How does an HDB BTO exercise work, and what is in the November 2026 exercise?

An HDB Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise is a sales launch in which applicants with a valid HFE letter apply for new flats, and the flats it sells carry a 5- or 10-year minimum occupation period.

Reviewed by the Swee Homes data desk on 9 Oct 2026. Sources: HDB. Next check due 7 Jan 2027.

What a Build-To-Order exercise is

HDB sells new flats through sales exercises, each with its own application period.

Our modes of sale are: Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise; Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise; Open booking of flats.

This guide covers the first mode. HDB's pages describe the others separately.

The BTO system offers you flexibility in location and timing of your flat purchase. A BTO exercise offers a range of flat types across a few towns.

The flat types offered are Community Care Apartments, 2-room Flexi, 3-, 4-, 5-room and 3Gen flats, where applicable. You may apply for your preferred flat type and town, and a computer balloting will be conducted to determine whether your flat application is successful.

How often HDB holds them

The HDB pages we read do not state a fixed number of exercises a year. They do show recent ones and how far ahead HDB shares project details.

HDB's Application page lists these Build-To-Order exercises under application status and results: June 2026, February 2026, October 2025.

HDB will release information of projects to be offered in the next BTO exercise one launch ahead i.e. for projects launching in the October sales exercise, HDB will share information in the June sales exercise. Information such as flat types, number of units and town map, will be made available on the HDB Flat Portal. Prices and additional details will be announced during the sales exercise.

Who can apply

Eligibility depends on your household type. The full rules and the grants are in our guide on eligibility and grants . The conditions below are HDB's rules for a new flat for couples and families.

Eligibility conditions for buying a new flat, resale Plus flat or resale Prime flat (couples and families table, first household section): you must be a Singapore Citizen (SC) and include at least 1 other SC or Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR). Up to a 5-room flat.

Applicants must be at least 21 years old.

Eligibility for housing subsidies is assessed on the core family nucleus. A household must be one of: you, your spouse and child(ren); you, your parents and siblings; or you and your child(ren) under your legal custody, care and control (for widowed or divorced persons).

Monthly household income ceiling for buying a new flat, resale Plus flat or resale Prime flat (same table; total income of all persons listed in the HFE letter application): 2-room Flexi flat (99-year lease) $8,000; 3-room flat $16,000 or $8,000, depending on project; 4- and 5-room flat $16,000; $24,000 if buying with extended or multi-generation family (conditions apply).

Buying a resale Plus or Prime flat (or a flat from HDB, or a resale unclassified/Standard flat with CPF housing grant(s)): must not own or have an interest in any local or overseas private residential property, and must not have disposed of any private residential property within 30 months before the HFE letter application, from the legal completion date.

Singles and seniors have their own tables on HDB's site.

Starting from the October 2024 sales exercise, eligible singles can buy new flats: 2-room Flexi flat (Standard, Plus and Prime).

The HFE letter

The HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter is the first step.

If you are buying a new flat: you must have a valid HFE letter when you apply to buy a flat from HDB.

You may only apply for an HFE letter online, through the HDB Flat Portal with Singpass, and the application is free of charge.

Processing of an HFE letter takes up to a month after HDB receives the full set of required documents.

The HFE letter is valid for 9 months from the date of issue.

Your flat application will be processed based on the HFE letter you submitted. Other HFE letters, whether issued earlier or later, will not be considered.

Timing matters around a launch.

The 'Apply for HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) Letter' e-Service will be suspended during the application period of a sales exercise. Processing may take longer before and during the month of a sales exercise due to high application volumes.

Applying and the ballot

During the application period of a sales exercise, buyers with a valid HFE letter may apply for a flat online at the HDB Flat Portal.

Applicants must pay a non-refundable administrative fee of $10 by credit card (MasterCard/ Visa) or by scanning the QR code using any of the supported mobile payment apps.

Applicants may be eligible for the various priority schemes to increase their chances of getting a flat.

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.

HDB sets the number of ballot chances by household status.

BTO allocation of ballot chances by household status: First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) 3; other first-timer families/ couples 2; second-timer families 1; seniors 1; first-timer singles 1.

