{"id":65952,"date":"2023-06-07T18:06:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-07T10:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/?p=65952"},"modified":"2024-09-12T12:24:21","modified_gmt":"2024-09-12T04:24:21","slug":"things-pr-cant-do-property-ownership-singapore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.99.co\/singapore\/insider\/things-pr-cant-do-property-ownership-singapore\/","title":{"rendered":"10 things PRs can\u2019t do when it comes to property ownership in Singapore"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In a recent rental dispute case, a former PR was fined by SLA for renting out his house, even though he could not do so.<\/p>\n

For residential property ownership in Singapore, certain properties are off-limits for PRs and foreigners. And even if they can buy one, they do not enjoy the same treatment as Singaporeans.<\/p>\n

For non-Singaporeans, only PRs can buy HDB flats and restricted properties. (One exception is landed homes in Sentosa Cove<\/a>; we will explain more on that later.)<\/p>\n

HDB flats<\/h2>\n

HDB flats<\/a> can only be bought by Singaporeans and PRs.<\/p>\n

While foreigners may not buy one, they can become essential occupiers<\/a> with a Singaporean family member to buy an HDB flat. For instance, this foreigner could be the Singapore citizen\u2019s spouse, parent or child.<\/p>\n

PR households (i.e. no Singaporeans in the household) can also buy HDB flats, but they are limited to resale flats<\/a>. And unlike Singaporeans, there are some things PR HDB flat owners cannot do.<\/p>\n

1. Buy HDB flat right after getting PR<\/h3>\n

PRs cannot buy an HDB flat from the resale market right after getting their PR. They will have to wait three years for all the core applicants and essential occupiers to get a PR.<\/p>\n

For instance, if the husband has been a PR for three years, but the wife has only recently attained PR status, the couple will have to wait three more years before they can buy an HDB resale flat.<\/p>\n

(Note that they may not buy a Prime Location Public Housing (PLH) flat<\/a> from the resale market.)<\/p>\n

After that, similar to Singaporeans, PRs have to meet the five-year minimum occupation period (MOP)<\/a> and physically occupy the resale flat.<\/p>\n

\"couple<\/a>
“Should we buy a condo instead of waiting for three years?”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

2. Take an HDB loan<\/h3>\n

To qualify for an HDB loan<\/a>, at least one applicant must be a Singapore citizen.<\/p>\n

This means that SC\/PR and SC\/foreigner households may be eligible for an HDB loan.<\/p>\n

PR households do not have this additional option. So they can only apply for a bank loan<\/a> to finance their HDB flat purchase.<\/p>\n

3. Rent out the whole unit<\/h3>\n

Another thing to note is that PRs cannot rent out the whole HDB flat<\/a>. Only Singaporeans may do so after they complete the five-year MOP.<\/p>\n

If they want to earn some rental income, one option is to rent out the room(s) in the flat. This option is also available for PRs.<\/p>\n

Note the regulations regarding renting out bedrooms in an HDB flat. For instance, you can only rent out the room(s) if your flat is a 3-room or bigger. Plus, you may not rent out all the rooms in the flat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Flat type<\/b><\/td>\nMax. number of bedrooms allowed to be rented out<\/b><\/td>\nMax. number of occupants* in each flat<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3-room<\/b><\/td>\n1<\/span><\/td>\n6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4-room and bigger<\/b><\/td>\n2<\/span><\/td>\n6<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

*The maximum number of occupants includes the owners, essential occupiers, and tenants.<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n

You will also need to get HDB\u2019s approval before the start of the tenancy.<\/p>\n

HDB flats for sale<\/h4>\n
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