Selling Your HDB Flat: Process and Fees

Selling an HDB flat runs through a defined HDB process on the HDB Flat Portal, and the cash you walk away with is rarely the full sale price. This guide sets out the five official steps in order, every fee a seller pays, and how your net sale proceeds are calculated once the loan and your CPF refund are taken out.

Before you sell: meet the MOP

You can sell on the open market only after meeting the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) — the time you must physically live in the flat. For most flats this is 5 years; newer Plus and Prime flats carry a 10-year MOP. The clock runs from key collection. Registering an Intent to Sell gives you a preliminary read on your eligibility before you commit.

The selling process, step by step

HDB’s process has five stages: register an Intent to Sell, grant the Option to Purchase, submit the resale application, endorse documents and pay fees, then attend the completion appointment. The buyer’s half of this is mirrored in our resale buying process; below is the seller’s view.

The official HDB selling sequence, in order.

Step 1: Register an Intent to Sell

Register an Intent to Sell on the HDB Flat Portal. You receive a preliminary assessment of your eligibility to sell and of when you may grant an Option to Purchase. Once registered, you can market the flat yourself or list it through the Resale Flat Listing (RFL) service on the portal.

Step 2: Grant the Option to Purchase

After the 7-day cooling-off period, you grant the buyer an Option to Purchase (OTP) and receive an option fee of between S$1 and S$1,000. When the buyer exercises, they pay an option exercise fee, set so that the option fee and exercise fee together do not exceed S$5,000. Both form part of the resale price. Only one OTP can be active at a time, and you must declare the true resale price on the OTP.

The buyer then has a 21-day Option Period. If they are using CPF or a loan, they submit a Request for Value to HDB by the next working day after the Option Date.

Step 3: Submit the resale application

Once the buyer exercises the OTP, both you and the buyer submit your respective portions of the resale application on the HDB Resale Portal. Each party pays an administrative fee of S$40 (1- and 2-room) or S$80 (3-room and larger), inclusive of GST and non-refundable.

Step 4–5: Approval and completion

After both portions are in and fees paid, you and the buyer endorse the resale documents, HDB grants approval, and a completion appointment is scheduled about eight weeks from the date HDB accepts the resale application. At completion you sign to transfer ownership, hand over the keys, and apportion property tax with the buyer. You are notified by SMS and through My Flat Dashboard. From Intent to Sell to completion, a typical sale takes a few months.

What the seller pays

Beyond the resale application fee, HDB lists these seller costs: legal fees, Seller’s Stamp Duty, property tax and Service & Conservancy Charges, with any outstanding amounts cleared before completion.

Fixed HDB fees a seller pays when HDB acts in the sale.

• Resale application fee: S$40 or S$80, as above.
• Legal (conveyancing) fee if you appoint HDB to act: for a resale transfer, 13.5 cents per S$100 on the first S$30,000, 10.8 cents on the next S$30,000, and 9 cents thereafter, with an HDB minimum of S$21.80 (including GST). A private solicitor usually charges more.
• Discharge of mortgage fee if you are redeeming an HDB loan, by flat type: S$22 (1-room), S$33 (2-room), S$44 (3-room), S$55 (4-room), S$66 (5-room), S$77 (Executive).
• Outstanding charges: any HDB penalty fee, unpaid S&CC and outstanding property tax must be settled before completion.

Seller’s Stamp Duty: usually nil, but check

Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) is charged only if you sell within a holding period. For properties bought on or after 4 July 2025, the rates are 16% (sold within 1 year), 12% (1–2 years), 8% (2–3 years), 4% (3–4 years) and nil after 4 years.

Because the standard MOP is 5 years and the SSD holding period is at most 4 years, most HDB sellers owe no SSD by the time they can sell.

Agent commission (optional)

Engaging a property agent is optional — you may sell on your own, as the Council for Estate Agencies sets out. There is no official or fixed commission rate; it is negotiated privately with your agent. Treat any percentage you see quoted as market practice, not a regulated figure, and agree it in writing before appointing anyone.

Your sale proceeds: what actually reaches you

This is where sellers are most often surprised. HDB computes your sale proceeds as the resale price less:

1. your outstanding mortgage loan;
2. the CPF savings you used, plus accrued interest, refunded to your CPF Ordinary Account; and
3. the cash deposit the buyer already paid you.

On completion the money moves in a fixed order: the sale price first repays the housing loan, then refunds your CPF principal plus accrued interest to your OA, and only the remainder is cash in hand.

If the sale can’t cover loan + CPF

If the selling price is not enough to cover both the outstanding loan and your full required CPF refund, HDB and CPF pro-rate the refund from the proceeds left after the loan is cleared. Sellers below 55 who sell at or above the market valuation generally do not have to top up the CPF shortfall in cash. Check your own numbers early rather than assuming a large cash payout.

Staying on: temporary extension of stay

If you have committed to another completed property and need time to move, you can arrange a temporary extension of stay with your buyer for up to 3 months after resale completion. It must be agreed between both sides and stated in the resale application; HDB does not grant it automatically.

FAQ

Do I pay a resale levy when I sell? Not for selling itself. A resale levy is triggered only when you take a second subsidised home — a new HDB flat or a new EC — after selling a subsidised flat. Selling and then buying on the open resale market attracts no levy. See the resale levy explained.

How long does the whole sale take? From registering the Intent to Sell to completion is typically a few months, with completion about eight weeks after HDB accepts the resale application.

Can I sell without an agent? Yes. HDB’s portal and the RFL service are designed for owners selling on their own; an agent is optional.

Related

• HDB resale flat buying process: step by step
• The real cost of buying an HDB flat
• HDB resale levy: who pays and how much
• CPF housing grants: eligibility and amounts

General information on the selling process, not financial, tax or property advice. Confirm your figures with HDB, IRAS and CPF. We do not represent buyers or sellers.