HDB Eligibility Checker: BTO, EC and Resale Income Ceilings
Who is buying
Gross, all applicants and occupiers, averaged over 12 months.
Your housing history
This is a guide to HDB's published rules. Your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter, applied for on the HDB Flat Portal, confirms what you can buy and the grants and loan you get. Owning an HDB flat now is fine: you must sell it within 6 months of completing the next purchase.
Options open to you
6 of 6
BTO / new flat from HDB
3-room (in projects with the S$16,000 ceiling) to 5-room BTO, Standard, Plus or Prime.
Executive Condominium (new)
Income within S$18,000 (S$16,000 for EC sites awarded before 24 Aug 2026). CPF Housing Grant for ECs: S$30,000.
Resale flat (Standard, no grants)
No income ceiling and previous subsidies do not matter.
Resale Plus or Prime flat
Follows the BTO rules: citizen applicant, income within the BTO ceiling, 10-year MOP.
CPF housing grants (resale)
Family Grant of S$80,000 (2- to 4-room) or S$50,000 (5-room+). Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to S$120,000, tapering with income, if you have worked for 12 months. Proximity Housing Grant on top if you live with or near parents or children.
HDB housing loan
Up to 75% of the lower of price or value, subject to credit assessment and 30% of income for instalments.
How this works
BTO and other new flats from HDB (Standard, Plus and Prime) need a Singapore citizen applicant aged 21 or above with at least one other citizen or PR in the household, and a monthly household income of no more than S$16,000 for 3- to 5-room flats (S$24,000 for extended or multi-generation families). Some 3-room projects carry an S$8,000 ceiling, and 2-room Flexi flats have an S$8,000 ceiling. Singles must be citizens aged 35 or above and can buy 2-room Flexi flats with income up to S$8,000.
New Executive Condominiums from developers have an S$18,000 ceiling for projects with tenders closing on or after 24 August 2026 (S$16,000 for earlier sites). Families qualify, as do two to four citizen singles aged 35 and above buying together. Resale Standard flats have no income ceiling, but CPF housing grants and the HDB loan do: S$16,000 for families (S$24,000 extended), S$8,000 for singles buying alone, and S$9,000 for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (S$4,500 for a single buying alone).
Owning private residential property, here or overseas, rules you out of new flats, ECs, resale Plus and Prime flats, grants and the HDB loan, and you must wait 30 months from the legal completion of its sale before applying for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter. You can still buy a Standard resale flat without grants if you sell the private property within 6 months of completing the flat purchase. Rules are as published by HDB in October 2026; the HFE letter is the final word.
FAQs
What is the BTO income ceiling in 2026?
S$16,000 a month for families buying 3-room (in most projects), 4-room and 5-room BTO flats, or S$24,000 for extended or multi-generation families. 2-room Flexi flats and some 3-room projects have an S$8,000 ceiling.
What is the EC income ceiling?
S$18,000 a month for new EC units in projects with tenders closing on or after 24 August 2026, and S$16,000 for EC sites awarded before that. The CPF Housing Grant for ECs is S$30,000 at incomes up to S$10,000, falling to nil above S$12,000.
Can I buy an HDB flat if I earn more than S$16,000?
Yes, a resale Standard flat, which has no income ceiling. You would not qualify for CPF housing grants (other than the Proximity Housing Grant) or an HDB loan, so you would need a bank loan.
Can singles buy a BTO flat?
Yes, Singapore citizens aged 35 and above can buy a 2-room Flexi flat from HDB if their income is S$8,000 or less. On the resale market, singles can buy any flat type except 3Gen.
How long must I wait after selling private property to buy an HDB flat?
30 months from the legal completion of the sale before you can apply for an HFE letter for a new flat, EC, resale Plus or Prime flat, CPF grants or an HDB loan. For a Standard resale flat without grants there is no wait, but you must sell the private property within 6 months of buying.