An application is unsuccessful if you did not receive a queue number to book a flat, or the flats have all been booked before your queue number is due.

HDB has also announced extra ballot chances for some first-timer families.

From the February 2027 sales exercise, first-timer families with or expecting children will receive 1 additional ballot chance for each Singapore Citizen child aged 18 and below, for all BTO and SBF flat applications. First-timer families unsuccessful in 2 or more BTO applications for a Standard flat can also receive 1 additional ballot chance for every subsequent Standard BTO application, capped at 2 additional chances; this does not apply to Plus and Prime BTO flats.

If you change your mind or your details change after you apply

What you can change depends on whether the application period is still open. Start with the details that sit outside the ballot.

During a sales exercise, you can log in to My Flat Dashboard to change your correspondence address, contact details or priority scheme request, if applicable.

The town and flat type are different, because the application is tied to them.

During a sales exercise, to change the town or flat type you applied for, you must cancel your existing flat application and re-apply online during the application period with the payment of an administrative fee of $10 (inclusive of GST). After the sales exercise, you cannot change the town or flat type you applied for.

Household details and income are the strictest part, because the application has to match the HFE letter it was built on.

During a sales exercise, all details of the household in the flat application must be the same as the approved HFE letter. For any changes in household particulars or financial circumstances, such as income, you must cancel both your HFE letter and flat application, and apply for a fresh HFE letter. As an HFE letter application takes about a month to process after HDB receives all the required documents, you would not be able to apply for a flat in the ongoing sales exercise.

Once the exercise has closed, the route changes from the dashboard to a written request.

After a sales exercise, if there are any changes to your household particulars or financial circumstances, please contact HDB via MyRequest@HDB. If the changes render you ineligible to continue with the flat purchase, your flat application and the HFE letter that was used for the flat application will be cancelled. The usual financial forfeitures and consequences upon the cancellation of the flat application will apply, depending on the stage of the application.

After the ballot: booking, Agreement for Lease and key collection

Applicants with a queue position are invited to book, in queue order.

The booking exercise commences from 4 weeks after the release of the ballot results. It will take several months to complete, depending on the flat supply and the take-up rate. You will be invited to book a flat based on your balloted queue position and receive our invitation about 2 weeks before your booking appointment.

Option fee payable when you book a flat, by flat type: 4-room and bigger $2,000; 3-room $1,000; 2-room Flexi $500. The option fee will form part of your downpayment.

If you had been invited to book a flat but did not do so even though there were units available, you have rejected a chance to book a flat. You will incur a non-selection count and all your ongoing flat application(s) will be cancelled.

The next steps follow in order.

You will be invited to sign the Agreement for Lease within 9 months after booking an uncompleted flat. If you have booked a completed flat, you will sign the Agreement for Lease and collect the keys to the flat within 9 months after booking the flat.

You will be invited to collect the keys to your booked flat when the keys are ready for collection.

The PCD is the estimated completion date of your flat. The actual completion date may vary depending on the construction progress.

What if you reject a flat or cannot attend the booking appointment

A queue position is an invitation, not an obligation, but turning it down has a cost. HDB treats a place within the flat supply as a commitment to book.

If your queue position is within the flat supply, you will not be eligible to apply for a flat in the subsequent BTO/ SBF exercises until after your flat booking appointment.

HDB's pages tie the penalty to the household type, so the same decision costs different households different things.

For first-timer families, including those under the FT(PMC) category, with 1 non-selection count, subsequent flat applications will be placed in the second-timer category for a 1-year period. Any additional ballot chances accumulated from previous unsuccessful BTO applications for Standard flats will be set to 0.

For first-timer singles and second-timer families, after incurring 1 non-selection count, you will not be able to participate in any sales exercises for a 1-year period.

HDB also lists a case where the count is not applied.

HDB will waive the non-selection count for applicants with 10 or fewer BTO flats to choose from, or 5 or fewer SBF flats to choose from.

The appointment itself is personal to the applicant.

You must personally attend the flat booking appointment. If you are unable to do so, you must complete the authorisation form and have your authorised representative submit it to HDB during your booking appointment.

The HDB pages we read do not say whether a missed appointment can be rebooked, so this guide does not claim it can.

