Executive Condominium
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Prior consent must be obtained from the Official Assignee (OA) or the private trustee if you are applying to buy an EC. You do not need to seek prior consent from the OA or the private trustee to be listed as an occupier.
First-timer Applicant
First-timers enjoy privileges and priority in flat allocation.
Yours will be treated as a first-timer application if you and any of the other listed owners and essential occupiers meet the following criteria:
- Not the owner of a flat bought from HDB, or an EC/ DBSS flat bought from a developer
- Not sold a flat bought from HDB, or an EC/ DBSS flat bought from a developer
- Not received any CPF Housing Grant for the purchase of an HDB resale flat
- Not taken any form of housing subsidy (e.g. benefitted under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS) or HUDC estate privatisation)
If you are a second-timer and your spouse/ spouse-to-be is a first-timer, you will be glad to know that you and your spouse/ spouse-to-be will enjoy first-timer privileges and priority as a couple.
Second-timer Applicant
You will be treated as a second-timer application if any of the following applies to you or any of the other listed owners and essential occupiers:
Have owned or sold any of the following:
- HDB flat bought from HDB
- Resale flat bought using a CPF Housing Grant
- EC/ DBSS flat bought from the developer
Or have taken some form of housing subsidy (e.g. benefitted under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), HUDC estate privatisation)
Yes. There are instances where you may need to wait out a time period before you can apply or be listed in the application for a new EC.
This usually happens when someone:
- Has not met the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of a current flat/ EC unit
- Has previously cancelled an HDB flat application or terminated the Sale and Purchase Agreement for a DBSS flat/ EC
MOP requirements: current owner/ essential occupier of a flat or an EC unit
Before applying for the new EC unit, you need to check if you or any other flat applicant(s)/ essential occupier(s) to be listed in the EC application own any of these:
- HDB flat bought from HDB or on the open market
- EC unit/ DBSS flat bought from the developer
If so, that person must have already met that flat/ EC’s 5-year MOP before he can apply for a new EC unit. An essential occupier must also have met the flat/ EC's 5-year MOP before he can be listed in a new EC application.
In the case of ECs, you must also wait out a 30-month period from the EC’s effective date of disposal, which we will verify using your Notice of Transfer, or any other such documentation we may require.
Type of Property | Time period before you can apply for a New EC unit |
| MOP of 5 years |
| MOP of 5 years + 30 months from date of EC disposal |
Cancelled an HDB flat application after booking a flat
If you booked a new HDB flat and subsequently cancel your booking, you must wait out a 1-year period from the date of the cancellation before you can apply or be listed as an essential occupier of a:
- New HDB flat
- DBSS flat/ EC bought from a developer
- Resale flat bought using a CPF Housing Grant
- Resale flat announced for SERS
Terminated the Sale and Purchase Agreement for an EC/ DBSS flat
If you had previously bought a DBSS flat/ EC using a CPF Housing Grant and subsequently terminated the Sale and Purchase Agreement, you must wait out a 5-year period from the date of the termination before you can apply or be listed as an essential occupier of an EC.
Updated : May 2021
No, you may not. For an EC flat application, all the listed owners and essential occupiers must not own, dispose, or have an estate or interest in any other local or overseas property:
- Within 30 months before the date of the EC application, and up to the date of taking possession of the EC
The properties considered in this instance include but are not limited to:
- Privatised HUDC flats
- Properties acquired by gift
- Properties inherited as beneficiaries under a will or as a result of the Intestate Succession Act
- Private property
- Properties owned, acquired, or disposed through nominees, regardless of properties’ location
Yes, provided that you only own/ owned 1 of the following units prior to your application:
- Flat bought from HDB
- EC/ DBSS flat bought from the developer
- HDB resale flat bought using a CPF Housing Grant (only applies to first-timer applicants)
In essence, an eligible Singapore Citizen is allowed to buy the above properties twice in total, not twice per type of property.
If you have already bought 2 such properties, you will not be eligible to apply for an EC or be listed as an essential occupier in an application.
No. If you and your fiancé or fiancée wish to buy an EC unit, please approach the developer after the divorce is finalised.
That is after you have obtained the Certificate of Making Decree Nisi Absolute / Certificate of Final Judgment / Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final / Certificate of Divorce from the Syariah Court.
Yes, you must pay the amount owed to HDB (with interest if this applies) before you may apply for a subsidised flat, which includes an DBSS flat or EC unit from property developer. You can make the payment at your HDB Branch and show proof of payment to the developer when you book an EC unit.
Yes. If you have not booked a flat with HDB, you can apply and book an EC unit with the developer. HDB will cancel your flat application after you have booked an EC unit.
