If you are a single Singaporean past 35 buying on your own, the HDB grants for singles can knock a serious dent into your flat price. A first-timer single buying a resale flat in 2026 can stack the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (up to S$60,000), the CPF Housing Grant for singles (up to S$40,000) and the Proximity Housing Grant (up to S$15,000), for as much as S$115,000 that lands straight in your CPF Ordinary Account. The catch is that each grant has its own income ceiling and its own conditions, and the biggest one halts at a S$4,500 monthly income. Here is exactly what you get, and what trips people up.
Singles get a narrower menu than couples, but the headline number is still large. As a first-timer single buying a resale flat, three grants are in play, and they stack on top of each other rather than replace one another.
The amounts below are the published HDB figures as of October 2026. Grant rates do get revised at the policy level, so treat your own number as confirmed only once it appears on your HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter.
| Grant | Maximum for one single | Income ceiling | Lands in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG Singles) | S$60,000 | S$4,500/month | CPF OA |
| CPF Housing Grant (Singles Grant) | S$40,000 | S$8,000/month | CPF OA |
| Proximity Housing Grant (PHG Singles) | S$15,000 | No income ceiling | CPF OA |
| Combined ceiling | S$115,000 | Lowest of the above applies | CPF OA |
Update, 14 October 2026: HDB assesses two singles buying together on their combined income, not on each person's income as this guide said before. The EHG is the grant that moves the needle. From 20 August 2024 the maximum EHG for a first-timer single rose from S$40,000 to S$60,000, and it applies to both a new 2-room Flexi flat from HDB and a resale flat. It is paid on a sliding scale: the lower your average gross monthly household income over the 12 months before you apply, the more you get.
To qualify at all, your average gross monthly household income must not exceed S$4,500. Because a single buying alone is the only earner, that ceiling bites hard, and anyone earning above S$4,500 gets nothing from the EHG even if they still qualify for the other two grants.
If you buy with another first-timer single under the Joint Singles Scheme, up to two singles can each get an EHG (Singles), for a combined S$120,000. HDB assesses the pair on combined income, with its own table and a S$9,000 ceiling, so two singles earning S$4,000 a month between them get S$80,000, or S$40,000 each.
| Average monthly income | EHG amount |
|---|---|
| Not more than S$750 | S$60,000 |
| S$751 to S$1,000 | S$55,000 |
| S$1,001 to S$1,250 | S$52,500 |
| S$1,251 to S$1,500 | S$47,500 |
| S$1,501 to S$1,750 | S$45,000 |
| S$1,751 to S$2,000 | S$40,000 |
| S$2,001 to S$2,250 | S$35,000 |
| S$2,251 to S$2,500 | S$32,500 |
| S$2,501 to S$2,750 | S$27,500 |
| S$2,751 to S$3,000 | S$25,000 |
| S$3,001 to S$3,250 | S$20,000 |
| S$3,251 to S$3,500 | S$15,000 |
| S$3,501 to S$3,750 | S$12,500 |
| S$3,751 to S$4,000 | S$10,000 |
| S$4,001 to S$4,250 | S$5,000 |
| S$4,251 to S$4,500 | S$2,500 |
These are the per-bracket amounts under the structure that took effect on 20 August 2024. Income is averaged over the 12 months before application, which means a recent pay rise or a bonus month can push you into a lower grant bracket.
Update, 14 October 2026: two singles buying a resale flat together each get a Singles Grant, S$80,000 between them on a 2-room to 4-room flat; this guide said before that the pair got one. This is the grant people mean when they say the Singles Grant. It only applies to resale flats, not new flats bought from HDB, and it sits on top of the EHG. A first-timer single buying under the Single Singapore Citizen Scheme can get S$40,000 for a 2-room to 4-room resale flat, or S$25,000 for a 5-room resale flat as of October 2026. Buying alone limits you to 2-room to 5-room resale flats; bigger flat types open up only when you buy with other singles or your parents.
