EC Eligibility

Executive Condominium (EC) is a restricted residential property regulated by HDB board. As special hybrid public and private housing scheme, EC projects is subject to HDB eligibility conditions. It is prescribed under the Executive Condominium Housing Scheme Act (Cap 99A). Only qualified buyers can enjoy such wonderful housing privileges.

Eligibility to buy new EC from a developer

Living in EC is exciting with full condo facility and privacy benefits.  EC units are developed and sold by private developers with strata titles. They are comparable in design and facilities to private condominiums.  The difference between EC and private condominiums are some restrictions for buying and selling.  Those restrictions are similar to HDB public house and cover the conditions of citizenship, income, family nucleus, property ownership, household status, and Time bar. Only applicants who meet these all eligibility conditions can purchase an EC unit from developer.
Here are the detail conditions that you should get well informed.

1. Citizenship

  • You must be a Singapore Citizen
  • Your family nucleus must comprise at least another Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident

2. Age

  • You must be at least 21 years old at the time of application
  • If applicants are buying an Executive Condominium (EC) under the Joint Singles Scheme, buyer must be at least 35 years old

3. Family Nucleus

All applicants must form a proper family nucleus under one of the following schemes:

  • Public scheme

You form a family nucleus with any of the following:
1)     Your spouse, and children (if any)
2)     Your parents, and siblings (if any)
3)     Your children under your legal custody, care and control (for widowed/ divorced)

If the e care and control of your children under the age of 21 is shared with your ex-spouse, you must obtain his/her written agreement before you can list your children in a flat application.

  • Fiancé/Fiancée scheme

You, the applicant and your fiancé/fiancée

Under this scheme, you need to solemnise your marriage and submit a photocopy of your marriage certificate to the developer within 3 months of collecting your keys to the EC unit.

  • Orphan scheme

You and your siblings (those applying) are orphans and single, i.e. unmarried, divorced, or widowed:

  • All of the siblings that are single must be listed in the same application
  • At least 1 of the deceased parents was a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident

Please note that under the Orphans Scheme, siblings are not allowed to buy or rent flats separately.

  • Joint Singles scheme

You and up to 3 other co-applicants, and all of you are:

  • Single (unmarried, divorced, or widowed)
  • Singapore Citizens
  • At least 35 years old
  • Applying jointly as co-applicants

The CPF Housing Grant for singles is not available when buying an EC.

4. Incoming ceiling

Your average gross monthly household income must not exceed $16,000. Click her to read more about income ceiling guidance.

For EC application, all applicants and essential occupiers will need to get ready the following documents for our verification:

  • 3 months’ payslips preceding the month of application, if employed full-time (not on commission-basis)
  • 6 months’ of income documents preceding the month of application, for other types of employment
  • Proof of unemployment, if not working

Aside from the above documents, HDB officers may also request other documents for verification if needed.

5. Ownership in Private Property

You, your spouse, any occupiers listed in the Application Form or their spouses must not own or dispose or have an estate or interest in any other flat, house, building or land*

  • Within 30 months before the date of application, and
  • Between the application date and the date of taking possession of the EC

* includes but not limited to:

  • HUDC flats (Privatised and Non-Privatised)
  • Properties acquired by gift
  • Properties inherited as beneficiaries under a will or as a result of the Intestate Succession Act
  • Private properties
  • Properties owned/acquired/disposed through nominees regardless of properties location

6. Owners/Ex-owners of HDB flats / DBSS flats / EC units

Each eligible Singaporean household can buy the following housing unit only twice:

  • a flat from the HDB;
  • a resale flat with the CPF Housing Grant*;
  • a DBSS flat from developer;
  • an EC unit from developer.

*Only applicable for first-timer applicants
If you have already bought two housing units, you will not be eligible to apply or be listed as an essential occupier in an application.

7. Household Status

First-timer Applicants

You and the essential family members listed in the application for purchase of the flat must not:

  • Be the owners of a flat bought direct from HDB, a DBSS flat or an Executive Condominium bought from the developer
  • Have sold a flat bought direct from HDB, a DBSS flat or an Executive Condominium bought from the developer
  • Have received the CPF Housing Grant for the purchase of an HDB resale flat
  • Have taken other forms of housing subsidy (for example, benefited under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, privatisation of HUDC estate etc)

Second-timer Applicants

You or the essential family members listed in your application have owned/sold or are currently owners of:

  • Any HDB flat that was bought from HDB, or
  • Any resale flat that was bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme, or
  • A DBSS flat or an EC bought from the developer, or
  • Have enjoyed other forms of housing subsidy (for example, enjoyed benefits under the Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme, privatisation of HUDC estate etc.

8. Special Requirement for Undischarged Bankrupts

Undischarged bankrupts need to seek the Official Assignee (OA)’s consent if they are applying for an EC. However, they do not need to seek the OA’s approval to be listed as an occupier.

