Buying Guide

HDB Resale Grants in Singapore: CPF Housing Grant, EHG and Proximity Grant

First-time buyers of an HDB resale flat can qualify for up to three separate grants: the CPF Housing Grant (the "Family Grant"), the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) and the Proximity Housing Grant. Each has its own conditions and the amounts stack, but a grant is not free money, because it comes back out of your sale proceeds. Here is how each one works for families, with a short note for singles.

The grants at a glance (families buying a resale flat)

SC = Singapore Citizen, SPR = Singapore Permanent Resident. Amounts shown are the maximums for each grant. Your actual EHG depends on income.

CPF Housing Grant (Family Grant)

Conditions HDB sets for the Family Grant on a resale flat include:

• At least one core applicant or occupier is a first-timer who has not taken a housing subsidy before.
• You are a Singapore Citizen and include at least one other SC or SPR. Both applicants being SCs earns a higher grant than SC/SPR.
• You are at least 21 years old, and the flat is a 2-room or bigger flat with more than 20 years of lease remaining.
• Average gross monthly household income does not exceed $16,000 ($24,000 for extended or multi-generation families).
• No one in the application owns or has an interest in private residential property, local or overseas, or disposed of any in the last 30 months before the HFE letter application. A household may own at most one non-residential property.
• You are not buying your child's flat. HDB says buying over your child's flat does not qualify for grants.

Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG)

The EHG rises as household income falls. To qualify, you and/or your core members must have worked continuously for the 12 months ending two months before your HFE letter application, and be working when you apply. Income is the average gross monthly household income over the months worked in that 12-month period, counting all applicants and occupiers, and it must not exceed $9,000.

Table for first-timer households, from HDB's EHG amount schedule for amounts from 20 August 2024. For first-timer and second-timer couples, HDB assesses half of the household income against a separate scale (EHG Singles) that tops out at $60,000, and the income must be no more than $4,500 on that halved basis.

For resale flats you must first qualify for the Family Grant before you can get the EHG. To receive the full EHG, the flat's remaining lease must cover the youngest core member up to age 95. Otherwise the EHG is pro-rated.

Proximity Housing Grant (PHG)

The PHG is for families who buy a resale flat to live with or near their parents or a child:

• $30,000 if your parents or child will live with you in the flat. They must be included in the HFE letter and the resale application, and live there during the MOP.
• $20,000 if they live within 4 km of the flat, in an HDB flat or private residential property that they (or immediate family) own and live in, or in an HDB rental flat as registered tenant or occupier. You must keep to the proximity condition during the MOP.
• You must be a Singapore Citizen and include at least one other SC or SPR. The parents or child must be at least an SPR; a single child must be at least 35, and the PHG's other conditions depend on the family's marital status.
• If you or anyone in the application owns an HDB flat when living with parents or child, you must dispose of the flat within 6 months of completing the purchase.

Worked examples

HDB's own illustration

HDB's published example is Mr E (SC) and Mrs E (SPR), both first-timers, buying a 4-room resale flat. Their average household income over the months worked is $4,400. They receive a Family Grant of $70,000 (SC/SPR, 4-room) and an EHG of $70,000 (income band $4,001 to $4,500), a total of $140,000, credited as $35,000 + $35,000 into each of their CPF Ordinary Accounts.

A hypothetical SC/SC couple

Two first-timer Singapore Citizens earning an average of $6,200 a month together, buying a 4-room resale flat near their parents (within 4 km):

• Family Grant (SC/SC, 4-room): $80,000
• EHG (income band $6,001 to $6,500): $40,000
• PHG (living near parents): $20,000
• Total: $140,000, if every condition is met.

The three maximums added together are not a realistic expectation. The top EHG needs a household income of $1,500 or less, so households at higher incomes get far less than the headline $120,000.

How the grants are paid and used

Grants are credited to the CPF Ordinary Accounts of the first-timer core applicants, in their eligible shares. You use them to offset the purchase price or reduce your housing loan. Occupiers who are not core applicants cannot use CPF savings, including grants, for the flat or the loan. Core members must stay in the application and live in the flat during the Minimum Occupation Period, and their names cannot be removed.

What a grant costs you later

• It is refunded on sale. CPF says you must refund the principal CPF withdrawn for your property, including the CPF Housing Grant, plus accrued interest, to your CPF account when you sell. See CPF accrued interest on an HDB sale.
• It uses up your first-timer status. A resale flat bought with a CPF Housing Grant counts as subsidised housing, so you are then a second-timer, and a later purchase of a second subsidised flat can trigger the resale levy.
• MOP applies. A resale flat bought with grants carries a Minimum Occupation Period before you can sell on the open market. See MOP options.

For singles

Singles can also get grants for resale flats. A first-timer Singapore Citizen buying on their own can receive a Singles Grant of $40,000 (2- to 4-room) or $25,000 (5-room), with an income ceiling of $8,000. The EHG (Singles) is up to $60,000, for those whose income does not exceed $4,500 on their own, and the Proximity Housing Grant (Singles) is $15,000 to live with parents or $10,000 to live within 4 km. To buy a resale flat as a single, HDB's rules set an age requirement of 35 for the unmarried and divorced (21 for the widowed or orphaned). Check HDB's pages for singles, since flat types, eligibility and amounts differ from those for families.

Planning your budget around these grants? Use PropLeh's Maximum Loan Calculator for your loan limit, and read HDB loan vs bank loan for the financing choice. If you are a PR, see whether a PR can buy an HDB resale flat.

FAQ

Figures current as of October 2026, reflecting HDB's grant amounts and income ceilings (EHG enhanced from 20 August 2024). HDB can revise grants, and your eligibility depends on your own circumstances, including household composition, income history and property ownership. This guide is general information only and is not financial advice; rely on your HDB Flat Eligibility letter for the amounts you actually qualify for.