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Housing has always been a hot issue in Singapore. The policies that come with public housing are generally catered for married couples with the larger goal of encouraging growth of families and population, while keeping housing affordable. But with the evolving demographics, it seems that HDB has also continuously evaluated and updated their schemes to be more inclusive and well-rounded - and that has to include singles!
For singles who are hitting your big 35, you may start to feel more interested about having your own property asset and planning your financial milestones. Here is a beginner’s guide that may help you to understand the HDB Singles scheme in a simple way.
There are HDB Single Schemes for 35-year-olds and other schemes for older singles above 55 years old.
Am I “single”?
According to HDB, you are considered a “single” eligible to purchase a flat if you fulfill the below:
- Singapore citizen
- unmarried, widowed or divorced
- aged 35 and above
Do note that there are other schemes available for singles who are above 55 years old, and singles who are planning to buy a HDB flat with their parents. In this article, we will focus on singles who are above 35 and planning to purchase a HDB on their own.
A young woman viewing a resale HDB with a property agent.
Can singles buy HDB?
The short answer is yes. If you meet the criteria, you are eligible to buy a HDB. There are 2 schemes available for singles - Single and Joint Singles schemes.
The Single Scheme is for those who want to purchase the HDB flat on their own and physically reside in the flat during the minimum occupation period (MOP).
Joint Singles Scheme is for those who are buying a flat together with a maximum of 3 other singles.
What age can singles buy HDB?
Can singles below age 35 buy resale HDB? Unfortunately, no. In general, you have to be aged 35 and above to purchase a HDB flat under any schemes and whether it is a BTO or resale flat.
However, if you are 21 years old, widowed, or orphaned, you are also eligible to purchase resale HDB flats.
As a single, you get to apply for 2-Room Flexi BTO flats in all locations, and HDB resale flats of all sizes in all locations in Singapore. For obvious reasons, you cannot buy the multi-generation 3Gen HDB flats, lah!
What type of HDB can singles buy?
- Build-to-order (BTO): 2-room flexi in all locations
- Sale-of-balance (SBF): 2-room flexi in all locations
- Open booking: 2-room flexi in all locations
- Resale flat: Any types except 3Gen flats
There's a $7,000 monthly income ceiling for singles (above age 35) applying for 2-Room Flexi BTOs.
What are some exclusions or limitations?
If you are applying for a 2-room flexi flat with a 99-year lease, there is a maximum monthly income ceiling of $7,000. Which means - if you earn $7,001 every month in salary, you cannot buy 2-room flexi BTO flats. Oops!
You also must not own any local or overseas private residential property. If you own a private property, you need to get rid of it at least 30 months before applying for the HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. If you don’t plan to use any subsidies to fund your HDB resale purchase, you will have to dispose of your private property at least 15 months before the HFE letter application.
If you have ownership or interest (that means you co-own, are a beneficiary, or have a legal share) in any HDB flat, you must dispose of your share in the flat, within 6 months of completing your new flat purchase.
If you have never purchased a HDB flat with subsidies before, you are eligible to HDB grants as a single too!
What type of grants can singles buy HDB with?
If you are a first-timer, which means that you have never purchased a HDB flat with subsidies before, you are eligible to the following grants:
- Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) for Singles: Up to $60,000
- CPF Housing Grant for Resale Flats (Singles): $40,000 for 2-4-room, and $25,000 for 5-room
- Proximity Housing Grant (Singles): $10,000 to live near your parents (within 4km)
You can apply for a HDB loan to finance your new HDB purchase - your monthly income must not exceed S$7,000.
Can I apply for a HDB loan as a single?
Yes, you can apply for a HDB loan to finance your new HDB purchase. In order to fully understand the amount of HDB loan you are eligible for, you will have to apply for the HFE letter.
Some guidelines on HDB loan:
- Monthly income must not exceed S$7,000
- Must not have owned private property in the past 30 months
- Must not have taken more than one HDB housing loan previously
- Down payment is 25% of purchase price, which can be fully paid via your CPF OA account
- Loan-to-Value (LTV) up to 75% of the purchase price or valuation (whichever is lower)
- Interest rate fixed at 2.6% p.a.
- Tenure up to 25 years or until age 65, whichever is earlier.
- No lock-in period, allowing repayment or refinancing to a bank loan at any time
How to apply for a BTO as a single?
1. Check your eligibility
Check your eligibility to purchase your preferred HDB types - BTO, SBF, open booking or resale flat.
If you are considering to purchase a BTO, you should look out especially for:
- Monthly income ceiling: should not exceed $7,000
- If you own any private property, you should dispose of it at least 30 months before applying for a new flat
- Check the grants that you may be entitled to such as Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG), Singles Grant and Proximity Housing Grant if you plan to live near your parents
2. Explore the HDB flat portal
Based on your eligibility and budget, you can explore your options on the HDB flat portal. On the portal itself, you will be able to find information about the upcoming BTO launches, SBF exercises and open booking of flats including the project locations, size of the flats and pricing, which can significantly facilitate your decision-making process.
The next BTO exercise will be held in October 2025.
If you are interested in joining the October exercise, you are required to apply for an HFE letter and submit all required documents by 15 September 2025.
3. Apply for HFE letter
HFE (HDB Flat Eligibility) is compulsory for the application of any type of HDB flat. In the HFE letter, you will be able to see your eligibility for:
- Purchase of a HDB flat
- CPF housing grants
- HDB housing loan
If you are planning to apply for a new BTO or SBF, you will need the HFE letter before the application exercise. For purchase of a resale flat, the HFE letter is required before obtaining the Option to Purchase (OTP) and also before submitting the resale application.
The HFE letter is issued by HDB and can be done completely online with your Singpass login. View the step-by-step guide here.
4. Submit your application
After a sales exercise is announced, you can apply for a flat online at the HDB Flat Portal during the application period. Do note that a non-refundable administrative fee of $10 (inclusive of GST) per application is charged for your application. It is a fully online process including online payment via credit card or PayNow.
At the end of the application period, HDB will place all eligible applications through a computerised ballot to determine the queue order to book the flats. You will receive an email notification around 2 months after your application informing you of the results.
5. Book your flat
If your application is successful, you will be invited to book a flat based on your balloted queue number. HDB will notify you of your flat booking appointment about 2 weeks before the appointment date. You may then log in to My HDBPage to view the invitation package. The package will contain the flat list and the documents to bring along for the appointment.
Do note that at this point, you can still continue with the flat application even if the HFE letter has expired. There is also an option fee of $500 for the booking of a 2-room flexi during the appointment.
6. Sign the Agreement for Lease
After booking your flat, you will be invited to sign the Agreement for Lease within 9 months. If you booked a SBF, you will collect the keys and sign the Agreement for Lease at the same time. At this point, you must also pay the down payment, stamp duty and legal fees associated with this phase.
You may view the calculations here.
If you decide not to sign the Agreement for Lease and cancel your booking at this point, you will forfeit the payment of the Option Fee and will not be able to apply for any HDB flat including resale flats for 1 year.
7. Key Collection
When your flat is ready, you will be invited to collect the keys. During the key collection, you must pay in full the balance purchase price, stamp fees and legal fees using cash, CPF or housing loan.
You may view the calculations here.
At this point, if you decide not to collect the keys and cancel your flat, you will forfeit 5% of the purchase price and will not be able to apply for any HDB flat including resale flats for 1 year.
8. Check the conditions and guidelines for moving in
After key collection, you will become the flat owner and are liable for the conditions of ownership and payments. You should take note of the renovation guidelines and minimum occupation period before planning what to do next with your flat.