Written Answer by Ministry of National Development on listing children as occupiers in a HDB flat application after divorce

Nov 20, 2018

Mr Louis Ng Kok Kwang: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider waiving the requirement for ex-spousal consent on who can list the children as occupiers in a HDB flat application if the ex-spouse has already purchased a private property or a HDB flat following the divorce.

Answer:

Parents with shared care and control have equal right to list their children in their flat application.  Hence, the requirement for one parent to obtain agreement from the other is in place because we respect the right of each parent to purchase a HDB flat with their children.

While we encourage parents to resolve matters in the best interest of their children, we understand the concern that reaching mutual agreement might be difficult in some divorces.  In such situations, HDB adopts a needs-based approach and exercises flexibility on a case by case basis.  In particular, if the ex-spouse has purchased another property, we will indeed take that into consideration in our assessment of the case.