Selling Guide

HDB Temporary Extension of Stay: Rules for Sellers and Buyers

After an HDB resale completes, the buyer owns the flat and you must move out. If your next home is not ready, a temporary extension of stay lets you stay for up to three months, but only if the buyer agrees and you meet HDB's conditions. It is a private arrangement with costs on both sides.

What the extension is

HDB allows sellers who need more time to move out to stay in the flat for up to 3 months after resale completion. The extension ends automatically at 3 months, with no further extension. It is subject to the buyers' agreement, so raise it while negotiating the sale. The buyers are the legal owners from the completion date and you and all occupants must otherwise move out by then.

Seller conditions

• At the time of the resale application you must have committed to buy a completed property in Singapore, either another HDB flat or private residential property, by having exercised an OTP or signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement.
• You must not be renting out the whole flat when you apply.
• If the transactions are under HDB's Enhanced Contra Facility, you must be the contra party.
• You and the buyers must both state in your portions of the resale application that there is an arrangement for the extension. HDB then asks both sides to endorse it before it starts on the completion date. Sellers pay no administrative fee.

If you are buying an uncompleted property such as a new launch, the first condition does not fit; HDB's wording refers to a completed property.

Buyer conditions and costs

• Buyers pay an administrative fee of $20 including GST for the request.
• As owners from completion, buyers keep paying the ownership costs during the extension, such as the monthly housing loan instalment, service and conservancy charges (without rebates during the extension) and property tax.
• Property tax is at the higher non-owner-occupied rates for the extension period, because the buyer is not living there. IRAS says the default three-month period is charged at that rate, then owner-occupier rates apply automatically. See the property tax guide.
• The buyers' Minimum Occupation Period starts counting only after the extension ends. If the extension ends early, buyers must tell the HDB branch through MyHDB Page.

It is a private deal

HDB treats the extension as a private arrangement. You and the buyers may sign your own agreement on the terms, including any compensation the seller pays the buyer, and you do not need to show it to HDB. HDB will not mediate disputes. Both sides must indemnify HDB against claims arising from the arrangement. Because buyers carry real costs during the stay, sellers should expect to negotiate compensation.

Practical tips

• Agree the terms in writing before exercising the OTP, including the end date, compensation, utilities and who is responsible for damage.
• Make sure your own next purchase is committed before you apply, since that is an eligibility condition.
• If the arrangement changes, write to HDB through MyRequest@HDB to drop the request.
• Do not treat it as a way to rent out your old flat: the cap is 3 months.

For the full selling sequence, see selling an HDB flat step by step, and for the buyer's side see buying a resale flat.

FAQ

Figures current as of October 2026. HDB's Terms and Conditions for Temporary Extension of Stay govern the arrangement and can change. This guide is general information only and is not legal advice; consider having your solicitor review any private agreement.