Currently, there are two main types of land leases in Singapore: 99-year leases and freehold leases.

There are various types of land leases such as 60 years, 99 years, 103 years, 999 years or freehold before Singapore's official establishment. Because 999 years is long, it is generally classified as a freehold.

Since the establishment of the country in 1965, the Singapore government has granted land titles for only 99 years.

Therefore, HDB flats are all within 99 years and only condominiums and landed houses are divided into 99 years and freehold.

The new freehold condominiums that are currently available in the market have been converted and sold after acquiring the old houses that were previously freehold.

If the house is old or the property license is about to expire, there are three possible scenarios:

Government repossession

The government will repossess the land whose deed is expiring and use it for new land development plans. For residents, this means that the value of the house goes straight to zero. The news of the house row in Geylang is a typical example.

Collective Sale

Collective sale, also known as demolition, is when a developer sees the value of the land and invests in buying all the houses on the land. When successful, they will be converted into new buildings and then sold.

There is also a VERS/SERS policy, which is a redevelopment program. For brick houses that are over 70 years old, the government will provide funds to help rebuild them.

Demolition payments in Singapore are also significant based on the current value of the land.

There was a wave of demolition gambling in 2017-2018, with many people buying very old houses and trying their luck for demolition. However, the Singapore government has repeatedly stressed that not all houses can wait for demolition.

Never buy an old house just to gamble on demolition, or you may be left with a basket case.

Extending the lease

For older land, tenants can also pay a land premium and apply to the Land Office of Singapore to extend the lease again to 99 years. But the money is not small and the government does not always approve it.

The price of a condominium with a freehold is about 15-25% higher than that of a condominium with a 99-year lease and about 20-40% higher for a landed home.