The income ceiling here is more generous: your average gross monthly household income must not exceed S$8,000, raised from S$7,000 on 24 Aug 2026. That gap matters. A single earning, say, S$6,000 a month earns too much for the EHG but still clears the Singles Grant ceiling, so they would walk away with S$40,000 rather than nothing.
Buy with another first-timer single under the Joint Singles Scheme and each of you gets a Singles Grant, so the two of you get S$80,000 on a 2-room to 4-room resale flat or S$50,000 on a 5-room or bigger one, with a S$16,000 income ceiling for the pair. The resale flat also needs a remaining lease of more than 20 years for the grant to be paid.
The PHG rewards you for buying near or with family, and it is the only grant here with no income ceiling, so even a high earner who misses both other grants can still claim it. A single gets S$15,000 if you buy a resale flat to live with your parents or child, or S$10,000 if you buy within 4km to live near them.
Those amounts are half what a married couple receives, which mirrors how HDB treats singles across most of its schemes. The resale flat again needs more than 20 years of lease remaining, and if you are buying to live near rather than with family, your parents or child can be in either an HDB flat or private property and you still qualify.
Stack all three on a 2-room to 4-room resale flat and a low-income single buying to live with family reaches S$60,000 plus S$40,000 plus S$15,000, which is the S$115,000 maximum quoted at the top. Most singles land well below that once income brackets and flat size are factored in.
Buying solo costs you on almost every line. The grant amounts are roughly half a couple's, the flat choice for new units is mostly capped at 2-room Flexi, and the income ceilings are tuned to a single earner rather than two. A couple's EHG tops out at S$120,000 against a single's S$60,000, and the couple's resale CPF Housing Grant runs to S$80,000 against the single's S$40,000.
Two friends buying together under the Joint Singles Scheme can claw back some of that, since each draws their own EHG and Singles Grant. The trade is that you co-own a flat with someone you are not married to, which gets complicated if either of you marries or wants out later. Weigh that against the numbers before committing.
| Grant | One single | Married couple |
|---|---|---|
| EHG | S$60,000 | S$120,000 |
| CPF Housing Grant (resale) | S$40,000 | S$80,000 |
| Proximity Housing Grant | S$15,000 | S$30,000 |
Everything runs through the HFE letter. Before you place an option on any resale flat or book a new one, apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility letter on the HDB Flat Portal. It checks your eligibility, tells you the exact grant amount you qualify for, and is mandatory before you take any further step. Without a valid HFE letter you cannot exercise an Option to Purchase on a resale flat.
Run your own numbers first so the HFE figure is not a shock. Plug your flat budget into the BTO affordability calculator if you are eyeing a new 2-room Flexi, and use the HDB loan calculator to see how the grant changes the loan you actually need. If you are torn between buying new or resale, the BTO vs resale comparison lays out the trade-offs that decide which grants you can even claim.
Generally no. The Single Singapore Citizen Scheme and the singles grants require you to be at least 35 years old, except for orphans or widowed or divorced singles who may qualify earlier under separate schemes. Most singles must wait until 35 to buy and claim grants.
The theoretical maximum is S$115,000 on a resale flat, combining the EHG, the Singles Grant and the Proximity Housing Grant. In practice most singles get less, because the full EHG needs income at or below S$750 a month and the larger resale grant only applies to smaller flats.
Yes. Grants are paid into your CPF Ordinary Account, not as cash, so when you sell, the grant plus accrued interest is returned to your CPF rather than your pocket. You also have to meet the Minimum Occupation Period before you can sell at all.
Yes. Under the Joint Singles Scheme up to two first-timer singles can each get an EHG (Singles), up to S$120,000 between them, assessed on your combined income against a S$9,000 ceiling. Each of you also gets a Singles Grant on a resale flat, S$80,000 in total for a 2-room to 4-room flat. HDB's Proximity Housing Grant page gives no amount for two singles, so check your HFE letter for that one.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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