Singapore: Documents Needed for HDB Concessionary Housing Loan Application

To apply for the Housing and Development (HDB) concessionary housing loan, there are a few things a Singaporean must know. Since 1 January 2007, all would-be flat buyers or transferees that wish to obtain such a loan will first need to obtain an HLE (HDB Loan Eligibility) letter.

Beside the eligibility conditions and the HLE terms (HDB Loan Eligibility), there are several documents that an applicant/occupant must provide to the HDB prior to filling in the online form, as HDB only accepts online applications. In order to apply, a would-be buyer can use any Internet PCs at the HDB Branch or a self-service kiosk at the HDB Hub.

The documents needed for the application to be considered are as follows:

• IDs (Identity Cards) or Passports or Visit Passes owned by applicants/occupants;
• Required proof of income;
• Information (name, address) of employers for applicants or occupants who are employed;
• Information (name, address) of last employer for applicants or occupants who have been unemployed for less than three months;
• Ownership of private residential property (details);
• Number of HDB concessionary loan(s) previously taken by applicants/occupants;
• History and details of financial commitments (renovation loan, vehicle loan, etc);
• History of cash proceeds obtained through the disposal of last HDB flats owned by the applicants and occupants or by the applicants’ and occupant’s spouses/fiancés/fiancées, if existing.

Upon submission of a first-time application or of an application with a different household or purpose from the last application, the application form has seven steps that are accessible after clicking on “Submit New Application.”

The aforementioned steps are: “Instructions,” “Getting Started” (after SingPass login), “Questionnaire” (assist in determining user’s eligibility for an HDB concessionary loan), “Application Details” (personal and financial information of applicant/occupant, as well as details of last owned HDB flats, if any), “Review & Submit,” “Submission of supporting documents,” “Acknowledgement.”

The application is considered complete only after full submission of electronic signatures using SingPass and after the attachment of complete and detailed supporting documents. It is important that these documents are verified and accurate. In the event of the lack of submission of additional documents requested by the HDB after the submission of the HLE application, the latter may be cancelled. In the event of required additional information in order to assess the loan eligibility, the HDB may appoint the applicants for an interview to discuss further details.

The HLE letter’s validity is six months from the issue date. Re-assessment within the six-months period is not needed if the buyers and occupants do not change.