HDB sets out a resale purchase in 11 numbered steps, and this page groups them into 7, in HDB's order.
Reviewed by the Swee Homes data desk on 7 Oct 2026. Sources: HDB. Next check due 5 Jan 2027.
Step 1: Get a valid HFE letter
The buyer applies to HDB for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter before the seller grants the Option to Purchase (OTP).
The HDB Flat Portal integrates the checks on eligibility to buy a new or resale flat, obtain CPF housing grants and an HDB housing loan, including the respective grant and loan amounts, via an HFE Letter. The HFE letter is valid for 9 months from the date of issue.
Buyers must have a valid HFE Letter when granted an Option to Purchase by the sellers. The HFE Letter must be valid when submitting a resale application. A buyer must have a valid HFE letter before obtaining an OTP.
The resale application will not be accepted by HDB if the buyers do not have a valid HFE Letter or the timelines for obtaining the HFE Letter are not adhered to.
Step 2: The seller grants the Option to Purchase
After buyer and seller agree the resale price, the seller grants the OTP and the buyer pays the Option Fee in exchange.
Sellers and buyers of resale flats must use the HDB prescribed Option to Purchase as the form of contract. No amendments may be made to the prescribed form. Current form effective 1 January 2018.
Option Fee: an amount not exceeding $1,000.
Sellers and buyers must state an amount for the Option Fee and Option Exercise Fee. Neither fee can be $0. The two fees form the Deposit for the purchase of the flat.
Option Period: 21 calendar days (including Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays) after the Option Date. Option expiry time is standardised at 4pm.
During the option period the seller cannot sell the flat or make an offer to other buyers.
Sellers must have a valid Intent to Sell registered in the HDB Flat Portal at least 7 days before granting an Option to Purchase to the buyers. The Intent to Sell must be valid when submitting a resale application.
The form is the sellers' job to prepare.
The flat sellers fill in page 1 of the OTP: the Option Date, flat address, purchase price, Option Fee, option expiry date, and the names and NRIC numbers of all sellers and buyers. At Clause 12 on page 4 they fill in the number of days from the date of exercising the Option within which the buyers and sellers have agreed to submit the resale application to HDB. All flat sellers sign page 8, and a witness aged 21 or above who is not involved in the resale transaction may also sign.
Print only 1 copy of the OTP as each form has a unique serial number. You must state the serial number of the OTP when you submit a resale application to HDB.
Step 3: Settle how the flat will be financed
The buyer chooses between an HDB housing loan, a bank loan, or paying with CPF savings and cash only. The choice decides which document is needed and when.
Buyers who are taking a bank loan must have a valid Letter of Offer from a bank or financial institution when they exercise the OTP. The date of issue of the Letter of Offer must be before the date of Acceptance.
Buyers who are not taking any housing loan have to indicate that they are financing the flat purchase fully with their CPF savings and/or cash when they submit the resale application to HDB.
The buyer can apply for the bank's Letter of Offer during the option period.
Step 4: Submit the Request for Value
Buyers who are using their CPF moneys and/or taking up a housing loan must submit a Request for Value to HDB to determine the value of the flat, which forms the basis for their housing loan and CPF usage. It may only be submitted by buyers who have been granted an OTP by the sellers.
The buyers (or their salesperson) must submit the Request for Value, together with a scanned copy of page 1 of the OTP, by the next working day after the Option Date. The Request for Value carries a processing fee of $120 (including GST), paid to HDB.
If a valuation of the flat is required by HDB, the flat owners (sellers) must allow the assigned valuer to inspect the flat within 3 working days of being informed by HDB of the assigned valuer.
HDB will inform the buyers via email once the value of the flat is available in the HDB Flat Portal, which will typically be within 10 working days.
This step ties into the next one in two ways.
The buyers have to wait for the outcome of the Request for Value before they may exercise the OTP during the Option Period. Buyers who use cash only (no CPF usage and no housing loan) do not need to submit a Request for Value.
The outcome of the Request for Value is valid for 3 months, from the day it is made available in My Flat Dashboard. The buyers and the flat sellers must submit the respective portions of the resale application during this 3-month period. Otherwise, the buyers will have to submit a new Request for Value for the same transaction.
Step 5: The buyer exercises the Option
To go ahead, the buyer must exercise the OTP inside the option period.
