HDB Resale Procedures
Things To Note
1 BEFORE SELLING OR BUYING A RESALE FLAT
1.1 Sellers, please check whether:
(a) you have met the Minimum Occupation Period. You can get a confirmation from the HDB Branch by applying on-line at the HDB InfoWEB at www.hdb.gov.sg / e-Services / Selling a Flat / Request for Confirmation of Eligibility to Sell Your HDB Flat;
(b) you have an alternative home to move to;
(c) you have sufficient funds if you are buying another flat;
(d) you have any outstanding lease administration issues to be settled with the Branch;
(e) your flat is affected by any Upgrading/Estate Renewal Programme. If the upgrading works have been completed, you have to check when the bill will be served as this will determine the party liable to pay for the upgrading cost. You may check the schedule of billing dates for the completed precincts at the respective Branches or from HDB's website at www.hdb.gov.sg / Home / Residential / Living in an HDB Flat / SERS and Upgrading Programmes / Upgrading Programmes / Pay Upgrading Cost / Scheduled Billing Date and Statement of Account or use the e-Service ‘Enquire Status of HDB´s Upgrading/Estate Renewal Programmes’;
(f) you are selling to eligible buyers whose ethnic group is within the approved ethnic limits on the date of resale application and your buyers can comply with the Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) Quota Policy if they are SPRs;
1.2 Buyers, please check whether:
(a) you and your family are eligible to buy an HDB resale flat;
(b) you have sufficient funds (CPF, cash, housing loan) to buy a flat and you are aware of the restrictions on use of CPF and HDB loan if you are buying a flat where the age of the youngest buyer and the remaining lease of the flat is less than 95 years (Banks/financial institutions may also consider these when granting home loans);
(c) you are eligible for an HDB loan and have obtained an HDB Loan Eligibility (“HLE”) Letter or you need to get a bank loan and have obtained a Letter of Offer from a bank/financial institution;
(d) you are able to meet the requirements of the Ethnic Integration Policy and Singapore Permanent Resident Quota Policy on the date of resale application;
(e) the resale flat is affected by any Upgrading/Estate Renewal Programme and if so, understand whether it is the seller or the buyer who has to pay the upgrading cost when there is a resale of the flat;
(f) there is any recess area fronting the flat that you may buy;
(g) the sellers are selling the flat as owners or legal representatives (e.g. Attorneys, Administrators, Executors or Committees of Mentally Disordered Persons) and have met HDB’s requirements to sell the flat;
1.3 Sellers and buyers are advised to read and understand the Terms and Conditions of Sale and Purchase of an HDB Resale Flat before proceeding to sell or buy a resale flat.
2 HDB RESALE PORTAL
2.1 From 1 January 2018, all resale applications will be processed using the HDB Resale Portal, which is accessible via the HDB InfoWEB. To start, potential sellers must register an Intent to Sell and buyers an Intent to Buy in the HDB Resale Portal. They have to log in using their SingPass.
2.2 The HDB Resale Portal will integrate all the eligibility checks, provide the essential information to the sellers and buyers, and guide them through the process for the sale or purchase of the resale flat.
2.3 Sellers must register their Intent to Sell at least 7 days before granting an Option to Purchase to the buyers. Buyers must register their Intent to Buy before the sellers grant them the Option to Purchase.
3 HOUSING LOAN
3.1 Buyers who are eligible for and intend to obtain a housing loan from HDB must have a valid HDB Loan Eligibility Letter when the sellers grant them the Option to Purchase. It is advisable that they obtain the HDB Loan Eligibility Letter even before they look for a flat.
Option to Purchase granted before 1 January 2018
Buyers who are granted an Option to Purchase on or before 31 December 2017 (using the previous Option to Purchase form) must have a valid HDB Loan Eligibility Letter when they exercise the Option to Purchase.
3.2 Buyers who intend to take a bank loan must have a valid Letter of Offer from a bank/financial institution when they exercise the Option to Purchase.
3.3 Buyers who are not taking any loans are not required to obtain the HDB Loan Eligibility Letter or Letter of Offer but will have to indicate that they are financing the flat purchase fully with their CPF savings and/or cash when they submit their resale application to HDB.
3.4 Potential flat buyers can apply online for the HDB Loan Eligibility Letter via the HDB InfoWEB at www.hdb.gov.sg. They can also check their eligibility for an HDB loan at the enquiry counters in HDB Hub. The HDB Loan Eligibility Letter is valid for 6 months from the date of issue and must remain valid when the buyers submit the resale application.