If you have booked a flat and decide to cancel the booking, you will not be eligible to apply for an EC unit within one year after the cancellation.
If you are eligible and you choose to give up your EC unit before you execute the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P), the developer will impose a forfeiture of 25% of the booking fee as provided in the Option To Purchase (OTP).
If you decide not to exercise the Option To Purchase (OTP) for the other EC unit you had booked earlier, you must inform the other developer of your decision and cancel your booking, before you can buy an EC unit in this project. Part of your booking fees will be forfeited by the other developer in accordance with the earlier Option To Purchase (OTP).
If you have signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) for another EC unit, you must check with the other developer on whether you can still buy another EC unit.
Please note that the developer can impose a forfeiture of 5% of the purchase price upon termination of the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) and may take other actions as set out in that Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P).
Under the Fiancé/Fiancée Scheme, you must produce your marriage certificate for the developer's verification (for further details on the scheme, please refer to the EC terms and conditions). If at any point in time, there is a break-up in the fiancé and fiancée relationship, you will become ineligible to continue with your EC purchase. In this situation, the developer can terminate your Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) and impose a forfeiture amounting to 5% of the purchase price.
If you have received a CPF Housing Grant for your purchase, you and your fiancé or fiancée will have to return the CPF Housing Grant together with accrued interest. If the full amount cannot be recovered at that juncture, the outstanding amount will be treated as a debt owed by you and your fiancé or fiancée to the Government. Both of you will also not be eligible to rent or buy or take over the ownership of an HDB flat, or EC unit until you have paid up this debt in full (with interest).
For more details, please approach the developer to help you further.
If your Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P) with the developer is terminated in accordance with the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P)(for example, because you have ceased to be eligible to continue with the purchase of the EC unit), the developer will impose a financial forfeiture amounting to 5% of the purchase price of the EC unit. Please also check with your solicitor on other expenses related to the termination.
It is therefore very important for you to ensure that you remain eligible to buy the EC unit before and after you sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P). You must remain eligible from application to the expiry of the 5-year minimum occupation period of the EC unit.
For more details, please approach the developer to help you further.
You must pay an option fee (equivalent to 5% of the purchase price) in cheque or Cashier's Order or by telegraphic transfer/Fast and Secure Transfers/MAS Electronic Payment System/General Interbank Recurring Order upon booking of an EC unit. You must also pay the balance 15% of the purchase price according to the timeframe as stated in your Option To Purchase (OTP). The CPF Housing Grant given to eligible buyers may be used for this balance downpayment.
The developer may offer a Normal Payment Scheme (NPS) or a Deferred Payment Scheme (DPS) in the sale of EC units. Please check with the developer for details about the payment schedule that applies for your EC purchase.
Other payments include legal fees payable to your solicitor and stamp fees and registration fees on the legal documents for the transaction. Please check with your bank or solicitor for more information on financing matters.
Yes. NPS refers to the payment schedule set out in the standard Sale and Purchase Agreement. DPS is a payment scheme where a developer allows buyers to pay in a manner other than the standard payment. If you have opted for DPS, this may affect the purchase price of your EC unit. Please check with the developer for more details.
Yes. Only buyers can use their CPF savings to pay for their EC unit. The occupiers listed in the application are not allowed to do so.
The CPF usage for the EC is subject to applicable limits, which will be determined based on the detailed information regarding the purchase. The CPF Housing Grant will be treated as part of the buyers' CPF savings and will be included in the computation of the applicable limits on the total amount of CPF savings that can be used for the EC purchase.
For more information on the use of CPF savings for property purchase, please visit CPF Board's website at www.cpf.gov.sg/propertyusage
HDB does not grant housing loans for EC purchases. Similar to private property buyers, EC buyers have to arrange for their own mortgage financing from financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
Please check that you are able to take a home loan from a financial institution before you apply to buy an EC unit.
You must complete and sign the application form for CPF Housing Grant and submit to the developer when you book an EC unit. The supporting documents (for example, income documents and marriage certificate) that are required can be found in the procedures and terms and conditions enclosed in the EC brochure, as well as the application form for CPF Housing Grant. You can get the application form for CPF Housing Grant from the developer.
If you did not bring any of the supporting documents, you have to submit the outstanding ones to the developer within one week from the date of booking. If the complete set of documents is not received within the one-week deadline, you will not be considered for the CPF Housing Grant.
If your housing grant application is successful and you have booked an EC unit, you must complete and submit the application to use your CPF savings (through your solicitor) to CPF Board for processing.
This will enable you to use your CPF savings and/or the CPF Housing Grant towards the payment for your EC unit.
