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2026 HDB Seller Checklist: What You Need To Prepare

Published 5 August 2025

2026 HDB Seller Checklist: What You Need To Prepare

There’s more to selling your HDB resale flat than finding the right buyer. You’ll need to check your eligibility before you even list, navigate the Option to Purchase once a buyer is found, submit your resale application to HDB, and see the transaction through to completion.

This checklist breaks it all down, stage-by-stage, so you know exactly what to prepare and when.

TL;DR / Summary:

– You can only sell after meeting your MOP — 5 years for most flats, 10 years for Plus and Prime flats.
– Your buyer must have a valid HFE letter before you grant the OTP, and the deposit can’t exceed $5,000 in total.
– Once you submit your resale application, endorse your documents within 6 days or your application will be held up.
– The whole process takes approximately 8 to 12 weeks from OTP to key handover.

Table of Contents:

What to Check Before You List Your HDB Resale Flat

Before you list your flat, there are three things you need to sort out first.

What to Check

Why It Matters

✅ Step 1

Your Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)

Confirms you’re eligible to sell

✅ Step 2

Your HDB Flat Valuation

Sets your price benchmark

✅ Step 3

Your Intent to Sell registration

Required before granting an OTP

Step 1: Check Your HDB Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)

The first thing to check before selling your HDB flat is whether you’ve met your Minimum Occupation Period (MOP). This is the minimum amount of time you’re required to live in your HDB flat before you’re allowed to sell it, and it varies depending on what type of flat you own.

For Standard flats and most existing resale flats, the MOP is 5 years from key collection. For Plus and Prime flats launched from October 2024 onwards, it’s 10 years. In 2026, over 13,000 HDB flats are reaching MOP, so if yours is one of them, now is the time to verify.

Log in to My HDBPage with your Singpass and check under My Flat Dashboard to confirm your status before you start making plans.

Step 2: Get Your HDB Flat Valuation

Before you decide on a selling price, you need to know what your flat is actually worth in today’s market. Valuations are typically based on recent resale transactions in your block and surrounding area, which gives you a good starting point.

But we went a step further and developed Homer AI to also factor in current HDB resale prices listed across all the major platforms, giving you a valuation that’s closer to what your home is actually worth right now. It updates every month too, so you can keep track of how your flat’s value has moved over time.

With Homer AI, you’ll also be able to calculate how much cash proceeds you’ll get after selling your home — an important piece of information to have especially if you plan to use it to buy your next home.

Step 3: Register Your Intent to Sell

To register your Intent to Sell, all you have to do is:

  1. Go to the HDB resale portal
  2. Click “I am a Buyer or Seller”
  3. Proceed to log in with your Singpass

Upon registration, you’ll receive:

  • An instant assessment of your eligibility to sell
  • The Ethnic Integration Policy/ Singapore Permanent Resident (EIP/ SPR) Quota for your block
  • The status of upgrading and billing of upgrading costs
  • Recent transacted prices of nearby HDB resale flats

📝 Note: Your HDB Intent to Sell is valid for only 12 months (1 year), so you need to submit the HDB resale application within that time. Otherwise, you’ll have to submit another application.

At this stage, you can speak with a property agent to get the selling process started.

With Ohmyhome, your listing will be posted on all the major platforms in Singapore, and you’ll be assisted by a personal Relationship Manager. You can message them on WhatsApp for any and all questions you may have.

What to Do After Finding a Buyer

Now, when you’ve found a buyer, you’ll need to prepare to…

What to Do

Why It Matters

✅ Step 4

Grant the Option to Purchase (OTP) to your buyer

Formally kicks off the sale process

✅ Step 5

Request for HDB Temporary Extension of Stay (if necessary)

Buys you time if your next home isn’t ready

✅ Step 6

Buyer exercises the OTP

Confirms the buyer is committed to the purchase

✅ Step 7

Receive the Option Fee from your buyer

Forms part of the deposit for the transaction

Step 4: Grant the Option to Purchase (OTP) to Buyer

You won’t have to prepare the Option to Purchase (OTP) as it will be done by your buyer. However, before granting the OTP to your buyer, remember these three things:

  1. You’ll need to complete the Intent to Sell at least seven days before granting the Option to Purchase (OTP).
  2. Your buyer will need to have a valid HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter before you can grant the OTP.
  3. If your buyer intends to get a bank loan, he/she must have a Letter of Offer before he/she can exercise the OTP.

