Purchase of Second Property for HDB Flat and Private Property Owners

Mr Zainal Sapari asked the Minister for National Development what is the rationale for allowing eligible HDB flat owners to purchase a private property without having to sell their current HDB flat but not allowing private home owners to buy a HDB flat from the open market without them selling their private property within six months.

Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats are meant for owner-occupation. To reinforce this principle, HDB flat owners are not allowed to buy a private residential property during the initial five-year minimum occupation period (MOP).

Likewise, private residential property owners who choose to buy a resale flat are also subject to the same MOP condition. Hence, they cannot own a private property during the five-year MOP and are required to dispose of their private property within six months from the date of the resale flat purchase. This also dampens the demand for resale flats from buyers with no urgent need of housing.

Both HDB flat and private property owners are thus treated the same. They are not allowed to own a private residential property during the five-year MOP of the HDB flat. Conversely, after fulfilling the five-year MOP, all HDB flat owners, including those who had previously owned private properties, are allowed to buy a private property.