Housing Development Board

HDB Flats

About 80% of Singaporeans live in Housing ​Development Board (HDB) flats built by the ​government. It is a rather different concept from ​the government housing in other countries.


The owner of a HDB flat owns the title deed, hence ​HDB flats can be bought and sold in the open ​market.

In recent years, many have transacted at more ​than a million dollars.

White Concrete Building Under Blue Sky

As HDB flats are built by the government, there ​are various regulations in place to maintain ​housing affordability, social cohesion, family-​planning etc.


These regulations include household income ​ceiling limit and the Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP) ​etc.


In order to get an accurate answer for your ​eligibility to own a HDB flat, simply apply for a HDB ​Flat Eligibility (HFE) Letter via the HDB website.

CAN A FOREIGNER PURCHASE A HDB?

Quite simply, the answer is Yes if there is Permanent Resident (PR) status and ​No, if there is no PR status. In addition, there has to be a family nucleus.

Various scenarios are shown in the table below for a better understanding.

PR = Permanent Resident

Non-PR = Foreigner without PR status

SC = Singapore Citizen

BTO HDB = Build-to-Order HDB flat, purchased directly from HDB with a waiting time of 3-4 years of ​construction period.

SBF HDB = Sales of Balance HDB flat, purchased directly from HDB with a shorter waiting time.

Resale HDB = A HDB flat put up for sale by an existing owner in the open market.

<Important> HDB FLAT ELIGIBILITY (HFE) LETTER


HDB requires all potential buyers of a HDB flat, be it BTO, SFB or resale, to have a ​valid HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) Letter. The HFE letter is to be applied via the HDB ​website.


Various documents like your payslips will need to be uploaded as softcopies.

Since the HFE letter has a validity of 9 months, it is advisable to apply it sooner than ​later as the processing time will take about a month.