Government Regulations | Property Invest Sg

Government Regulations

Before deciding on the purchase of public or private property in Singapore, one have to be aware of the government regulations and policies that are in place. Here are some of the regulations and guidelines for your references:

Seller Stamp Duty

On 30 Aug 2010, the Government further announced that SSD will be payable on residential properties which are acquired (or purchased) on or after 30 Aug 2010 and disposed of (or sold) within 3 years of acquisition. The amount of SSD for the holding period of 1 year is computed based on the same rates as the buyer’s stamp duty, but will be reduced  to 2/3 and 1/3 of the amount of buyer’s stamp duty for holding period of 2 years and 3 years respectively.

On 13 January 2011, the Government announced the extension of the holding period for imposition of SSD on residential properties from 3 years to 4 years based on new rates. The new SSD rates will be imposed on residential properties which are acquired (or purchased) on or after 14 January 2011 and disposed of (or sold) within 4 years of acquisition, as follows :

Buyer Stamp Duty

All buyers will have to pay buyer stamp duty: The BSD rate is a tiered-rate structure, i.e. 1% on the first $180,000, 2% on the next $180,000 and 3% on the amount exceeding $360,000.

Any foreigner and non-individual would have to pay ABSD rate at 10% each time they buy a residential property regardless of the number of properties owned.

A Singapore PR who has at least one count of residential property owned by him would have to pay ABSD rate at 3% for each additional residential property bought by him.

A SC who has at least two counts of residential properties owned by him would have to pay ABSD rate at 3% for each additional residential property bought by him.

Effective Date of Implementation of ABSD

ABSD will apply to Contracts or Agreements (whichever is earlier), or Documents of Transfer*, dated on or after 8 December 2011.
Where an Option To Purchase has been granted on or before 7 December 2011 and exercised
thereafter on or before 28 December 2011, without any extension of the option validity period,
ABSD will be remitted upon application.

Source: http://www.iras.gov.sg

New ABSD structure

Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)

HDB flat owners must have physically occupied their flats for a period of time, referred to as Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), before they are eligible to sell it in the open market.

Type of HDBMinimum Occupation Period
1-Room HDBNo occupation period
Flats bought from HDB (direct-purchase flat)

DBSS flat bought from developer

Resale Flat under CPF Housing Grant Scheme

5 years from effective date of purchase.
Flats bought under
Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS)		For SERS replacement flat purchased with portable SERS rehousing benefits

5 years from the effective date of purchase of the replacement flat.

For SERS replacement flat not purchased with portable SERS rehousing benefits

- 7 years from the date of selection of the replacement flat, provided they had taken possession of the replacement flat; or

- 5 years from the effective date of purchase of the replacement flat.

Resale Flat bought in the open market
(without CPF Housing Grant Scheme)		Resale Flats bought after 30 August 2010
5 years from effective date of resale

Resale Flats bought from 5 March 2010 - 29 August 2010
3 years from effective date of resale

Resale Flats bought Before 5 March 2010
Able to sell now

New EC rules

New measures specific to new EC developments to ensure that ECs continue to serve as an affordable housing option for middle-income Singaporean families.
•Max strata floor area will be capped at 160 sq m
•Dual-key EC units will be restricted to multi-generational families only
•Allowed to launch units for sale 15 months from award of site or after completion of foundation works, whichever is earlier
•Private enclosed spaces and roof terraces will be treated as gross floor area (GFA)

Property Tax increase