resale flat. This is a temporary measure to moderate demand for HDB resale flats.

4        The Government will continue to monitor the housing market conditions closely to ensure that Singaporeans have access to affordable public housing.