HDB Flats Transferred to Estate of Deceased Owner Who are Also Flats' Owners

25 Mr Gan Thiam Poh asked the Minister for National Development (a) in each of the past 10 years, what is the number of HDB flats that have been transferred to the estate of the deceased owner who are also the flat's owners; (b) of these, what is the breakdown by flat types and by lease balance respectively; and (c) how many beneficiaries/administrators of such estates have sold the HDB flat left over by the deceased.

Mr Lawrence Wong: In cases where the flat is held in joint tenancy, the deceased's interest in the flat is passed on automatically to the surviving co-owner without the need for a transfer to the estate of the deceased. The surviving owner may lodge a Notice of Death (NOD) with the Singapore Land Authority, to ensure that the title deed reflects the change in ownership. HDB does not actively track when an NOD is lodged, especially if the NOD was lodged without HDB's assistance.

On the number of HDB flats sold by an administrator or executor of an estate upon demise of all its owners, HDB's records indicate that there were 1,890 such cases in the past 10 years from 2008 to 2017.