Can a PR or foreigner buy a landed house?

Who counts as a foreign person

Under the Residential Property Act, a foreign person is anyone who is not a Singapore Citizen, a Singapore company, a Singapore limited liability partnership or a Singapore society, as the Act defines them. A Permanent Resident is a foreign person for landed property, and so is a foreigner on a work pass.

Homes a foreign person needs approval to buy

• Terrace, semi-detached and detached houses (bungalows) on their own land.
• Strata landed houses that are not in an approved condominium, such as a townhouse or cluster house.
• Landed homes at Sentosa Cove.
• Vacant residential land.
• Shophouses not used for commercial purposes.

Homes that need no approval

• A condo or apartment unit.
• A strata landed house inside a development approved as a condominium.
• An executive condominium unit or an HDB flat, which HDB’s and the developer’s own eligibility rules govern instead.
• Renting a landed home for 7 years or less, renewals included.

Who SLA approves

• Permanent Residents are assessed case by case. SLA looks for at least 5 years as a PR and an exceptional economic contribution to Singapore, such as employment income assessable for tax in Singapore.
• Homes in Good Class Bungalow areas and land larger than 15,000 sq ft face more stringent criteria, the Minister for Law said in a 2019 written answer.
• An approved buyer must live in the home themselves, and may own only one landed home in Singapore.

How to apply

1. Apply online to SLA’s Land Dealings Approval Unit, through its application portal linked from SLA’s foreign ownership page.
2. You can ask for approval in principle before choosing a property, so you know whether you qualify before you commit to one.
3. SLA takes about 30 working days to decide once it has every document it asked for.
4. Follow the conditions in SLA’s approval letter for as long as you own the home.

Stamp duty

• A Permanent Resident or foreigner pays Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) on top of the Buyer’s Stamp Duty, at the rate IRAS sets for their residency and the number of homes they own. Work out ABSD with the calculator

Before you rely on this

This guide sums up the official rules and is not legal advice. The authority named decides each case, so check your own plot and plans with it or with a professional.

Questions

Sources

• SLA: Foreign ownership of property (opens in a new tab)
• MinLaw: Written answer on landed property owned by PRs (2 Sep 2019) (opens in a new tab)
• IRAS: Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) (opens in a new tab)
• URA: Strata landed housing (opens in a new tab)

Rules and fees change. Check the linked official pages before you commit, and ask a lawyer about your own sale or purchase.

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