To exercise the OTP, the buyers must: (i) sign the Acceptance portion on page 8 of the OTP, (ii) deliver the signed OTP to the sellers, and (iii) pay the Option Exercise Fee to the sellers. The Acceptance must be signed by all the buyers.
Upon exercise of the OTP, the sellers and the buyers enter into a binding contract for the sale and purchase of the flat.
Step 6: Submit the resale application
You and the sellers may proceed to submit the resale application and the necessary documents after you have exercised the OTP.
All resale applications are processed via the HDB Flat Portal on the HDB InfoWEB (www.hdb.gov.sg). Sellers and buyers mutually agree when to submit their portion of the application and must ensure the complete resale application is submitted within the timeframe they agreed. If the resale application is in order, HDB will notify both parties of its acceptance within 28 working days, via SMS and emails.
The timeframe they agree sits inside HDB's own limit for the second party.
Either the buyer or the seller may submit their portion of the resale application first. The second party must then submit their portion within 7 calendar days. If not, the application lapses, and both parties have to restart the application and pay the application fees again.
Each side submits its own portion, so each side has its own papers to gather first.
For the buyers:
When submitting the resale application, buyers provide the Option to Purchase details (address of the flat, sellers' particulars such as name and NRIC, OTP serial number, Option Date, Purchase Price, Option Fee, Option Exercise Fee and Acceptance Date) and the details of all applicants and occupiers, with supporting documents in PDF or JPG format. The list of documents required is provided in My Flat Dashboard when the application is submitted, and the information provided should be the same as in the HFE letter.
Buyers may be required to submit, if applicable: Identity Card or Passport (for non-citizens), marriage certificate, child's birth certificate, late spouse's death certificate, deed of separation or divorce documents, Power of Attorney and Lasting Power of Attorney. Buyers must state whether they are taking a housing loan from HDB or a financial institution: for an HDB housing loan, the reference number of the approved HFE letter; for a loan from a financial institution, a Letter of Offer from that institution.
For the sellers:
Sellers provide the flat address, the buyers' particulars (such as name and NRIC), OTP serial number, Option Date, Purchase Price, Option Fee, Option Exercise Fee and 'Acceptance' date, plus the details of all sellers with supporting documents in PDF or JPG format. The information provided should be the same as in the Intent to Sell.
Sellers may be required to submit, if applicable: Identity Card or Passport (for non-citizens), Duplicate Lease if it has been issued, divorce or separation documents, Power of Attorney, Lasting Power of Attorney and a Letter of Consent from the Official Assignee. If the sole owner or a co-owner is deceased, the death certificate, Grant of Letter of Administration or Grant of Probate, the last Will or Inheritance Certificate and an Order of Court to sanction the sale are also needed.
The buyers' details must match the HFE letter, and HDB spells out what to do when they no longer do.
The applicants and occupiers in the resale application must remain the same as in the HFE letter application. To change them (for example adding or removing a household member, or a change in marital status or citizenship), buyers who have not submitted a resale application cancel the HFE letter and apply for a fresh one. Buyers who have already submitted write to HDB through MyRequest@HDB with the resale case number.
If the buyers submit a resale application with a valid HFE letter that expires before the resale completion, they may continue with the resale application without applying for a fresh HFE letter.
Gathering the papers takes time, so HDB lets a side start early.
A resale application can be saved as a draft while the supporting documents are prepared. The draft application will be available for 2 weeks.
Step 7: Acknowledge documents, pay fees, approval and completion
You and the sellers must endorse the documents before HDB may approve the resale application. After endorsing, you must make payment for all the required fees and the initial payment by the deadline given by HDB.
HDB prepares the documents for the buyers and the sellers to endorse, which will be ready about 3 weeks after the application has been accepted. If the buyers or the sellers do not endorse the documents within the given timeframe, the resale application may be cancelled.
What each buyer endorses depends on who acts as the solicitor.
If HDB is the buyers' solicitor, the documents to endorse in My Flat Dashboard are the buyer's financial plan, the CPF withdrawal based on the endorsed financial plan, a Health Declaration for the CPF Board's Home Protection Scheme (if taking an HDB housing loan and/or using CPF savings), and the undertakings and forms posted. Every buyer must endorse individually. If a Proximity Housing Grant is applied for, the parents or child also endorse the undertakings. With private solicitors, the documents to endorse may differ.
