By The Address desk · Last verified 28 September 2026

An HDB flat is a 99-year lease, not a freehold. When the lease runs out, the flat goes back to the state. Along the way, the remaining lease shapes what buyers can borrow and how much CPF they can use. To use CPF in full, the lease must last the youngest buyer to age 95; below that, the amount is pro-rated, and with under 20 years left, no CPF can be used at all. Two schemes address the later years: a second round of upgrading at 60, and the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme (VERS), whose first projects are expected in the early 2030s.

Quick facts

• HDB flats are sold on 99-year leases.
• Full CPF use needs the lease to last the youngest buyer to 95.
• With less than 20 years left, no CPF can be used.
• The full 90% HDB loan also depends on the lease reaching age 95.
• Flats get a second upgrade (HIP II) after 60 years.
• VERS will offer to buy back selected precincts at about 70 years old, if residents vote yes.

What is lease decay?

As a lease shortens, fewer buyers can finance the flat and its value tends to fall. The VERS scheme exists partly to tackle that decline, and to keep older flats liveable to the end of their leases.

How does the lease affect CPF and loans?

Since 10 May 2019, the rules turn on one question: does the remaining lease cover the youngest buyer to age 95?

• Yes: you can use CPF up to the valuation limit, and take an HDB loan up to 90 per cent.
• Not fully: CPF use and the HDB loan are pro-rated by how far the lease gets you towards 95.
• Under 20 years left: no CPF can be used at all.

For a pair of 25-year-olds buying a flat with 85 years left, nothing is cut: the lease takes them past 95. When the rules were set, the government said about 98 per cent of HDB owners had homes that would last them to 95 or beyond.

Does it matter at 55?

Yes. To withdraw CPF savings above the Basic Retirement Sum after 55, you need a property whose lease lasts you to at least 95.

What happens to older flats?

First, upgrading. Flats already get one round of upgrading after 30 years under the Home Improvement Programme. A second round, HIP II, is planned for flats past 60, to keep them sound to the end of the lease.

Then, possibly, VERS. Selected precincts with flats around 70 years old will vote on whether the government should buy them back early. If enough residents agree, owners are compensated and the site is redeveloped. If not, they can stay until the lease ends. The government has said compensation will be less generous than under the older en bloc scheme, SERS, which is no longer taking new projects. In 2025, ministers said the framework would be worked out during the current term of Parliament, with the first sites likely in the first half of the 2030s.

The WahLiao Verdict

Before buying an older flat, work out the youngest buyer’s age plus the remaining lease. If it reaches 95, the lease won’t limit your financing; if not, find out what the pro-rating does to your CPF and loan. Don’t price in a VERS payout that hasn’t been designed yet.

Questions people ask

Will my flat be worth nothing when the lease ends?

At expiry, the flat returns to the state. VERS is meant to give selected precincts the option of an earlier buyback, but its terms aren’t set yet.

Can I use CPF for a flat with 30 years left?

Yes, but likely pro-rated, depending on whether the lease covers the youngest buyer to 95.

When will VERS start?

The first selected sites are likely in the first half of the 2030s.

Is VERS compulsory?

No. Selected precincts vote. The voting threshold hasn’t been announced.

Sources: CEA, new rules on CPF usage and HDB loans (2019); MND, worked examples; MND, oral answer on VERS (September 2025); 99.co on VERS and SERS; EdgeProp on how many homes last to 95.

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