9. Time Bar

Existing Owner or Ex-Owner

Are you, your spouse or any of the essential occupiers listed in the application an existing owner or ex-owner of a:

  • Flat bought directly from HDB
  • DBSS flat bought from the developers
  • Resale flat bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme

If you belong to any of the above categories, you may apply to buy an EC on condition that a 5-year period (excluding any period of subletting of the whole flat) has lapsed from the *date of taking possession of the flat to the date of application for a new EC
* The date of taking possession refers to following dates (whichever is applicable):

  • Date of key collection, for flats that are bought direct from HDB
  • Date of resale completion, for purchase of resale flats from the open market bought with the CPF Housing Grant
  • Date of transfer at market value of the flat bought with CPF Housing Grant
  • Date of key collection for EC/DBSS flats bought from the developer

Ex-owners of an EC

Are you, your spouse or any of the essential occupiers listed in the application an ex-owner of an Executive Condominium bought directly from the developer? If yes, you would need to meet a 5-year period from the date of taking possession of the earlier Executive Condominium.
In addition, you need to wait out a 30-month period from the effective date of disposal (i.e., date of legal completion of the sale of their Executive Condominium, evidenced by the Notice of Transfer or such other documentary evidence as HDB may require) of the Executive Condominium before you can apply to buy another Executive Condominium directly from the developer.

Essential Occupiers

You or any person listed the application must not be currently listed as an essential occupier of:

  • An existing HDB flat bought directly from HDB,
  • A DBSS flat bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme, or,
  • A resale flat bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme

However, an essential occupier may apply or be included in an application only if he has stayed in the existing flat for 5 years from the *date of taking possession of the existing flat to the date of application for an EC.
* The date of taking possession refers to:

  • The date of key collection, for flats that are bought directly from HDB
  • The date of resale completion, for purchase of resale flats from the open market bought with the CPF Housing Grant
  • The date of transfer at market value of the flat bought with CPF Housing Grant
  • The date of key collection for Executive Condominium/DBSS flats bought from the developer, whichever is applicable.

New flat buyers who cancelled their applications after booking a flat

If you book a flat from the March 2012 Build-To-Order and Sale of Balance Flats Exercises onwards and subsequently cancel the flat booking, you will have to meet a 1-year period from the date of cancellation before you can apply or included as an essential occupier in an application for a:

  • new HDB flat
  • DBSS flat from developers
  • Executive Condominium unit from the developers
  • resale flat with CPF Housing Grant
  • resale flat that has been announced for SERS

Divorcees

Within three years from the date of the divorce, only one party in the divorce can own one of the following housing units:

  • a flat bought directly from the HDB
  • a DBSS flat / EC bought directly from a private developer
  • a resale flat bought from open market under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme

If you have an existing matrimonial home, which is one of the above, and that home is retained by your ex-spouse, you may apply to buy or be listed as an essential occupier in any of the above housing unit only three years after your date of divorce.
However, this three-year wait out period will not apply if you are buying any of the above homes with your parents or a new spouse, or if you are buying a resale flat from the open market without the CPF Housing Grant.
If there is no matrimonial home or the matrimonial home was bought from the open market without any CPF Housing Grant, you may apply for any of the above housing units after you get your ex-spouse’s consent not to own or be listed as an essential occupier in any of the above housing units within the three-year period from the date of divorce.
The requirement for ex-spouse’s consent is waived if you are buying any of the above housing units with your parents or a new spouse or if you are buying a resale flat from the open market without the CPF Housing Grant.
The requirement to seek ex-spouse’s consent during the three-year period from the date of divorce is also waived if you meet the following conditions:

  • All your children are below 18 years old at the date of divorce; and
  • You have the legal custody of all your children and are also the only parent with the care and control of all your children.

Person Who Has Bought an EC/DBSS Flat with CPF Housing Grant

A person who bought an EC or DBSS flat with CPF Housing Grant and terminated the Sale and Purchase Agreement may apply to buy an EC.
However, this is allowed on the condition that a 5-year period has lapsed from the termination date of the Sale & Purchase Agreement of their earlier EC or DBSS flat purchase, to the date of application date for an EC.

10. Resale Levy

Second-timers of EC buyers who apply for new EC projects from Westwood Avenue onwards are required to pay a resale levy.  Second-timers here are meaning the group of buyers who owned or have owned the subsidized HDB flat or EC. The resale levy maintains a fair allocation of public housing subsidies between first-timers and second-timers by reducing the subsidy enjoyed for the second HDB flat or EC.

If applicants previously bought a new flat from HDB, Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat or Executive Condominium (EC) from a developer, or received a CPF Housing Grant, you may need to pay a resale levy when buyers purchase new EC units.   

Resale levy amount is determined by the date of the first subsidized flat sold and unit type. For cases where the first subsidized flat was sold before 3 March 2006, a graded resale levy applies. For cases where the first subsidized flat was sold after 3 March 2006, a fixed resale levy amount is applied to give greater certainty for financial planning, be it for upgrading to a larger flat, or right-sizing to a smaller flat. Here is the summary chart for your reference.

 

Buying an EC from Open Market

 Eligibility Conditions

  • The EC seller must have occupied their EC and met the 5-year minimum occupation period (MOP). The 5-year MOP is computed from the date of issuance of Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in respect of each EC.
  • You must be a Singapore Citizen (SC) or a Singapore Permanent Resident (SPR) and in order to buy a EC in the 6th to 10th year occupation period. You need not form a family nucleus to buy an EC from the open market.
  • You must be 21 years old and above
  • You can only buy ECs in the open market from 11th year of the completion date of EC project if you are non-Singapore PR foreigners or corporate bodies