Lease decay: what happens to HDB flats and leasehold condos as the 99 years run out

The same ending for both: the land goes back

An HDB flat and a 99-year condo are both leases, and at the end of a lease the property returns to the State. For HDB flats the Government has said it in as many words: after 99 years, the land is returned to the State, and it is recycled to build homes for the next generation. For private property, the Singapore Land Authority's policy is that the land and the buildings on it revert at the end of the lease, and that in general the Government lets leases expire without renewing them.

Neither comes with compensation at expiry. That is not theoretical: when the 60-year leases on 191 terrace houses at Lorong 3 Geylang ran out on 31 December 2020, the land went back to the State for public housing, and the owners were given help to relocate, not a payout. The value of a lease is the years left on it, and at zero years it is worth nothing.

For most HDB households the end is a long way off. MND told Parliament in September 2025 that about one HDB household in forty owns a flat whose lease does not cover the owners to at least 95. The question that matters for most owners is not what happens at year 99, but what the shrinking lease does to the price, the buyers and the options in the decades before it.

How an HDB lease can end early: SERS, VERS and HIP II

The Selective En bloc Redevelopment Scheme bought back chosen blocks with high redevelopment potential, compulsorily, at market value plus a grant and allowances, and moved residents to new flats nearby. It was always selective — the 2018 National Day Rally put the share of flats suitable for it at around one in twenty — and HDB now says there are no plans for more SERS projects. A flat bought on the hope of SERS is a flat bought on a scheme that has stopped.

Its successor, the Voluntary Early Redevelopment Scheme, is meant for flats around 70 years old. MND's latest position, from September 2025: the first few sites are likely in the first half of the 2030s, the programme scales up by the late 2030s, residents will vote on whether to proceed, and compensation will be lower than SERS because the leases left are shorter. The compensation, the voting process and the relocation options are still being worked out, and MND has said plainly that not every older flat needs to go through VERS.

For flats that are not offered VERS, or whose residents vote it down, the plan is to keep them liveable to the end: a second Home Improvement Programme for flats past 60 years, so that older flats last their owners to the end of the 99-year lease. HDB owners do not own the land under their flats and have no claim on its redevelopment value — whatever they receive early comes from a government scheme, not from a sale of the site.

How a private lease can end early: en bloc, and the lease top-up

A private condo's owners own something an HDB owner does not: the right to sell the whole site. In a collective sale the owners sell together to a developer, and the price reflects what can be built on the land, not just what the existing units are worth. The developer then pays the State a land premium, set by the Chief Valuer at market value, to restore a fresh 99-year lease — and the shorter the lease left, the more of the land's value that premium takes.

The consent needed depends on the development's age. Amendments passed on 8 September 2026 lower it for older estates: seven in ten owners for developments aged 40 to 59 years, and under two in three for those aged 60 or more, against four in five for estates aged 10 to 39 and nine in ten for younger ones. The new thresholds start on a date still to be announced, and Roov's en bloc sites tracker follows the estates trying for a sale now.

A lease top-up without redevelopment is not a realistic plan. SLA considers renewing residential leases mainly where it intensifies the use of the land, and the Minister for Law told Parliament in 2017 that every one of the seven residential developments given a renewal since 2008 needed it to redevelop. In practice, a fresh lease comes with a developer and a new building, not as a renewal of the old one.

If no developer comes

This is the case the brochures leave out. If a leasehold condo never sells en bloc, the owners keep living in a building that gets older while the lease gets shorter, and both cost money.

The building costs more to keep. In the 2026 debate the Minister for Law put the cost of modernising a single lift at from $120,000, said maintenance fees and sinking fund contributions can rise by as much as half in some cases, and counted about 20,000 homes in close to 250 developments already over 40 years old.

The lease is worth less each year, and faster towards the end. Bala's Table, the curve SLA uses to value leases, puts a 99-year lease at nearly the value of freehold, a 60-year lease at about four-fifths, a 30-year lease at about three-fifths and a 10-year lease under a third: the decline steepens in the last decades. And the pool of buyers thins as CPF and loan limits bite, below.

At the end the land and the buildings revert to the State, without compensation. An en bloc is the owners' only way to realise the land's value before then, and it is a vote, not a right — the reason Roov treats a collective sale as upside to be priced carefully, never as the plan.

