A Guide to CPF Housing Grants for First-timer HDB Flat Buyers

When buying an HDB flat, you may qualify for a range of CPF Housing Grants that help make your flat purchase more affordable. These grants can be used to offset the purchase price of the flat and reduce the mortgage loan for the flat purchase.  However, the grant(s) cannot be used for the minimum cash downpayment (if any) and monthly mortgage instalment payments.

First-timer applicants who are buying a subsidised flat from HDB, may apply for the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG). As for those who wish to buy a resale flat on the open market, they may apply for the Family/Singles Grant, the EHG and/or Proximity Housing Grant (PHG) to help them with their flat purchase.

Types of CPF Housing Grants

Note: Eligibility conditions for the grants are on top of the usual requirements for buying HDB flats, such as citizenship, age, income ceiling (where applicable) and non-ownership of private property.

How do CPF Housing Grants work?

Say you are first-timer couple, purchasing a 4-room resale flat for $530,000 in Punggol. Both you and your spouse are Singapore Citizens.

You have an average monthly household income of $6,000. This qualifies you for a Family Grant of $50,000, because (1) you’re buying a 4-room flat, and (2) both of you are Singapore citizens.

You may also be eligible for an Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG) of $35,000. The lower your income, the higher the EHG amount (see section Details on the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant below).

Finally, you are living within four kilometres of your parents’ residence. This gives you a further Proximity Housing Grant of $20,000.

The amount you pay for your resale flat is thus:

$530,000 - Family Grant ($50,000) - EHG ($35,000) - PHG ($20,000) = $425, 000

Read on to find out more about the various grants:

Enhanced CPF Housing Grant

How does the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant work?

The EHG amount varies based on your average monthly household income:

Monthly Income / EHG Amount:

• Not more than $1,500: $80,000
• $1,501 - $2,000: $75,000
• $2,001 - $2,500: $70,000
• $2,501 - $3,000: $65,000
• $3,001 - $3,500: $60,000
• $3,501 - $4,000: $55,000
• $4,001 - $4,500: $50,000
• $4,501 - $5,000: $45,000
• $5,001 - $5,500: $40,000
• $5,501 - $6,000: $35,000
• $6,001 - $6,500: $30,000
• $6,501 - $7,000: $25,000
• $7,001 - $7,500: $20,000
• $7,501 - $8,000: $15,000
• $8,001 - $8,500: $10,000
• $8,501 - $9,000: $5,000

Singles and Singaporeans married to non-residents can also apply for the EHG, but receive half the grant amount. The income ceiling is also halved (to $4,500).

Family Grant

The Family Grant helps first-timer couples or families to own their first home. It is for couples/families who need a resale flat.

Where the spouse is currently not a Singapore Citizen but is applying for it, it is still possible to receive the grant difference of $10,000 later. To do this, you need to apply for the Citizen Top-Up, within six months of (i) your spouse originally listed in the flat application acquiring Singapore citizenship or (ii) having an SC child is born to the SC applicant / owner originally listed in the flat application or (iii) the SPR parent/child/sibling* originally listed in the flat application obtains Singapore Citizenship status.

How does the Family Grant work?

For resale 4-room flat or smaller:

The Family Grant amount is $50,000 if both you and your spouse are Singapore Citizens. If one spouse is a SPR, the Family Grant amount is $40,000.

For resale 5-room flat or larger:

The Family Grant amount is $40,000 if both you and your spouse are Singapore Citizens. If one spouse is a SPR, the Family Grant amount is $30,000.

Things to look out for:

The income ceiling for the Family Grant is $14,000 for couples buying a resale flat but is $21,000 for extended families (e.g., your parents are also applicants).

*Conversion of sibling to SC to qualify for the Citizen Top-Up applies only to flats purchased under the Orphans Scheme and Non-Citizen Spouse Scheme   

Details on the Half-Housing Grant

What is the Half -Housing Grant for?

Eligible first-timer applicant whose spouse/fiancé(e) has previously enjoyed any housing subsidy can apply for the Half-Housing Grant and the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG).

Who can get the Half-Housing Grant?

Couples where one spouse is a second-timer, but the other is a first-timer.

How does the Half-Housing Grant work?

For resale flats, the grant amount is $25,000 for 4-room or smaller flats. The 5-room or larger flats, the grant amount is $20,000.

Things to look out for:

Similar to the Family Grant, but it is commonly overlooked that both partners must have Singapore citizenship, to apply for the half-housing grant.

Details on the Proximity Housing Grant

What is the Proximity Housing Grant for?

The PHG is for couples or singles who want to live with or near parents/ child.

Who can get the Proximity Housing Grant?

So long as your parents/child (if child is single, he/she must be at least 35 years old) live in the resale flat you’re buying, or live within four kilometres of you, you’re eligible. The grant recipients and their parents/married child must continue to live together or close to each other throughout the minimum occupation period (MOP) of 5 years for the resale flat.

How does the Proximity Housing Grant work?

If you live with your parents/child, the PHG amount is $30,000. If you live anywhere within four kilometres of your parents/child, the PHG amount is $20,000. For singles, the amount of the PHG is halved. Singles who live with their parents will get a grant of $15,000, while those living within four kilometres will get $10,000.

Things to look out for:

It does not matter what type of property your parents live in, so long as it falls within the four-kilometre radius. You would, for instance, still receive the grant if you buy a resale flat within four kilometres of your parent’s condo or landed property.

Key things to remember

For most Singaporeans, a home is the most expensive purchase you will make in your lifetime. Besides the cost of the property itself, you need to account for the cost of renovation, as well as maintenance and conservancy fees.

While the grants go a long way toward making flats more affordable, early financial planning is important too. Speak to an Income advisor for help with budgeting or saving up for your future home.

A final consideration is that, when you sell your flat, all CPF monies used for the flat (including the CPF Housing Grants) must be refunded to your CPF account, including the accrued interest. As buying a flat is a long-term financial commitment, it is important to be prudent when doing so; speak to your financial advisor for help in planning.