All buyers must have sufficient savings in their CPF Ordinary Accounts for the CPF withdrawal. If there are insufficient funds in the CPF accounts at the point of the deduction, the buyers pay any shortfall in cash.
Approval will be granted in 2 weeks' time after you and the sellers have endorsed the resale documents and made the necessary payments.
After acceptance HDB also looks at the flat itself.
When HDB accepts the resale application, Technical Executives from the HDB Branch arrange to inspect the flat for unauthorised renovation works that may damage HDB property and affect structural stability. The inspection is not to ascertain the value or condition of the flat. Any unauthorised renovation works must be rectified before the completion of the resale transaction.
HDB then notifies buyer and seller by SMS of the completion appointment.
At the completion appointment: what each side brings and settles
The completion date will be within 8 weeks from the date of HDB's acceptance of the resale application, unless extended by HDB. HDB will not accede to any request to advance the completion date. A request to extend can be considered if made jointly by the sellers and buyers.
The completion appointment is between 9:30am and 12:00pm if the buyers have an HDB housing loan, between 2:00pm and 5:00pm if they have a loan from a financial institution, and in either window if they take no housing loan. Where HDB is the solicitor, the parties attend in person at the HDB Resale Office, HDB Hub; where private solicitors act, a representative may attend.
Buyers must bring the documents stated in the appointment letter, and pay the balance purchase price of the flat and outstanding stamp fees (if any) on or before the resale completion appointment. Fire insurance must be purchased if obtaining an HDB housing loan.
The sellers have their own papers and a handover to arrange.
The documents in the sellers' appointment letter include the identity cards of all sellers, the spouse's passport and relevant visit pass or work permit if the spouse is neither a Singapore Citizen nor a Singapore Permanent Resident, the original Option to Purchase (pages 1 to 10), the signed Town Council confirmation letter on payment of service and conservancy charges (up to the resale completion date) and property tax (up to the end of the year), the original duplicate lease if it has been issued, and the full set of keys including any duplicates.
Then comes the appointment itself.
At the appointment the buyers sign the mortgage document (if taking an HDB housing loan), acknowledge receipt of the keys, pay the apportioned property tax to the sellers and state how they will pay the first month's service and conservancy charges. The sellers sign the legal document to transfer the flat ownership to the buyers, hand over the keys and apportion the property tax with the buyers.
The fees along the way
Fees arrive in the order of the steps. The Option Fee and the Request for Value fee sit in their own steps above. The next fees fall due in the application and the weeks after it.
Buyers and sellers each pay an administrative resale application fee when submitting their respective portions: $40 for 1- and 2-room flats and $80 for 3-room and bigger flats. The fee is non-refundable and includes GST.
Buyers who take a housing loan make an initial payment after endorsing the resale documents, by the deadline given by HDB. With an HDB housing loan (loan-to-value limit of 75%) it is 25% of the lower of the resale price or value of the flat, of which a minimum of 5% is cash and the rest cash and/or CPF Ordinary Account savings. With a loan from a financial institution (loan-to-value limit of 55%) it is 45% of the lower of the resale price or value, of which a minimum of 10% is cash. These are the figures for complete resale applications received from 20 August 2024; HDB gives different figures for earlier applications. The balance purchase price is paid on or before the completion appointment.
Buyers who take no housing loan and engage HDB do not make an initial payment to HDB. They pay the applicable legal fees, such as the legal fees to HDB, the Title Search fee and the buyer's caveat, after endorsing the resale documents, and pay the full purchase price by the resale completion, in cash and/or CPF Ordinary Account savings (including CPF housing grants, if eligible).
Stamp duty is paid to the Commissioner of Stamp Duties, IRAS, and is payable by CPF savings. To use cash instead, the buyers write to HDB after the resale application is accepted. If there are not enough CPF savings to pay the stamp duty in full, or the buyers take no housing loan but engage HDB, they pay the stamp fees at the resale completion appointment by cashier's order and/or NETS. Singapore Permanent Resident households buying their first HDB resale flat also pay the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty at the completion appointment.
When a step is late or a document is missing
The earlier steps each carry their own consequence, stated where the step is described. From the application onward, lateness and gaps cost more.
