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6 Frequently Asked Questions About HDB Resale Completion Appointment

Published 2 June 2025

6 Frequently Asked Questions About HDB Resale Completion Appointment

TL;DR / Summary:

– The resale completion appointment is your final step before the flat is legally yours, scheduled ~8 weeks after HDB accepts your application.
– Both buyer and seller must attend in person, unless represented by a Power of Attorney or private solicitor.
– On the resale completion appointment day, documents are signed and keys are handed over to the buyer.
-You can move in immediately after the appointment.
– Sellers must settle S&C charges up to completion day and property tax up to end of the year.
– Buyers must pay the outstanding purchase price balance and any remaining BSD on completion day.

You’ve exercised the Option to Purchase (OTP) and gotten HDB’s approval, but the resale completion appointment is still ahead, and that last stretch still comes with plenty of questions of its own. What happens on the day? Who needs to be there? What do you need to pay? And can you actually move in right after?

Here’s everything you need to know before that final appointment.

Table of Contents:

A Quick Walk-Through of the HDB Resale Buying Process

Before we dive into the frequently asked questions, here’s a quick recap of the full resale buying journey so you can see exactly where the completion appointment fits in:

  1. Register Intent to Buy: First, you register your intent on the HDB Resale Portal. Once that’s done, you can start viewing flats and negotiating a price with the Seller.
  2. Get the OTP From the Seller: After successful negotiations, you make an offer. Once the Seller accepts it, you pay the option fee, and within the option period of 21 days, you exercise the OTP and pay the exercise fee.
  3. Choose Your Mode of Financing Your Flat: You’ll need to decide between an HDB Loan or a Bank Loan. This decision affects your downpayment, interest rate, and CPF usage.
  4. Submit a “Request for Value”: If you’re using CPF savings or a housing loan to finance your flat, you’ll need to submit a Request for Value to HDB. This determines the flat’s value, which is used as the basis for your CPF usage and loan amount.
  5. Submit the Resale Application: Both you and the seller submit the resale application separately on the HDB Resale Portal, not together. Once the first party submits, the second party has 7 calendar days to follow. Miss that window and the application is cancelled with no refund.
  6. Endorse Your Resale Documents: HDB prepares the resale documents on their end and makes them available on your My Flat Dashboard. All you need to do is log in, review them, and endorse them online to confirm you’re happy to proceed.
  7. Pay the Resale Application Fees Online: After endorsing your documents, both you and the seller need to pay an administrative fee online by credit card. Note that this fee is non-refundable, and HDB won’t grant resale approval until both parties have paid.
  8. Receive the Approval of Resale Application: You will receive an SMS and email notifying you of HDB’s approval of the resale transaction.
  9. Attend the Resale Completion Appointment: This concludes your home-buying journey.

The Most Common Questions About the HDB Resale Completion Appointment

We’ve rounded up the most frequently asked questions buyers ask before their resale completion appointment.

1. Who Must Attend the Resale Appointment?

Both the buyer and seller are required to attend the HDB resale completion appointment in person. That said, if either party has authorised a Power of Attorney or engaged a private solicitor, that representative can attend on their behalf. Do note that any family members who are unable to sign documents online will also need to be present to complete the signing.

2. When Does the Completion Appointment Happen?

Your resale completion appointment is scheduled at about 8 weeks after HDB accepts your resale application. Once the date is confirmed, HDB will notify you via SMS with the exact date and time of your appointment at HDB Hub. You can also log in to the HDB Resale Portal anytime to check your appointment details.

5 Must-Do Things For HDB Buyers Before Resale Completion Appointment

3. What Happens During the Resale Completion Appointment?

All legal documents that require physical signatures will be signed by you and the sellers at the completion appointment.

The completion appointment is for the HDB to witness 3 things:

  • The signing of the transfer document by the seller of the resale flat
  • The signing of the mortgage document/ agreement by you (if you are taking an HDB housing loan)
  • The handing over of the keys from the seller to you (or to your lawyer if you took a bank loan and engaged the bank’s lawyer to act for the purchase) after

4. Can You Start Occupying Your New Home On the Completion Appointment Date?

Definitely! During the completion appointment, you confirm that the flat has been vacated and the conditions are acceptable.

Eight weeks from the resale flat application up to the completion appointment must be sufficient for the sellers to prepare the flat. That’s why it is important to agree with the seller on the date of resale application, because after your purchase of the resale flat is legally completed, the seller is required to move out.

During your completion appointment, you can immediately start making beautiful memories in your new home sweet home.

However, if the seller needs more time to move out, a temporary extension of stay of up to 3 months must be agreed upon in advance and officially submitted to HDB as part of the resale documents.

5. What are the Charges that Must Be Paid By the Sellers By the Completion Appointment Date?

Before the completion appointment, sellers are responsible for settling two outstanding charges.

Service and Conservancy Charges

The sellers have to pay the service and conservancy charges up to the day of resale completion. This means that even if the resale application was approved a month ago, the sellers are still the ones who need to pay for the S & C charges. It is only during this completion appointment that the deal will be sealed, which means you are now the legal owner of the property.

Property Tax

As for property tax, the sellers are required to pay up to the end of the year

6. What are the Charges that I Need to Pay On the Resale Completion Date?

Before you walk out with your keys, there are two charges you’ll need to settle on completion day.

Balance of the Purchase Price

If you are taking an HDB housing loan, you must pay the balance of the purchase price of the flat on this day.

Outstanding Stamp Duty

You are required to pay Buyer’s Stamp Duty (BSD) for documents executed for the sale and purchase of the property. BSD will be computed on the purchase price as stated in the document to be stamped or the market value of the property (whichever is the higher amount).

You can print a copy of the payment advice on the HDB Resale Portal, and bring it along for payment (by Cashier’s Order and/or NETS) at the Payment Office, Level 3, HDB Hub, before you meet the Customer Relations Manager for the Resale Completion.

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Source: HDB