4 OPTION TO PURCHASE
4.1 Sellers and buyers of resale flats must use the HDB prescribed Option to Purchase as the form of contract in resale transactions. No party is allowed to enter into any other agreement pertaining to the sale and purchase of the flat, as this would be null and void pursuant to the Housing and Development Act. No amendments may be made to the prescribed form.
4.2 Sellers and buyers (or their salespersons) can download the prescribed Option to Purchase form from the HDB InfoWEB (www.hdb.gov.sg). Each form has a unique Serial Number. Sellers and buyers must state the Serial Number of the Option to Purchase when they submit a resale application to HDB.
4.3 Sellers who are granting an Option to Purchase from 1 January 2018 must use the prescribed Option to Purchase in the format approved for use with effect from 1 January 2018. Any Option to Purchase granted on/after 1 January 2018 which is not in accordance with the prescribed format will be null and void.
4.4 Sellers and buyers must declare to HDB the true resale price of the flat. They shall not enter into any supplementary agreement or other agreements or arrangements that may cause the resale price as declared to be inflated or understated.
4.5 The prescribed Option Fee, Deposit and Option Period are given below:
Option Fee - An amount not exceeding $1,000
Deposit - An amount not exceeding $5,000
(Option Fee + Option Exercise Fee = Deposit)
Option Period - 21 calendar days (including Sat/Sun & public holidays) after the Option Date.
[E.g. If the sellers grant an Option to the buyers on 1 January 2018 (Monday), the Option will expire on 22 January 2018 (Monday). The Option expiry time is standardised at 4pm.]
4.6 The sellers and buyers will negotiate and agree on the resale price of the flat. The sellers will grant an Option to the buyers to purchase the resale flat at the agreed resale price. In exchange, the buyers pay an Option Fee to the sellers.
4.7 The seller’s offer is for a fixed period (“Option Period”) during which the sellers cannot sell the flat or make offers to other buyers.
4.8 To exercise the Option, the buyers must do the following before the expiry of the Option Period:
(a) sign the Acceptance in the Option to Purchase [Buyers who are getting a bank loan must ensure that the date of issue of the bank’s Letter of Offer is before the date of Acceptance],
(b) deliver the signed Option to Purchase to the sellers (or an authorised recipient by completing the Authorisation Form (Form A) provided in the Option to Purchase), and
(c) pay a sum called “Option Exercise Fee” to the sellers.
4.9 The Option Fee and Option Exercise Fee will form the “Deposit” for the purchase of the resale flat. The sellers and buyers must state an amount for the Option Fee as well as for the Option Exercise Fee. Neither the Option Fee nor the Option Exercise Fee can be $0. This is to ensure that there is a valid Option or contract.
4.10 Upon exercise of the Option to Purchase, the sellers and the buyers enter into a binding contract for the sale and purchase of the resale flat.
4.11 The Option to Purchase shall be witnessed by a third party, who is above the age of 21 years.
4.12 After the buyers have exercised the Option to Purchase, the sellers and buyers shall, within the timeframe they have agreed in the Option to Purchase, submit their respective portion of the resale application to HDB for processing.
5 REQUEST FOR VALUE OF FLAT
5.1 Buyers who are financing the purchase of the flat with CPF savings or a housing loan from HDB or bank/financial institution must submit a Request for Value to HDB to determine the value of the flat which forms the basis for their CPF usage and/or the reference for a housing loan from HDB or bank/financial institution, unless otherwise advised by a bank/financial institution.
5.2 Only buyers who have been granted an Option to Purchase shall submit a Request for Value. Buyers must (by themselves in the HDB Resale Portal or through their salesperson via the e-Resale System or Estate Agent Toolkit) submit the Request for Value by the next working day* after the Option Date. Scanned copies of page 1 of the Option to Purchase must be attached with the request. They will need to pay a non-refundable processing fee of $120 (including GST) to HDB. The payment will be via payment modes provided by the HDB Resale Portal/e-Resale System/Estate Agent Toolkit.
(*Monday to Friday, which is not a Public Holiday)
5.3 HDB will decide whether a valuation of the flat is required to determine the value of the flat. If HDB requires a valuation of the flat, HDB will assign any of the private valuation firms on HDB’s Panel of Valuers to conduct the valuation.
5.4 If the valuation of the flat is required by HDB, the sellers must, within three (3) working days* after the day the buyers submit the Request for Value, allow the HDB assigned valuer to enter and inspect the flat for the valuation.
