How the law prevents ‘ineligible people’ from staking claims to HDB flats

Claiming a stake in an HDB property is a far trickier proposition than in the private real estate market, as some have discovered to their cost.

- Tan Ooi Boon

Those termed in law as “ineligible people” cannot hold a share in an HDB unit, such as by asking someone else to buy the property on their behalf.

The Housing and Development Act specifically deems “trusts”, or arrangements to hold assets for another person’s benefit, as “null and void”.

This is because HDB flats are considered protected assets and ineligible owners — non-residents or those who already own residential property — cannot benefit from a scheme designed to provide affordable housing.

Courts in recent years have cited the law to deny some people the chance to hold shares in their relatives’ HDB flats because they either did not fulfil the ownership requirements or they already had their own homes.

But in an unusual case, a man tried to use the same law to prevent his five siblings from having a share in an HDB shophouse that was registered in his sole name.