By The Address desk · Last verified 4 October 2026
To sell an HDB flat, you log in to My Flat Dashboard on the HDB Flat Portal, the online home of HDB’s resale system, and register an Intent to Sell. You must then wait out a seven-day cooling-off period before you can grant a buyer an Option to Purchase (OTP). The option fee is between $1 and $1,000, and the buyer has 21 calendar days to exercise it. After that, both sides submit the resale application; HDB aims to process and accept it within 28 working days, and completion takes about eight weeks from HDB’s acceptance. You must have met your Minimum Occupation Period first. From the sale proceeds, your outstanding loan is repaid and the CPF you used, plus accrued interest, goes back to your CPF account.
Selling the flat you raised a family in is a big moment. Knowing the order of events, and where the money goes, makes it a calm one.
Quick facts
- Where: My Flat Dashboard on the HDB Flat Portal, with Singpass.
- Before you sell: meet the MOP, and register an Intent to Sell.
- Cooling-off: seven days after the Intent to Sell before you can grant an OTP.
- Option fee: $1 to $1,000; the buyer has 21 calendar days, weekends and public holidays included, to exercise.
- Timeline: HDB processes the application within 28 working days, then completion is about eight weeks after acceptance.
- CPF refund: the principal you withdrew plus accrued interest is refunded to your CPF from the proceeds.
The selling timeline, step by step
- Check eligibility. HDB requires the MOP to be met, and the sale must fit the Ethnic Integration Policy and SPR quotas for your block and neighbourhood if your buyer is affected by them.
- Register an Intent to Sell on My Flat Dashboard and receive HDB’s preliminary eligibility assessment.
- Market the flat. You can list it on HDB’s Resale Flat Listing service, and sell on your own or with a registered salesperson.
- Grant the OTP once the seven days have passed and a price is agreed. The buyer pays the option fee.
- Buyer requests a value from HDB by the next working day after the option date. The result is usually ready within 10 working days.
- Buyer exercises the OTP within 21 calendar days. If they do not, they forfeit the option fee to you.
- Both submit the resale application, then acknowledge and endorse the resale documents and pay the required fees.
- HDB approves, and completion takes place about eight weeks after HDB accepts the application.
| Stage | How long |
|---|---|
| Intent to Sell to earliest OTP | 7 days |
| OTP to exercise | Up to 21 calendar days |
| Request for Value result | Usually within 10 working days |
| HDB acceptance of resale application | Within 28 working days |
| Acceptance to completion | About 8 weeks |
Where the sale money goes
On completion, the sale price first has to settle what the flat owes: any outstanding housing loan is cleared, and the CPF you used for the flat, together with the accrued interest, is refunded to your CPF account. What remains comes to you in cash. Agent commission, if you used one, is whatever you agreed in writing; CEA does not fix commission rates. If you sell within the Seller’s Stamp Duty holding period, which is rare for an HDB flat once the MOP is met, that duty applies too.
Worked example (illustrative figures): you sell for $600,000. Your outstanding loan is $200,000 and your CPF refund, principal plus accrued interest, is $180,000. You agreed 1% commission plus 9% GST, which is $6,540. Your cash proceeds before HDB’s fees are $600,000 − $200,000 − $180,000 − $6,540 = $213,460. The CPF refund is not lost: it sits in your Ordinary Account, ready for your next home.
Planning your next home
Most sellers are also buyers. If you plan to buy another subsidised flat, a resale levy may apply, and your eligibility for grants and an HDB loan will be set out in a fresh HDB Flat Eligibility letter. Line up the two timelines, the sale’s completion date and your next purchase, before you grant the OTP, so you are not left without a roof or paying for two.
The WahLiao Verdict
Register the Intent to Sell early, because the seven-day wait is fixed and costs nothing. Check your CPF refund figure on the CPF website before you set your price, since that number, not the headline sale price, decides how much cash you walk away with. Then work backwards from your next home’s key date and grant the OTP only when the timelines fit.
Questions people ask
Do I need an agent to sell my HDB flat?
No. HDB lets you sell on your own through the HDB Flat Portal and its Resale Flat Listing service, or appoint a registered salesperson.
What happens if the buyer does not exercise the OTP?
After 21 calendar days the option lapses and you keep the option fee. You can then grant an OTP to another buyer.
Why must I refund CPF with interest?
The CPF Housing Scheme requires the principal withdrawn plus the interest it would have earned to be returned to your CPF account on sale, so your retirement savings are restored.
How long does the whole sale take?
From Intent to Sell to completion, typically a few months: seven days’ wait, up to 21 days for the OTP, up to 28 working days for HDB’s acceptance, then about eight weeks.
Sources: HDB, the selling process and completion timeline; HDB, the Option to Purchase and the seven-day cooling-off; HDB, eligibility to sell; HDB, resale processing times; CPF Board, CPF Housing Scheme refund rules. The Address explains; it does not advise.
Read next: Buying a Resale HDB Flat · HDB Minimum Occupation Period Explained · Seller’s Stamp Duty · Property Agents in Singapore · Back to The Address
For what’s worth it this week, with the bill shown, read The WahLiao Week.
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