“What happens to my HDB flat after I pass away?” is a question not many homeowners will consider when they’re still young and healthy. However, it’s always better to be safe than sorry when it comes to estate planning. The best thing you can do for your loved ones is to ensure all your affairs are in order. With that, here’s a guide on what’s involved in the process of inheritance and ownership transfer for HDB flat ownership.
Who owns the HDB flat?
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When you apply for an HDB flat, you can register as a “co-owner” or “essential occupier”. What happens to the flat in the event of your passing depends on your ownership property status.
If you are a co-owner/joint owner
Being a co-owner means you have full rights to the property and you share ownership with at least one other person.
When one co-owner passes, the right of ownership will be transferred to the remaining co-owner(s) regardless of whether you have a will or not. The remaining family or single occupier can retain the existing flat if they fulfil the following criteria:
- Are a Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident
- Are at least 21 years old
- Satisfy all existing HDB eligibility rules and conditions to own an HDB flat
The remaining owner can kickstart the process by lodging the Notice of Death on the SLA website or appointing a solicitor to lodge the Notice of Death on your behalf. Alternatively, you could let HDB’s legal services manage this.
When lodging a Notice of Death, you will require your identity card, the original death certificate of the deceased, and a duplicate lease if applicable. Registration and conveyancing fees apply. Once the Notice of Death has been processed by HDB, you will be informed to formalise the flat transfer document.
If you are the sole owner
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If you are the only owner of the flat, your property will be distributed according to your will. Before doing so, a Grant of Probate must be obtained to legally recognise the named individual as executor of your estate. This court order can be applied for by the named executor via the government’s Probate eService to file for the Grant of Probate; otherwise they might engage a lawyer to do so.
Once the Grant of Probate has been obtained, a private or HDB-appointed solicitor can be named the designated executor(s). The executor will be required to sign the necessary documents and pay the relevant stamp fees and conveyancing fees.
If they choose to use HDB’s legal services, they will also need, aside from the Grant of Probate:
- Identity card of all flat owners, executors/administrators
- Lease of the deceased’s flat
- Copy of the death certificate
- Original copy of the Syariah Court Inheritance Certificate (if Muslim)
The surviving family member(s) or occupier are allowed to retain the existing flat, so long as they fulfil HDB’s requirements.
If there was no will, the provisions of the Intestate Succession Act will apply.
Who gets what━according to the Intestate Succession Act
| Surviving family member | Deceased has no | Who is entitled to your property |
| Spouse | Child(ren) and parents | Spouse only |
| Spouse and child(ren) | – | Spouse receives half, child(ren) receives the other half in equal portions |
| Child(ren) | Spouse | Child(ren) receives property in equal portions; grandchild(ren) (whose parent is deceased) may claim their parent’s share in equal portions |
| Spouse and parents | Child(ren) | Spouse receives half, parents receive half in equal portions |
| Parents | Spouse and child(ren) | Parents receive everything in equal portions |
| Siblings (or child(ren) of your deceased siblings) | Spouse, child(ren), and parents | Siblings receive everything in equal portions; siblings’ child(ren) (whose parent is deceased) may claim their parent’s share in equal portions |
| Grandparents | Spouse, child(ren), parents, siblings, and child(ren) of siblings | Grandparents receive everything in equal portions |
| Uncles and aunts | Spouse, child(ren), parents, siblings, child(ren) of siblings, or grandparents | Uncles and aunts receive the estate in equal portions |
If the deceased has no surviving family, the government will be the sole beneficiary.
In the case where there is no will, the court will appoint whoever it deems the most suitable to administer and distribute your assets. Alternatively, your next-of-kin can apply to the Court for the Grant of Letters of Administration for the authority to do so, in accordance with Singapore law.
To qualify as an administrator, your next-of-kin must belong to one of the 7 classes (in descending priority): your spouse, child(ren), parents, siblings, nephews or nieces, grandparents, and your uncles or aunts.
What if I am Muslim?
According to the Administration of Muslim Law Act, the Muslim law applies to you if you are a Muslim domiciled in Singapore. Unless there is clear evidence that you have renounced the faith, you remain a Muslim.
If you are a Muslim co-owner and hold the property as a joint tenant, the surviving owner will take over your interest in the property as with non-Muslim flat owners. The same does not fully apply if you are a sole owner or hold the property as a tenant in common.
When there is a will, a Muslim’s property will be divided this way: two-thirds based on Faraid law, or the Muslim law of inheritance, and one-third based on their will. In the absence of a will, a Muslim’s property will be divided fully based on Faraid law.
Under Faraid law, there are several other factors to consider:
- Non-Muslims are not considered beneficiaries
- Children adopted to Muslim families are also not considered beneficiaries
- Children conceived out of wedlock cannot inherit from their father, but can inherit from their mother
For more information on who qualifies as a beneficiary, and what portion of the estate each heir stands to inherit, you can use the Online Trial Inheritance calculator on Singapore’s Syariah Court website.
What if I am a foreigner?
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Foreigners are not allowed to own HDB flats. If you are a non-resident foreigner spouse who bought an HDB flat with your citizen partner, your citizen spouse is the sole owner of the HDB flat.
If you pass on, there will be no change. But if your Singaporean partner passes, you will not be able to inherit and have to sell the HDB flat.
What happens to your HDB flat after you die—estate planning in Singapore
Making sure you have a will is one of the best things you can do to protect your loved ones, especially if you own property. In the event of your death, your will makes sure division of the estate is clear, so that ownership disputes can be avoided.
For more HDB-related content:
- Hacks to get your BTO faster
- Guide to HDB’s Home Improvement Programme (HIP)
- Cheapest estates to buy a resale HDB in 2024
Cover image adapted from: HDB
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