However, if the developer has served the Notice to take Vacant Possession, you will not be eligible for the CPF Housing Grant.
The CPF Housing Grant will be disbursed to eligible core applicant(s) and core occupier (s), who are Singapore citizens or Singapore Permanent Residents, who are tagged for housing subsidy enjoyment. The core family nucleus tagged for housing subsidy enjoyment is defined as the core EC buyers and core occupiers who are needed to qualify for the EC purchase under an existing eligibility scheme.
Updated: June 2023
The first 5% of the purchase price of your EC unit must be paid by Cashier's Order or cheque or by telegraphic transfer/Fast and Secure Transfers/MAS Electronic Payment System/General Interbank Recurring Order.
You can use the CPF Housing Grant to pay for the remaining downpayment (in other words, 15% of the purchase price) after you have signed the Sale and Purchase Agreement (S&P).
Please note that the CPF Housing Grant, if disbursed to core occupier(s) in your EC application, will not be able to use the CPF Housing Grant and/or savings in his/her OA for EC purchase, servicing of the housing loan, and any purchase-related payments.
To ensure that the CPF Housing Grant is available for your use, please submit all the documents to the developer within one week after booking an EC unit. Please also complete and submit the application to use your CPF savings (through your solicitor) to CPF Board for processing immediately upon your booking of an EC unit.
Updated: June 2023
You must return the CPF Housing Grant with accrued interest to the Government if you do not proceed with the purchase of the EC unit.
Please refer to the CPF Housing Grant Form application form for more details. If you need more information, please check with the developer.
Yes. You will be eligible for the CPF Housing Grant if you meet the conditions for the grant and the developer has not served the Notice of Vacant Possession on you.
No. When you dispose of your EC unit, you must refund all the CPF savings, used with accrued interest, including the CPF Housing Grant which had been withdrawn for the purchase of the EC unit, to Your CPF account. You may then use the CPF savings returned to your CPF account for the next property purchase.
These grants are not applicable to the purchase of an EC unit.
Yes. Second-timer applicants and occupiers in the core family nucleus who had previously enjoyed a housing subsidy are required to pay any premium and resale levy due to HDB before they can take possession of the EC unit from the developer.
You are given up to six months from the date of taking possession of the EC unit to sell your existing HDB flat. The resale levy will be deducted from the cash proceeds upon completion of the HDB flat resale transaction. Any shortfall will have to be made good in cash.
The resale levy you have to pay will depend on the type of subsidised flat you own.
After you have waited out 30 months from the sale of the EC unit and if you are eligible to buy a second subsidised flat, you must pay a resale levy of $55,000. This levy has to be paid via Cashier's Order (in favour of "HDB") in one lump sum before you can collect the keys to the second subsidised flat.
No. You will not be able to proceed as payment of the 20% premium or resale levy is one of the eligibility conditions for the EC purchase.
Owners are not allowed to dispose of their EC unit before the expiry of the five-year minimum occupation (MOP) period as it will be an infringement of the ECHS Act.
If an owner infringes the ECHS Act or its relevant regulations, his EC unit may be compulsorily acquired. The compensation payable to the owner will be in accordance with the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme (Compensation & Order of Priority) Regulations.
EC owners may rent out bedrooms subject to all the terms and conditions stated in HDB InfoWEB.
While no prior approval is required from the HDB, the EC owner must register the renting out of bedrooms with HDB within seven days of doing so. They must also notify HDB when they renew or terminate the renting out of bedrooms, or when there are changes to the tenants' details.
EC developers market sell dual-key EC units as one entity under one strata-title to enable multi-generation families to live together and provide mutual care and support to each other. This is particularly important given Singapore's ageing population. At the same time, the dual-key EC unit has the advantage of allowing such families to enjoy the
privacy of separate living spaces.
The multi-generation families must live in the dual-key C units for five years from the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) of the EC development. EC owners who wish to rent out bedrooms must comply with HDB's terms and conditions for renting out.
You can read more about the terms and conditions at the HDB InfoWEB. You must register the renting
out of bedrooms with HDB within seven days of doing so.
No. You cannot buy or invest in private property in Singapore or overseas from the time of your EC application to the expiry of the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP).
The MOP is computed from the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) date of the EC development. You may buy a private property in Singapore or overseas only after the expiry of the five-year MOP.
You may sell your EC unit in the open market to Singapore citizens or Singapore permanent residents after the five-year minimum occupation (MOP) period which starts from the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) date of the EC development. However, you can sell it to any persons after 10 years from the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) date.
CONTACTS
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Your Real Estate Partner
Elson Chua
(65) 8182 1832
R014878H