A resale application is complete only when HDB receives both the buyers' and the sellers' portions and the necessary supporting documents. Incomplete documents may lead to the application being rejected, and the buyers and sellers then restart the application process and pay the application fees again. Application fees are non-refundable.
Any delay in complying with the timelines for endorsement or payment, or in fulfilling the approval conditions, may result in the resale completion being postponed or the cancellation of the resale application.
HDB cancels the resale application if: either side withdraws it by written notice; the buyers do not have sufficient funds to complete the purchase; the information given is incorrect, has changed from that in the HFE letter (other than employment, income and contact details), or either party has suppressed required information; either side is not eligible to retain the application under HDB's prevailing policies; or the transaction is aborted for any reason. If the flat application is cancelled, the buyers' HFE letter is also cancelled.
A completion date that cannot be met has a set route, so it need not mean a lost sale.
To defer the resale completion, the buyers and sellers submit a written confirmation signed by both, agreeing to the new date, through MyRequest@HDB within a week from the date of HDB's acceptance letter.
Worked example: a buyer's sequence from HFE letter to completion
This sequence is for a buyer who takes a bank loan and uses CPF savings, with HDB acting as solicitor on both sides. It names the document at each point and gives no dates, because the dates depend on the case.
1. HFE letter: the buyer holds a valid one before the sellers grant the OTP.
2. Intent to Sell and Option to Purchase: the sellers have a valid Intent to Sell on file, fill in the OTP and sign it. The buyer pays the Option Fee and keeps the single printed copy with its serial number.
3. Request for Value: the buyer submits it with a scan of page 1 of the OTP and pays HDB's processing fee.
4. Valuation result and Letter of Offer: HDB emails when the value is in the HDB Flat Portal. The buyer holds the bank's Letter of Offer, issued on or before the day the OTP is exercised.
5. Acceptance: all buyers sign the Acceptance on page 8 of the OTP, deliver it to the sellers and pay the Option Exercise Fee. The contract is now binding.
6. Resale application: buyers and sellers each submit their portion in the HDB Flat Portal, with identity documents, the OTP serial number and the Letter of Offer details, and each pays the application fee.
7. Acceptance notice: HDB tells both sides by SMS and email that the application is accepted.
8. Endorsement and initial payment: each buyer endorses the financial plan, the CPF withdrawal and the undertakings in My Flat Dashboard, then pays the initial payment and the other fees HDB lists.
9. Approval and appointment letter: HDB approves and lists the documents to bring.
10. Completion appointment: the buyers bring the documents named in their appointment letter, pay the balance purchase price and outstanding stamp fees, and take the keys. The sellers bring the original OTP, the Town Council letter and the keys, and sign the transfer.
Common questions
What is the most a buyer can pay as a deposit?
Deposit: an amount not exceeding $5,000 (Option Fee + Option Exercise Fee = Deposit).
Do I need a valid HFE letter before the OTP if I plan to take an HDB housing loan?
Yes. Buyers who are eligible for and intend to obtain an HDB housing loan must have a valid HFE Letter when the sellers grant them the OTP.
How long after HDB accepts the application is the completion appointment?
The resale completion is about 8 weeks after HDB's acceptance of the resale application.
What happens if the buyer decides not to proceed after getting the OTP?
The OTP will expire if the buyers fail to exercise it within the Option Period. If the buyers decide not to proceed with the purchase, they can let the OTP expire and lose only the Option Fee.
Can the bank's Letter of Offer be dated after the buyers accept the OTP?
No. If you are taking a housing loan from a financial institution, you must have a valid Letter of Offer (LO), and the date of issue of the LO must be on or before you exercise the OTP.
Where do I start on my own purchase?
With an HFE letter from HDB. You need a valid one before a seller grants you an Option to Purchase, and again when you submit the resale application.
Where to go next
Related guides
- Am I eligible for a resale flat, and which grants can I get?
- How much can I borrow for a home, and what are the loan limits: TDSR, MSR and LTV?
- How much stamp duty will I pay on a home?
- How much CPF can I use to buy a home, and how much goes back to CPF when I sell?
- After the seller grants the OTP, how long does an HDB resale take, step by step?
- What is HDB's resale price index, and what did the flash estimate for Q3 2026 show?
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.