To apply for a BTO flat, you first get an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter, then apply on the HDB Flat Portal during a sales launch for one flat type in one project, paying a S$10 fee. HDB ranks applicants by computer ballot, and those with a queue number book a flat at an appointment months later. The money comes in three stages: an option fee at booking, a downpayment at the Agreement for Lease and the balance at key collection.
Here is how to apply for BTO in 2026, step by step, with a 4-room flat costed. Figures are as at November 2026.
Step 1: Get Your HFE Letter Before the Launch
You need a valid HFE letter to apply. It is free, typically takes about a month, and is valid for nine months. Apply early: for the November 2026 launch, HDB asked buyers to submit their HFE application by 15 September 2026.
The letter tells you whether you can buy, which grants you get and how much HDB will lend. Income ceilings were raised from 24 August 2026; see our HDB income ceiling guide.
Step 2: How to Apply for BTO During a Sales Launch
HDB runs sales launches several times a year. Each one lists projects, flat types, indicative prices and the waiting time. The November 2026 launch offered 7,964 flats in seven projects across six towns, all with waiting times under four years.
The rules for applying:
- One application, for one flat type in one project, per launch.
- The $10 application fee is non-refundable.
- The window is about a week, and timing within it does not matter: HDB ballots after it closes.
- HDB publishes application rates during the window. Projects with lower rates can mean better odds.
Standard, Plus or Prime
Every project launched since October 2024 is classified as Standard, Plus or Prime. The choice affects you for decades.
| Standard | Plus | Prime | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum occupation period | 5 years | 10 years | 10 years |
| Rent out the whole flat | After MOP | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| Subsidy recovery when you sell | None | Yes | Yes, higher than Plus |
| Resale buyer conditions | Standard rules | Tighter | Tightest |
The subsidy recovery percentage for each Plus or Prime project is set out at its launch. Our guide to the minimum occupation period explains what you can and cannot do in those years.
Step 3: The Ballot and Your Chances
HDB emails ballot results within two months of the launch closing. Your queue number decides when you choose, not whether a flat is guaranteed.
- First-timer families: two ballot chances.
- First-Timer (Parents and Married Couples), or FT(PMC): a third chance, for first-timer families with a Singapore Citizen child aged 18 or below, or married couples aged 40 or below, who have not had a chance to book a BTO or SBF flat in the past five years. FT(PMC) applicants also get first priority under the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme for 4-room or smaller Standard flats.
- Second-timers: one chance.
HDB also gives first-timers who have been unsuccessful before additional chances for Standard projects, up to a cap; the launch details on the HDB Flat Portal list the current rules.
The short version: Get the HFE letter early, apply for one project per launch, think hard before choosing a Plus or Prime flat, and do not skip your booking appointment unless you are ready to lose a year.
Step 4: Book the Flat and Pay the Option Fee
Booking starts about four weeks after results and can run for months. HDB gives about two weeks’ notice of your appointment.
If you are invited and do not choose a flat while units remain, you can get a non-selection count. According to HDB’s administrative details for the November 2026 launch, first-timer families with one count have later applications moved to the second-timer category for a year. Second-timer families, first-timer singles and seniors with one count wait a year before applying again. HDB waives the count if you have 10 or fewer BTO flats to choose from.
At booking you pay the option fee in cash: $2,000 for 4-room and bigger, $1,000 for 3-room, $500 for 2-room Flexi or a Community Care Apartment.
Step 5: Agreement for Lease, Then Keys
You sign the Agreement for Lease within nine months of booking and pay the downpayment, stamp duty and legal fees. The BTO buying guide sets the split:
| Financing | At Agreement for Lease | At key collection |
|---|---|---|
| HDB loan or no loan | 10% | 15% |
| Bank loan, 75% loan-to-value | 20% (at least 5% cash) | 5% |
| Bank loan, 55% loan-to-value | 20% (at least 10% cash) | 25% |
Young couples who applied for their HFE letter on or before the younger applicant’s 30th birthday may qualify for the Staggered Downpayment Scheme, which moves part of the downpayment to key collection.
A 4-Room BTO Flat Costed
An illustrative first-timer couple book a $450,000 4-room Standard flat with an HDB loan. Our own figures; grants left out for simplicity.
- Option fee at booking: $2,000 cash
- Downpayment at Agreement for Lease (10%): $45,000, less the $2,000 already paid, from CPF, cash or both
- Buyer’s Stamp Duty: $1,800 + $3,600 + $2,700 = $8,100 (IRAS rates)
- At key collection (15%): $67,500
- HDB loan (75%): $337,500, about $1,531 a month over 25 years at 2.6%
Illustration only; the rate is reviewed quarterly. Grants would reduce the loan. See CPF housing grants.
What To Do Next
- Start the HFE letter at least a month before the launch you want.
- Map the stage payments with our progressive payment calculator and the stamp duty with the stamp duty calculator.
- Weigh a new flat against an existing one in BTO vs resale flat.
- Check the instalment at higher rates with the mortgage repayment calculator.