5.5 The buyers can check the status of the Request for Value from the HDB Resale Portal. HDB will inform the buyers via email once the value of the flat is available in the HDB Resale Portal.
5.6 The value of the flat is only applicable to the Request for Value submitted for the specific Option to Purchase and is not valid for use in another resale transaction involving the buyers under a different Option to Purchase for the same flat or other buyers of the flat, for which a new Request for Value must be submitted.
5.7 The buyers of the flat as stated in the Option to Purchase, Request for Value and resale application must be the same.
5.8 The value of the flat will remain valid for a period of 3 months from the day it is made available in the HDB Resale Portal. If the buyers do not submit a resale application within the 3-month validity period, they will have to submit a new Request for Value. In this event, the housing loan amount to be granted by HDB or bank/financial institution and the use of CPF savings for the purchase of the flat will be based on the value of the flat determined via the new Request for Value.
Option to Purchase granted before 1 January 2018
From 1 January 2018, buyers who are granted an Option to Purchase on or before 31 December 2017 (using the previous Option to Purchase form) and have yet to submit a Valuation Request shall do so in the HDB Resale Portal according to the requirements as described in clause 4 of the previous Option to Purchase and comply with the terms and conditions for the Valuation Request. (Salespersons can submit the Valuation Request for their clients via the e-Resale System or Estate Agent Toolkit.)
These buyers shall pay the valuation and administrative fees of $156.45 (1-/2-room flats) or $226.00 (3-room and bigger flats). They will receive the valuation report via a posting in MyHDBPage in the HDB InfoWEB which they can access with SingPass.
6 PURCHASE OF RECESS AREA
6.1 If there is a recess area space fronting the flat available for sale, the buyers may request HDB to process the application to buy the recess area together with the resale application. The buyers have to contact the Branch Service Line at 1800-2255432, at least 2 weeks before submitting the resale application for information on the availability of the recess area for purchase. As the resale completion date may be affected/delayed, the seller’s consent will need to be obtained before HDB can process the 2 applications concurrently. In the absence of the seller’s consent, HDB will process the resale application without the purchase of the recess area.
7 RESALE APPLICATION
7.1 The sellers and buyers have to submit their respective portion of the resale application separately to HDB with attachment of the required documents via the HDB Resale Portal. Their salesperson (if any) can submit the application on their behalf via the e-Resale System or Estate Agent Toolkit.
7.2 The sellers and buyers will each have to pay an administrative fee (inclusive of GST) of $40 (1/2-room flats) or $80 (3-room and bigger flats). The payment will be via the payment modes provided in the HDB Resale Portal/e-Resale System/Estate Agent Toolkit.
7.3 Either the sellers or the buyers may submit their portion of the resale application first. The second party will have to do so within 7 days. If not, the submission by the first party will lapse and they have to re-start the process. The administrative fee paid is non-refundable.
7.4 The resale application will be considered as complete upon the submission by the second party. The date of resale application, which will be used to assess the seller’s and buyer’s eligibility to sell/buy the flat, will be the date of submission of the complete application by the second party,
7.5 Where the sellers and buyers are engaging their own solicitors to act for them in the resale, they have to provide the name and address of their solicitors in the resale application.
7.6 Where the sellers or buyers have given a Power of Attorney for the sale or purchase, a softcopy of the Power of Attorney must be attached with the resale application.
7.7 Sellers who are buying another resale flat concurrently and wishes to use the sale proceeds of the existing flat to pay for the second flat under the Enhanced Contra Facility must submit both applications for sale and purchase together. However, if they are obtaining a housing loan from a bank/financial Institution to purchase the second flat, they will not be eligible for the Enhanced Contra Facility.
7.8 Documents to be uploaded to support the resale application will vary according to the individual seller and buyer, and may include softcopies of the following:
(a) Identity Card - for identification of persons listed in the resale application.
(b) Birth Certificate - for proof of relationship between persons listed in the resale application.
(c) Passport (details and personal information page), Singapore Blue Identity Card, Entry/Re-Entry Permit, Employment/Residential Permit - for verification of residential status in Singapore.
(d) Marriage Certificate, Deed of Separation, Divorce Certificate, Decree Nisi/Interim Judgement, Decree Nisi Absolute/Certificate of Final Judgement, Death Certificate (whichever is applicable) - for verification of marital status of the persons listed in the Application Form.
(e) Grant of Probate/Letters of Administration with its Petition, Estates Duty Schedule and/or a copy of the Last Will (if applicable) - for proof of the right of representation or interest in an HDB flat/ private property by way of inheritance.
