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June 28, 2023
Other Miscellaneous Questions here.
Welcome to the miscellaneous section where all the other important questions gathered.
Click on the FAQ below to find out more
If you engage a property agency to represent you, you should check that the property agency and agent are licensed and registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA). Note that property agents are not allowed to offer you any benefit, in cash or kind, to induce you to engage their services. Visit the CEA website for more information on engaging a property agent and the role of an agent in a property transaction.
Sellers and buyers are contractually bound to complete the sale and purchase once the Option to Purchase is exercised. If either party breaches the terms of the agreement, the other party will be entitled to enforce the terms of the Option for specific performance, damages and/or any other remedy.
If there is any dispute, the buyers and sellers may wish to consult a private solicitor on the rights and remedies in the matter. For such an instance, the buyers and sellers need to negotiate among themselves if there is a dispute or consult their own solicitors.
Alternatively, the buyers and sellers may wish to consider settling the dispute through mediation at the Singapore Mediation Centre. They can call them for assistance on the procedures and charges at 63324366.
This will depend on whether you belong to a Singapore Citizen household or a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) household.
For Singapore Citizen households, their HDB flat does not vest in the Official Assignee (OA) or the private trustee in the event of bankruptcy of any or all of the flat owners. The OA or the private trustee does not require bankrupt flat owners who belong to Singapore Citizen households to get prior consent before they sell their flat.
A bankrupt flat owner of an SPR household will however be required to obtain a Letter of Consent from the OA or the private trustee before they can sell their flat. The letter of consent must be obtained prior to granting the Option to Purchase to prospective flat buyers.
More information on Enquiry on cases where flat owner is an undischarged bankrupt.
What if I am an undischarged bankrupt?
Prior consent must be obtained from the Official Assignee (OA) or the private trustee, if you are applying to buy an HDB flat that is bigger than a 5-room flat or a 3Gen-flat. From 1 February 2016 onwards, prior consent is also required to buy any flat type with a net purchase price of $500,000 or above, after taking into account any HDB subsidies or levy.
You do not need to seek prior consent from the OA or the private trustee to be listed as an occupier of a flat.
If you do not have a SingPass or have forgotten your SingPass, you can submit a request for a new SingPass. Visit SingPass website for more information.
Yes. But you may have to engage your own private solicitor to act for you in the conveyancing for the sale of the flat.
More information on Enquiry on cases where flat owner is divorced.
You must produce the following documents:
i. Death Certificate (original and 3 photocopies)
ii. Grant of Letters of Administration/Probate (if applicable)
iii. The Last Will/Inheritance Certificate (if applicable)
iv. Court Order to sanction the sale (if applicable)
In short, yes. You can inherit it, but you would have to sell your interest in one of the two HDBs. This is because anyone can own only one HDB flat at a time. You are considered an owner of an HDB flat whether you have full or partial ownership in the HDB. You have 2 options here – you either keep the inherited HDB or you keep your existing HDB.
Keeping the inherited HDB
If you decide to keep the inherited HDB, you will have to sell your existing HDB flat (subject to the eligibility conditions for sale, such as the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)) within 6 months of taking ownership of the HDB flat you have inherited.
Keeping your existing HDB
If you decide to hold on to your existing HDB and not the inherited one, you would need to sell your inherited HDB within 6 months of taking ownership, either to other beneficiaries such as your siblings or in the open market.
This only applies if the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) for the inherited HDB flat has been met. However, if the inherited HDB flat has yet to meet its MOP, you need to approach HDB for assistance.
Whether a private property owner can inherit an HDB or not depends on when the original owner purchased the HDB flat. If the HDB flat was purchased before 30th August 2010, then you can keep both the properties – the private residential property and the inherited HDB. If the HDB flat was originally purchased on or after 30th August 2010, then you would have to sell one of the two properties.
Inherited HDB flat was purchased before 30th August 2010
In this case, you can keep both the properties. However, the following conditions apply:
If you are eligible to own an HDB flat
You have to meet the eligibility conditions, such as the citizenship and family nucleus, to own the inherited HDB flat. If you meet them, you and your family will have to live in the HDB flat, if you have decided to transfer the ownership of the inherited HDB flat to yourself.
If you are ineligible to own an HDB flat
In the scenario where you are ineligible to own an HDB flat, you have two options:
- If the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) of the inherited HDB has been met, you can sell the flat in the open market.
- If the MOP has not yet been met, you should approach HDB for help and they will assess and see how best they can help.
Inherited HDB flat was purchased on or after 30th August 2010
Given that you own a private property, if the HDB you inherited was purchased on or after 30th August 2010 by the owner, you can only keep one property – either the HDB flat (provided you’re eligible to own one) or the private property.
Keep the HDB flat
If you have decided to keep the inherited HDB flat, you must sell your private property within 6 months and you must also live in the HDB.
Keep the Private Property
If you have decided to keep your private property such as your condo, you must sell the HDB flat if it has completed its MOP, within 6 months. If it has not yet completed MOP, get in touch with an HDB officer and they will assist in your exceptional case.
Yes, you can inherit an HDB flat if you own a commercial property, provided that the commercial property does not have any residential component.
No, you do not have to pay any Property Inheritance Tax if the owner died on or after 15th Feb 2008.