The rules that bite as the lease shortens

These apply to HDB flats and private homes alike, and they are what turn a short lease into a hard sale long before it expires.

CPF: you can use your CPF in full only if the remaining lease covers the youngest buyer to age 95. If it does not, the amount you can use is pro-rated, and once fewer than 20 years remain you cannot use CPF at all. An HDB loan is pro-rated on the same test.

Bank loans: MAS caps the loan tenure, and the loan-to-value limit drops sharply if the tenure runs past 25 years for an HDB flat or 30 years for other property, or past age 65 — which is where an older buyer of an older flat usually lands. Banks also apply their own policies on short leases on top of the MAS rules. Our guide to how much you can borrow explains the limits; the practical effect is that every buyer of an old lease needs more cash, so fewer buyers can bid.

HDB flat and leasehold condo, side by side

The two age along the same clock, but almost everything else differs.

1. 1

   Who can end the lease early

   HDB: the Government, through SERS (now stopped) and VERS (from the 2030s, with a resident vote). Private: the owners, through an en bloc vote and a developer willing to buy.

2. 2

   Who gets the land's value

   HDB: no one owns it but the State; owners receive their flat's value under a scheme. Private: the owners share the site's redevelopment value, less the premium the developer pays to renew the lease.

3. 3

   If nothing happens

   HDB: you can stay until the lease runs out, with HIP II upgrading after 60 years. Private: you stay too, but the owners pay for the ageing building themselves, through maintenance and the sinking fund.

4. 4

   At expiry

   Both: the property returns to the State, and there is no compensation.

5. 5

   The alternative

   HDB: none — every flat is a 99-year lease. Private: freehold and 999-year property, which never runs out, though Roov's study of five years of condo sales found the years left matter more than the word on the title.

What it means when you buy

For an HDB flat, buy the years you will live in. Check that the lease covers the youngest buyer to 95 so your CPF and loan are not cut, and price the flat as a home for that span rather than as an asset that will be bought back. The HDB sale proceeds tool runs the lease-to-95 test on a flat, and our resale guide covers what to check before you offer.

For a leasehold condo, separate the building from the land. Ask what the lease will be when you want to sell, who will be able to borrow to buy it then, how healthy the sinking fund is, and whether the site has any realistic en bloc case — plot ratio, age and the new thresholds. Roov's en bloc probability tool scores the last of those, and the investment scorecard weighs the lease left against the price.

Common questions

What happens after the 99-year lease of an HDB flat?

The flat returns to HDB and the land to the State, with no compensation; the Government recycles it to build new homes. Before then a flat may be offered VERS from the 2030s, if its residents vote for it, and older flats get a second round of upgrading after 60 years so they last to the end of the lease.

What happens when a leasehold condo's lease expires in Singapore?

The land and the buildings revert to the State, without compensation, and the Government's general policy is to let leases expire rather than renew them. The owners' only way to realise the land's value first is a collective sale to a developer, who then pays a premium to restore a fresh 99-year lease.

Can a condo's lease be topped up without an en bloc?

In practice, no. SLA considers renewing residential leases mainly where it intensifies the use of the land, and every residential renewal between 2008 and 2017 was granted to allow redevelopment. A fresh lease comes with a developer and a new building.

What is the difference between SERS and VERS?

SERS bought selected blocks with high redevelopment potential compulsorily, at market value plus grants, and HDB says there are no plans for more. VERS is voluntary — residents vote — and is aimed at flats around 70 years old from the 2030s; its compensation will be lower than SERS and its terms are still being worked out.

Does lease decay hit condos harder than HDB flats?

In Roov's resale records it shows more plainly in condos, whose price per square foot falls steadily as the lease shortens. Older HDB flats are concentrated in central, mature towns, so their location props up the price and hides part of the decay. For both, the decline steepens in the last decades, as Bala's Table shows.

Can I use CPF to buy a property with a short lease?

In full only if the remaining lease covers the youngest buyer to age 95. If it does not, your CPF use is pro-rated, and with fewer than 20 years left you cannot use CPF at all. An HDB loan is pro-rated on the same test.