7.9 Buyers who are applying for a CPF Housing Grant shall upload the following documents of all persons listed in the resale application:
(a) Employed Persons - Past 3 months' payslips.
(b) Self-Employed/Part-Time Employment/Commission-Based Employment Persons – Past 12 months' payslips, latest Income Tax Notice of Assessment (if applicable) and ACRA electronic filing on business profile (if applicable).
(c) Unemployed Persons - Statutory declaration and past 3 months' payslips (if applicable).
[Those applying for the Additional CPF Housing Grant shall upload the payslips/statements of income/CPF statement of account showing the CPF contribution history (for employed persons) for the past 12 months or Income Tax Notice of Assessment/Statement of Annual Accounts certified by an audit firm (for self-employed persons)].
8 ACCEPTANCE OF RESALE APPLICATION
8.1 Sellers and buyers must provide the information and documents to process the resale application in the HDB Resale Portal/e-Resale System/Estate Agent Toolkit, and submit them in the manner and within the timeframe as required by HDB.
8.2 The acceptance of the resale application is subject to:-
(a) The sellers and the buyers satisfying the approved ethnic ratios and limits set for the Neighbourhood and Block under the Ethnic Integration Policy and the Singapore Permanent Resident Quota policy as at the date of submission of the resale application.
(b) HDB’s receipt and verification of the information (including consistency with any information provided by the sellers at the Intent to Sell and the buyers at the Intent to Buy) and documents submitted by the sellers and buyers that are required by HDB to process the resale application.
8.3 HDB will notify the sellers and buyers of the acceptance of the resale application via SMS/email, and post the application progress update in the HDB Resale Portal.
9 INSPECTION BY HDB BRANCH
9.1 A date will be fixed for the HDB Branch to inspect the resale flat. The sellers will be informed of the inspection date in HDB’s notification of the acceptance of the resale application. HDB’s approval of the resale will be withheld if the flat is not inspected by the HDB Branch.
9.2 The purpose of the inspection by the HDB Branch is to check for unauthorised renovation works in the resale flat which may damage the common property or other flats in the building and affect the structural stability of the building. The inspection is not to ascertain the value of the resale flat, the condition and safety of the renovation works or whether the renovation works comply with the requirements imposed by other competent authorities.
9.3 The sellers must regularise/remove any unauthorised renovation works found in the resale flat before completion of the resale transaction.
9.4 Notwithstanding clauses 9.2 and 9.3, the buyers are purchasing the flat on a caveat emptor basis. This means that it is the responsibility of the buyers to check the condition of the resale flat and verify that all renovation works carried out by the sellers are authorised and comply with the requirements imposed by HDB or other competent authorities. The buyers will also be responsible for any irregularity, including any unauthorised renovation works carried out by the sellers in the resale flat, which may subsequently be discovered. The buyers are advised to engage a Qualified Person (e.g. Building Surveyor), at their own expense, to help them in the checking.
10 ENDORSEMENT OF RESALE DOCUMENTS AND PAYMENTS
10.1 In processing a resale transaction with a housing loan from HDB, HDB will:
(a) assess the eligibility of the sellers and buyers;
(b) process the buyer’s application for withdrawal of CPF savings;
(c) determine the amount of housing loan to be granted based on the HDB Loan Eligibility Letter and HDB’s housing loan policies;
(d) calculate the amount of stamp/registration and conveyancing fees payable by the sellers and buyers;
(e) determine the final payment of the purchase price (if any) with Cashier’s Order or NETS by the buyers on completion of the resale;
(f) obtain the seller’s and buyer’s authorisation for HDB to act for them in the conveyancing (unless the sellers and buyers have engaged their own solicitors to act for them); and
(g) inform the sellers and buyers of the things they need to do to complete the resale transaction.
10.2 HDB will notify the sellers and buyers via SMS/email when the documents, which include financial calculations, forms and undertakings, are ready for endorsement, and post the progress update in the HDB Resale Portal.
10.3 The sellers and buyers must endorse in the HDB Resale Portal (or in any manner that HDB will decide) all the documents and make the necessary payments for the resale within the timeframe as requested by HDB.
10.4 The seller's spouse who is not an owner of the flat and the buyer's spouse who is listed as an occupier in the resale flat application must also endorse the spouse consent/acknowledgement form in the HDB Resale Portal, to acknowledge the sale and purchase of the resale flat. If the seller's or buyer's spouse is not in Singapore or is residing overseas, and unable to endorse the form in the HDB Resale Portal, he or she will be required to sign the spouse consent/acknowledgement form in the presence of a Notary Public.
