Minimum Occupation Period for Individuals who Buy Over Ex-spouses' Share of HDB Flat

Ms He Ting Ru asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether all HDB leaseholders who purchase a part-share of their flat from their ex-spouse in accordance with the terms of a divorce judgment are automatically subject to a new five-year minimum occupation period (MOP); (b) if so, what is the rationale for this policy; (c) in each of the last five years, how many requests have been made to waive such new MOP period; and (d) how many of these requests have been granted.

Mr Desmond Lee: Divorcees who choose to take over their ex-spouse's share of the flat can do so through in two ways: (a) a change in flat ownership not through a sale, commonly referred to as a "transfer of flat"; and (b) resale of part-share in the flat.

Resales of part-share are done for many reasons. While some are due to unfortunate circumstances, such as divorce, there are also transactions done for commercial reasons. For example, when one of the co-owners under the Joint Singles Scheme sells his or her share of the flat to an unrelated third-party. As such, the Housing and Development Board (HDB) treats all resale of part-share no differently from a typical resale transaction. This includes subjecting the remaining owners and any incoming owners to a fresh Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), which starts from the day the transaction is legally completed.

However, HDB waives the need to serve a fresh MOP for majority of resale of part-share cases due to divorce. From 2020 to 2024, on a case-by-case basis, HDB approved MOP waivers for about 30 such cases. HDB does not track the total number of such appeals received.