Private property owners who do not currently own a HDB flat may wish to sell their private condominium, apartments or landed properties and move to a HDB flat for a wide variety of reasons:
- children have achieved independence with homes and families of their own
- lock in the value of their private property and use the excess value (after HDB purchase) as part of their retirement savings
- eliminate high ownership costs for their property in terms of maintenance, MCST fees (where applicable) and property taxes
- move to a smaller HDB flat which could be easier to manage (compared to a landed property for example)
- gain easier access to amenities like healthcare, social activities and conveniences usually found in HDB estates
The list above is definitely not exhaustive.
If you own private property and is considering moving to a HDB flat, do take note of the conditions that apply when making such a move, especially in terms of the wait out period after sale of private property before you can apply for a new BTO flat from HDB or purchase a resale HDB flat from the open market.
Summarised below are the options and conditions that apply with regards to such a move, and the applicable one largely depends on your age and the type of BTO flat you are applying for or the type of resale HDB flat you are purchasing.
HDB Options for Private Property Owners
| Age Group | |||
| Option | Non-Seniors | Seniors 55 & Above | Seniors 65 & Above |
| BTO for 2 Room Flexi (Short lease) | N.A. | Dispose Within 6 months | Dispose Within 6 months |
| BTO for Community Care Apartments (CCA) | N.A. | N.A. | Dispose Within 6 months |
| BTO for 2 Room Flexi (99 years lease) | Wait out 30 months | Wait out 30 months | Wait out 30 months |
| BTO for Others (99 years lease) | Wait out 30 months | Wait out 30 months | Wait out 30 months |
| Buy Resale (4 room and smaller) | Wait out 15 months | Dispose Within 6 months | Dispose Within 6 months |
| Buy Resale (5 room and bigger) | Wait out 15 months | Wait out 15 months | Wait out 15 months |
The coloured cells in the table shows that as a private property owner, if you are a senior aged 55 and above, you can immediately apply for 2 Room Flexi (Short Lease) BTO flats or Community Care Apartments (CCA) and dispose of your private property only upon receiving the keys to your new BTO flat. This may be important to some people because the implication is that such applicants do not need to find temporary lodging. They can transition from their private property to their new BTO without any break.
Non-seniors (and seniors applying for or purchasing other forms of HDB flats) will have to find temporary lodging during their wait out period before their can even apply for a BTO flat or purchase a resale HDB flat. For BTO, taking into consideration the construction period of, let us say 3 years, the total waiting time could be 30 months (2.5 years) + 3 years for a total of 5.5 years!
As it applies to 2 Room Flexi (Short Lease) and Community Care Apartments, we believe this is a policy intent on the part of the authorities to make it more convenient for seniors to right size and have a more comfortable retirement financially, especially when such seniors are likely to have lesser or no income and may be facing health issues as they age.
Note: The above table mentions only the eligibility conditions relevant to this article. Of course, other key eligibility conditions still apply e.g. age, citizenship, past HDB subsidies etc. Please refer to HDB website for more detailed eligibility conditions.