Step 5: Request for HDB Temporary Extension of Stay (If Necessary)

If, for some reason, you can’t move out of your home by your HDB Resale Completion date, you can request for a Temporary Extension of Stay. All you and/or your property agent has to do is get the buyer to sign the Temporary Extension of Stay form and submit it along with your HDB resale application.

Basically, a HDB Temporary Extension of Stay is a private agreement between you and the buyer that allows you to stay for up to three months in your flat after the resale completion.

However, this will only be approved if your next home is already completed and ready for occupation. If it’s still under construction, your Temporary Extension of Stay will not be approved by HDB.

Check the full terms and conditions for HDB Temporary Extension of Stay before you apply.

Step 6: Buyer Exercises the OTP

Your buyer has 21 days to exercise the OTP once it’s been granted. If they pull out for any reason, the OTP expires and you’ll need to find another buyer. Not the most fun situation, but it does happen, so it’s worth being selective from the start.

On your end, you won’t need to exercise the OTP yourself. You will, however, need to have all the OTP details ready when you submit your HDB resale application.

Step 7: Receive Option Fee from Buyer

When you’ve agreed on a price with your serious buyer, and have discussed the terms of the Temporary Extension of Stay (if necessary), he/she will send you the exercise fee. This, together with the Option fee, will form the deposit. It cannot exceed $5,000.

For example, if the buyer paid $1,000 for the Option fee, which is typically the case, the exercise fee should be less than $4,000.

What to Prepare When Submitting Your HDB Resale Application

This is one of the last steps you’ll need to complete to sell your HDB resale flat. The good news is that your property agent can submit it on your behalf through the HDB Resale Portal. All you need to do is have your documents ready and send them over.

What to Do

✅ Step 8

Have Your OTP Details Ready

✅ Step 9

Gather Your Personal Details and Documents

✅ Step 10

Submit Your Temporary Extension of Stay Form

✅ Step 11

Pay the Admin Fee

Here’s a full breakdown of what to prepare at each step:

Step 8: Have Your OTP Details Ready

Have these details on hand when your agent submits the application:

  • Your HDB resale flat address
  • Buyer’s particulars (name and NRIC)
  • OTP serial number
  • Option Date and Acceptance Date
  • Purchase Price, Option Fee, and Option Exercise Fee
  • Soft copy of the signed OTP

Step 9: Gather Your Personal Details and Documents

Prepare the following for yourself and any co-owners on the flat:

  • Identity Card or Passport (for non-citizens)
  • Duplicate Lease, if it has been issued
  • Spouse’s endorsement and Spouse Consent to Resale form, if applicable
  • Power of Attorney or Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), if applicable
  • Divorce or separation documents, if applicable
  • Letter of Consent from the Official Assignee, if applicable

If the flat owner is deceased:

  • Death certificate of seller
  • Grant of Letter of Administration or Probate, if applicable
  • Last will of the deceased, if applicable
  • Order of Court to sanction the sale, if applicable

If the flat owners are divorced or separated:

  • Deed of Separation or Interim Judgment
  • Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final
  • Order of Court, if any
  • Any other documents related to the divorce

If you’re using cash proceeds to buy another HDB resale flat:

  • Indicate in your resale application that you’re applying for the Enhanced Contra Facility
  • State whether you’re appointing a private lawyer or HDB lawyer for conveyancing

📝 Note: These documents may need to be submitted in soft copy. If any are in Chinese, Malay, or Tamil, an official English translation must be included.

