Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced at the National Day Mass Meeting on 20 August that a new HDB framework will be adopted from the second half of next year, whereby pre-purchased HDB flats will be classified into Standard, Plus and Prime HDB flats based on the characteristics of the lot.

It was also noted that buyers of HDB flats in Preferred lots will get more allowances than those in Standard lots, but with stricter resale restrictions.

Today, the authorities released details of the resale conditions for HDB flats in Preferred Lots:

1. Only Singaporeans can buy HDB flats in the resale market in Preferred Lots;

2. Private home owners will have to wait 30 months after the sale before they can buy such HDB flats;

3. Resale HDB buyers cannot earn more than $14,000, whether they are a family or a single person;

4. These HDB flats cannot be fully rented out;

5. There is a minimum residency period of 10 years.

The resale conditions for about 1.1 million existing HDB flats remain unchanged.

In addition, couples with children under the age of 18 or aged 40 and below will be given priority in the allocation of flats reserved for the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS) when applying for standard-lot four-room or smaller HDB flats in all districts across the island in future.

Currently, this group only has priority under the FPPS when applying for a 4-bedroom or smaller flat in a non-mature market town.

To satisfy this group, it is necessary that:

1. the purchaser must be a family with at least one child aged 18 and below or;

2. be a couple aged 40 and under;

3. never have owned or sold any residential property;

4. not have had the opportunity to shop for pre-purchased HDB flats or surplus HDB flats in the past five years.