{"id":29959,"date":"2023-03-13T13:36:58","date_gmt":"2023-03-13T05:36:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/blog\/singapore\/?p=29959"},"modified":"2023-03-13T13:39:23","modified_gmt":"2023-03-13T05:39:23","slug":"met-your-mop-what-can-you-do-with-your-flat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/met-your-mop-what-can-you-do-with-your-flat\/","title":{"rendered":"So you’ve met your MOP. Now what can you do with your flat?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Flat owners look forward to their MOP like NS men look forward to their ORD. Once it happens, you’re free to…carry on with 20 more years of debt? Obsess over the impact of a nearby columbarium on property price? Eh, here are some better ideas.<\/p>\n

But first, what is the MOP?<\/h2>\n

The Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)<\/a> is a five-year stretch that applies to most HDB properties (yes, including Executive Condominiums<\/a> that have not yet been privatised).<\/p>\n

*The MOP is extended to 10 years for Prime Location Public Housing (PLH)<\/a> flats.<\/p>\n

During the MOP, you cannot sell your flat on the open market, and you cannot rent out the entire flat<\/a> (although you can still rent out individual rooms, provided you still live there). In addition, you cannot buy a private property during the MOP.<\/p>\n

One exception to the rule is if you own a one-room resale HDB flat, which you purchased without any HDB grants. There’s no MOP on these units<\/a>. (Although this exception doesn\u2019t seem to apply anymore; as of this update, HDB\u2019s website<\/a> states that resale flats bought without any grants are subject to the five-year MOP).<\/p>\n

\"hdb<\/a>
Source: HDB<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The MOP begins from the day you complete the sale transaction (aka when you collect the keys to your new home). If there’s a gap in which you’re not living in the flat (e.g. you fly overseas to work for two years), those years do not <\/em>count toward your MOP.<\/p>\n

So, that being said, what can you do after your MOP? Well, you can…<\/h2>\n
    \n
  • Buy a private property in addition to your flat (if you’re a Singapore Citizen)<\/li>\n
  • Upgrade to a private property<\/li>\n
  • Move in elsewhere and rent out your whole flat (if you’re a Singapore Citizen)<\/li>\n
  • Sell and move to a different flat<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    1. Buy a private property in addition to your flat (if you’re a Singapore Citizen)<\/h3>\n
    \"Property-investment\"<\/a>
    You can buy a flat and then a condo, and own both. But NOT the other way around.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    If you’re a Singapore Permanent Resident (PR), skip to point 2, or keep reading to rage at the unfairness.<\/p>\n

    A Singapore Citizen can buy a private property in addition to their HDB flat, once the five-year MOP is up. Also, do you have a lot of money? Because you’ll need a ton of it. Like, enough-to-take-a-year-off-work<\/em> levels of money.<\/p>\n

    First, you need to pay all the usual taxes, such as the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD)<\/a> of 17% on the second property. Then, you need to be ready for either a huge down payment or to pay off the outstanding home loan of your current HDB flat.<\/p>\n

    That’s because, if you still have an outstanding home loan when you buy the second property, the maximum you can borrow<\/a> is 45% of the property’s price or value (whichever is lower).<\/p>\n

    Assuming you settle all that in cash without triggering a Central Narcotics Bureau investigation, congratulations! You’re a proud owner of a flat and<\/em> a condo. You can generate rental income by living in one and renting out the other.<\/p>\n