Step 10: Submit Your Temporary Extension of Stay Form

If you’ve arranged a Temporary Extension of Stay with your buyer, submit the form signed by both parties together with your resale application.

Step 11: Pay the Admin Fee

A one-time admin fee is payable when submitting your resale application:

  • 1-room and 2-room flats: $40
  • 3-room flats and larger: $80

💡 Tip: You can track the status of your HDB resale application anytime on the HDB Resale Portal.

What to Do After Submitting Your HDB Resale Application

You’re almost at the finish line. Once your HDB resale application is submitted, HDB takes over to process the sale. Here’s what you’ll need to do on your end while that happens.

What to Do

Why It Matters

✅ Step 12

Acknowledge and Endorse Resale Documents

Required before HDB can process your application

✅ Step 13

Pay Legal Conveyancing Fees

Unlocks the next stage of your resale application

✅ Step 14

Receive In-Principle Approval Letter from HDB

Confirms HDB has approved your resale application

✅ Step 15

Attend Your HDB Resale Completion Appointment

Final step where ownership is transferred and keys are handed over

Step 12: Acknowledge and Endorse Your Resale Documents

After your application is submitted, HDB will send the resale documents you need to endorse via SMS. You’ll complete the endorsement on the HDB Resale Portal and it must be done within six days, so keep an eye on your phone.

Step 13: Pay Your Legal Conveyancing Fees

Once you’ve endorsed the documents, you’ll be directed to pay the conveyancing fees online using your credit card. If you’re unable to pay online, you can print the payment advice and make payment in person at HDB Hub.

Step 14: Receive Your In-Principle Approval Letter from HDB

Within two weeks of endorsing your resale documents and paying the conveyancing fees, HDB will send you an in-principle approval letter via email and SMS. The letter will also be available on the HDB Resale Portal. This means your sale is on track.

Step 15: Attend Your HDB Resale Completion Appointment

Once HDB approves your resale application, you’ll receive a Resale Completion Appointment schedule via SMS. This is the final step.

At HDB Hub, you’ll sign the legal documents to transfer ownership and hand over the keys to your buyer. If you appointed an HDB lawyer, you’ll need to be present at the appointment. If you appointed a private lawyer, they can attend on your behalf.

📝 Note: The entire HDB resale process from the date the OTP is granted to the Resale Completion Appointment typically takes 8 to 12 weeks.

Ready to Sell Your HDB Resale Flat?

Hopefully this checklist took some of the mystery out of the whole process. There’s quite a bit to keep track of, but once you know what’s needed at each stage, it’s really just a matter of working through it one step at a time.

If you’d like some help selling your property along the way, Ohmyhome property agents can take care of the whole process for you, from getting your flat listed to seeing the transaction through to your Resale Completion Appointment.

And if finding your next home is still on the to-do list, our agents use MATCH, our smart data matching technology, to help you find a home that fits your budget, lifestyle, and needs without the endless scrolling. Submit your preferences to us and our algorithm will filter all our available listings based on those.

WhatsApp us today and let’s get your flat sold.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will selling my HDB flat affect my CPF savings?

Yes, but it won’t reduce your savings. When you sell, the CPF funds you used for the purchase, plus accrued interest, are returned to your CPF Ordinary Account. This amount is deducted from your sale proceeds first, so the cash you actually receive will be lower than your selling price. Use a cash proceeds calculator to know your exact figure beforehand.

2. How long does it take to sell an HDB resale flat from start to finish?

The standard process takes approximately 8 weeks from HDB’s acceptance of the resale application to the final completion appointment. However, the full timeline from the moment you list your flat to finding a buyer and completing the transaction can vary depending on market conditions, how quickly a buyer is found, and how smoothly the paperwork goes.

3. Do I need to pay Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD) when selling my HDB flat?

Most HDB sellers won’t need to pay SSD since you can only sell after fulfilling your MOP of at least 5 years, which is beyond the 4-year SSD window.