At the booking appointment: documents, extras and the income check

The invitation package is the working list for the day. Read it when it arrives rather than assuming what is needed.

You will be informed of the required documents in your invitation package. You may also submit softcopy of the documents via MyDoc@HDB prior to your flat booking appointment. On the day of the appointment, please bring your physical or digital Identity Card(s) (IC) for verification.

To verify relationships at flat booking, bring your marriage certificate if you are married, your divorce certificate if you are divorced, or the death certificate of your spouse if your spouse is deceased. A physical copy of the marriage certificate is required for marriages registered overseas.

Two things are settled at the appointment itself. The first is the set of optional fittings.

The Optional Component Scheme (OCS) is offered to buyers of new flats offered in a Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise for added convenience. You may opt in for OCS items during the flat booking appointment. The cost of the optional components will be added to the flat price.

If you do not opt for the OCS items during the flat booking appointment, you will not be able to do so later, because the building contractor of the project would have already ordered the required quantities and may have even completed the installations of the OCS items for the other flats.

The second applies to younger couples who qualify, and it affects when HDB assesses income for the grant and loan.

Young couples may apply for a flat first and defer the income assessment for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) and HDB housing loan. Those who fulfil the eligibility conditions will be informed during their flat booking, and they do not have to opt for it when they apply for the HFE letter.

What a cancellation costs at each stage

HDB's cost of cancelling rises as the purchase moves forward, and a cancelled application cannot be brought back. Before the ballot result, a request does not stop the application from entering the ballot.

If you cancel your flat application after the sales exercise application period but before booking a flat, there is no financial forfeiture. A request received before the release of ballot results cannot be processed, and your application will be included in the computer ballot and assigned a queue position, where applicable. Once a flat application is cancelled, it cannot be reinstated.

The option fee is the cost once a flat is booked.

If you cancel your flat application after booking a flat but before signing the Agreement for Lease, the financial forfeiture is the option fee. You must wait out a 1-year period from the date of cancellation and ensure the full forfeiture fee has been paid before you may apply or be included as an essential occupier for a new flat, a resale flat with CPF housing grant(s), a Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat, an Executive Condominium (EC) unit from a property developer, a resale flat announced for the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS), or a rental flat from HDB.

If you cancel your flat application after you have booked a flat, your HFE letter that was used for the flat application will also be cancelled.

Signing the Agreement for Lease moves the cost to a share of the price.

If you cancel your flat application after signing the Agreement for Lease but before key collection, the financial forfeiture is 5% of the purchase price. Upon cancellation, HDB or your solicitor may assist you by applying to IRAS for a refund of the stamp duty paid. The legal fees have been expended and are non-refundable.

Worked example: the cash due when you sign the Agreement for Lease

This example uses HDB's own sample, not a price for any project and not a forecast. It shows how the pieces in the steps above add up for one household that takes an HDB housing loan.

HDB's sample calculation for a 4-room flat, where the buyer takes an HDB housing loan and engages HDB to act for them in the purchase: purchase price $345,000; downpayment at 10% of the purchase price $34,500; stamp duty on the Agreement for Lease $5,100; legal fee for purchase of flat (inclusive of GST) $239.80; total downpayment and fees $39,839.80; less the option fee paid during booking of flat $2,000; total payable $37,839.80.

The rule behind the downpayment line is HDB's split between signing and key collection.

With an HDB housing loan or no housing loan, the downpayment is 10% of the purchase price when you sign the Agreement for Lease and 15% of the purchase price when you collect the keys.

The stamp duty line comes from this scale.

Stamp duty on the Agreement for Lease is based on the selling price of the flat: the first $180,000 at 1%, the next $180,000 at 2%, the next $640,000 at 3%, and the remaining amount at 4%.

Here is the arithmetic. On a purchase price of $345,000, the first $180,000 is charged at 1%, which is $1,800, and the remaining $165,000 is charged at 2%, which is $3,300. Together that is the $5,100 in HDB's sample. Add the downpayment of $34,500 and the legal fee of $239.80 and the total is $39,839.80. The $2,000 option fee paid at booking is already part of the downpayment, so it is deducted, leaving $37,839.80 to pay on the day. At key collection, the next instalment is 15% of $345,000, which is $51,750.