10.5 Sellers or buyers who have given a Power of Attorney for the sale or purchase will endorse the documents in the HDB Resale Portal. Even with the Power of Attorney, the sellers or buyers (i.e. the Donors) are still required to personally endorse the application form for the sale or purchase and other declaration forms (or sign them if they are unable to access the HDB Resale Portal).
10.6 Where HDB is acting for the buyers, the following caveat fees (plus a title search fee of $10.40) will be payable by the buyers:
(a) $128.90 (if the buyers are taking a housing loan from HDB);
(b) $64.45 (if no HDB loan is granted).
10.7 Payments will be via the payment modes provided in the HDB Resale Portal. Sellers and buyers who are unable to do the payment in the HDB Resale Portal can print the payment advice and make the payment at HDB Hub, Toa Payoh, within 3 days of the notice to pay.
11 APPROVAL FOR RESALE
11.1 HDB may grant approval for the resale after:-
(a) verifying the information provided by the sellers and buyers,
(b) their endorsement of the required documents,
(c) the receipt of the necessary payments; and
(d) the performance of any other requirement by the seller and buyer as may be specified by HDB.
11.2 The approval letter will be posted in the HDB Resale Portal, and the sellers and buyers will be notified via SMS/email.
12 COMPLETION OF RESALE
12.1 A resale transaction takes about 8 weeks (from the date of HDB’s acceptance of the resale application) to complete. Both the sellers and buyers will be informed of the completion date in the completion letter, and to attend a completion appointment at HDB Hub.
12.2 Before completing the resale transaction,
(a) the sellers have to:
i) rectify/remove any unauthorised renovation works in the resale flat and confirm the rectification with the HDB Branch;
ii) terminate the GIRO account for all payments pertaining to the resale flat;
iii) ensure the property tax and service & conservancy charges are paid up to the effective date of resale;
iv) vacate the resale flat to ensure that vacant possession will be given to the buyers on completion; and
v) invite the buyers to inspect the resale flat.
(b) the buyers have to:
i) inspect the resale flat to check that vacant possession will be delivered by the sellers on completion; and
ii) pay the balance of the purchase price (if any) with Cashier’s Order or NETS.
12.3 Salespersons are required to make a statutory declaration in the prescribed Salesperson Statutory Declaration form in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths at the HDB Resale Office and submit it to HDB at the completion appointment.
12.4 On the day of completion of the resale at the Resale Office, the sellers and buyers shall submit the original Option to Purchase to HDB. The sellers have to produce evidence of payment of service and conservancy charges and property tax. The buyers have to produce the receipt for the final cash payment (if any). If the buyers have obtained a loan from HDB, he is to produce a valid Certificate of Insurance for a Mortgage Fire Insurance Policy on the resale flat issued by HDB’s appointed Insurer. Both the sellers and buyers will sign the legal instruments for the transfer of ownership, mortgage, the relevant forms and undertakings, and the sellers will hand over the keys of the flat to the buyers.
12.5 The net sale proceeds (if any) will be released to the sellers upon completion of the resale, and the CPF refund (if any) will be credited to the seller’s CPF account between 7 to 14 days from the date of completion.
12.6 For resale applications where private solicitors are acting for both the seller and the buyer, the solicitors will arrange for the resale completion and handover of keys at their own convenience and to inform HDB once the resale has been completed.
Words herein importing the singular number or the masculine gender shall include the plural number or the feminine gender.
CAUTION
It is an offence for any person to give HDB false information relating to the buying or selling of an HDB flat. Any person who gives false information shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.
HDB also reserves the right to debar any person who makes a false statement from buying a flat^, taking over ownership of a flat^ by way of transfer, being included as an essential occupier of a flat^ or taking up an HDB housing loan for a period of 5 years from the date of cancellation of the resale application or the date of approval to compulsorily acquire the flat. Any existing application registered in the HDB’s rental waiting list will also be cancelled.
(^includes a unit to be bought under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme or the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme)
HDB’S PRIVACY POLICY
HDB collects personal data from you to administer HDB's public housing programmes and services. We may share necessary data with other Government agencies, unless such sharing is prohibited by legislation. This is to enable us to serve you in the most convenient, efficient and effective way. We will NOT share your personal data with non-Government entities, except where such entities have been authorised to carry out specific Government services.
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