Appeals Made for Sale of HDB Flats before Minimum Occupation Period Due to Divorce

70 Ms Yeo Wan Ling asked the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the last five years, how many appeals were made to HDB to permit the sale of a flat before the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) was fulfilled due to a divorce and a court order requiring the sale of the matrimonial HDB flat; and (b) whether such cases can be exempted from MOP requirements without requiring an appeal.

Mr Chee Hong Tat: Following a divorce, flat owners who are required by Court Order to sell their matrimonial Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat on the open market must still satisfy the prevailing eligibility conditions to do so. If the minimum occupation period (MOP) has not been fulfilled at the point of divorce and neither party is eligible to retain the flat, the parties would need to surrender the flat to HDB. This ensures parity with the majority of flat owners, who are required to serve out the MOP before they are eligible to sell their flats.

Where appropriate, HDB also exercises flexibility on a case-by-case basis. From 2021 to 2025, HDB granted about 300 approvals each year for divorced couples to sell their flat within the MOP.