Some households qualify to split the downpayment differently.

Under the Staggered Downpayment Scheme, part of the downpayment is paid when you sign the Agreement for Lease and the remaining amount during the collection of keys. You will be informed during the flat booking appointment if you are eligible, and you do not need to apply for it.

Standard, Plus and Prime flats

From October 2024 onwards, new BTO projects launched are classified as Standard, Plus or Prime. The new classification will not apply to existing HDB flats and flats launched before the October 2024 sales exercise.

Standard flats come with significant market discounts that are applied to all BTO flats. They form the largest category of BTO flats to be launched every year.

Plus flats are in choicer locations across Singapore (e.g. good connectivity, proximity to amenities, and the city centre. Some may come with unique features, such as waterfront living).

Prime flats are in the choicest locations (e.g. centrally located, well-served by comprehensive amenities and have excellent transport connectivity). They include Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) flats sold before the October 2024 sales exercise.

Prices of the flats and additional details including the projects' classification categories will be posted during the sales exercise.

The Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and resale conditions

Each class has its own MOP. Our guide on the MOP sets out the full rules.

The MOP is the time period that you must physically reside in your flat.

All core members must remain in the flat application, and physically reside in the flat during the minimum occupation period (MOP) after the flat purchase. Their names cannot be removed. They cannot apply or be listed in an HFE letter to buy an HDB flat or apply to buy an Executive Condominium unit from a property developer during the MOP.

You may rent out your whole flat after the minimum occupation period (MOP) and after you have obtained an approval from HDB. Owners of Plus and Prime flats are not allowed to rent out the whole flat.

Resale of flat: allowed after MOP, with tighter resale conditions for Plus and Prime flats. Plus and Prime flats come with tighter resale and rental conditions, to ensure that buyers purchase such flats primarily for owner occupation.

Subsidy recovery upon resale: Standard flats No; Plus flats Yes (less than Prime); Prime flats Yes.

Upon selling or transfer of a Plus or Prime flat bought from HDB, you will be required to return a percentage of the resale price of the flat to HDB. The subsidy recovery percentage is commensurate with the extent of the additional subsidy provided. The amount will be made known when Plus or Prime projects are launched for sale.

Common mistakes to avoid

These are the errors that the HDB pages above make costly. Each one is a step that is easy to leave to the last moment.

The first is waiting for the launch to start the HFE process. HDB's page tells buyers without a letter to apply once the e-Service resumes and use it in a later exercise.

Flat buyers who have yet to apply for an HFE letter may apply for one when the 'Apply for HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) Letter' e-Service resumes. They may then apply for a new flat in HDB's subsequent sales exercises with a valid HFE letter.

The second is treating the application as editable. Household and income details have to match the letter, and a change means starting the letter again, so check them before you submit, not after.

The third is applying without a plan for the booking day. A queue position within the flat supply stops you applying in later exercises until your booking appointment, and declining to book when flats are available brings a non-selection count and cancels your ongoing applications.

The fourth is assuming the optional fittings can be added later. They cannot, so decide on the day.

The fifth is budgeting for the price alone. Stamp duty, legal fees and the two downpayment instalments are separate cash and CPF calls on different dates, and the worked example above lays out the first two.

The November 2026 exercise

This section records what HDB announced in its news release of 1 October 2026. Each line names the release and its date, so it stays accurate after the exercise. For the current position, check the HDB Flat Portal.

HDB's news release of 1 October 2026 states that in the upcoming Build-To-Order exercise in November 2026, HDB will launch about 7,960 flats in Bedok, Geylang, Sembawang, Tengah, Toa Payoh and Yishun.

HDB's news release of 1 October 2026 states that Community Care Apartments will also be offered in Toa Payoh.

Common questions

Where to go next

• Apply for an HFE letter on hdb.gov.sg
• Read who is eligible and which grants apply

Related guides

• Am I eligible for a resale flat, and which grants can I get?
• When can I sell my HDB flat? (the Minimum Occupation Period)
• How does an HDB resale flat purchase run, step by step?

About the data

Every figure on this page has its source and the date we checked it. We are not affiliated with any government body. General information, not financial advice.