An HDB proximity check is the one-minute confirmation that decides whether you pocket the Proximity Housing Grant or lose it. The grant pays a resale buyer S$20,000 for living within 4km of a parent or married child, and S$30,000 for moving in together (S$10,000 and S$15,000 for eligible singles, per CPF figures current to March 2026). The catch is the 4km line is not the drive on Google Maps and not 'same town'. HDB measures a straight line between two postal points, so a flat that feels close can fall outside, and one across a expressway can sneak in. Run the check before you place a deposit, not after.
When people say 'HDB proximity check' they mean one specific question: is the resale flat I want within 4km of my parents' or married child's home, by HDB's own ruler. That ruler is a straight line drawn between two postal points, not the walking or driving route. A flat 3km away as the crow flies can be a 6km drive, and HDB only cares about the 3km.
The grant attached to this check is the Proximity Housing Grant (PHG). It is one of the few CPF housing grants with no income ceiling and no first-timer-only rule, so second-timers and higher earners who miss out on the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant can still claim it. It applies to resale flats only, never to a new BTO.
Because the money is real and the rule is geometric, the proximity check is not a formality. Buyers have lost five-figure grants by assuming 'same neighbourhood' counts. It does not. Only the 4km straight-line distance counts.
HDB runs a free Distance Enquiry tool that returns a yes or no against the 4km line. You do not need to be logged in, and you do not need to have chosen a flat yet, so use it while you are still shortlisting.
The tool asks for the postal code of the resale flat (or the block, if you are scanning a few) and the postal code of your parents' or child's current home. It plots both, draws the straight line, and tells you whether the distance is within 4km. Private property and rental flats count as the other party's home, not just HDB flats.
Distance is measured between the postal centroids of the two addresses, in a straight line, ignoring roads, MRT lines and the Pan Island Expressway. A flat that takes 25 minutes to drive to can still pass, and a flat one bus stop away can fail if the postal points happen to sit just over 4km apart.
Run the actual postal codes rather than eyeballing a map. The line is unforgiving at the boundary, and 4.0km versus 4.1km is the difference between S$20,000 and nothing.
Passing the proximity check makes you eligible for the PHG; the size depends on whether you live near or together, and whether you are a couple or a qualifying single. The figures below are the CPF Board amounts current to March 2026.
The 'living together' tier pays more because at least one parent or child must be listed as an occupier and live in the flat with you. The 'living near' tier only needs the other party to keep a home within the 4km line.
| Household | Living together (with you) | Living near (within 4km) |
|---|---|---|
| Married couple / family | S$30,000 | S$20,000 |
| Eligible single (35+) | S$15,000 | S$10,000 |
The proximity check only gets you the grant if the rest of the eligibility lines up. The other party must be a parent or a married child, and they must actually keep a home at the address you checked.
For 'living near', the parent or child can live in an HDB flat, a private residential property, an Executive Condominium, a DBSS flat, or a rental flat, as long as it is within 4km. For 'living together', that person must be an occupier of the resale flat you are buying and stay through the Minimum Occupation Period.
The grant is not a one-time test at purchase. The proximity condition runs for the 5-year MOP. If your parents sell up and move beyond 4km within those five years, HDB can claw back the grant. They can relocate, but only to another home still inside the 4km zone.
Before you bank on the money, ask whether the other party has any plans to downsize, move in with another sibling, or retire elsewhere. The grant ties both households to the area for half a decade.
First-timer couples buying resale can stack the PHG on top of the Family Grant and the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant. With the EHG paying up to S$120,000 (subject to the S$9,000 monthly household income ceiling) and the Family Grant up to S$50,000, a near-PHG of S$20,000 pushes a young couple's total well past S$100,000 in CPF housing grants.
The grants land in your CPF Ordinary Account and go straight toward the flat, not into your bank. Model the actual cash you still need to find after grants with the BTO vs resale calculator, and remember stamp duty is calculated on the price before grants.
If you are weighing a resale flat near family against a fresh BTO further out, the proximity grant can tilt the maths. The BTO vs resale comparison lays out the trade-offs side by side.
Run the proximity check first, while you are still shortlisting blocks, because it costs nothing and rules out flats before you waste a viewing. Then formalise eligibility through the HFE letter.
The HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter is the document that confirms, upfront, exactly which grants and how much you qualify for, including the PHG. Apply for it on the HDB Flat Portal before you commit to a resale flat. The free Distance Enquiry tool is your quick sanity check; the HFE letter is the binding confirmation.
HDB draws a straight line between the postal centroids of the resale flat and the parent's or child's home. It ignores roads, MRT lines and driving routes, so the only number that matters is the as-the-crow-flies distance, which must be 4km or less.
Yes. For the 'living near' grant the parent or child can live in a private residential property, Executive Condominium, DBSS flat, HDB flat or rental flat. The property type does not matter for proximity, only that the home sits within 4km of your resale flat.
No. Unlike the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant, the PHG has no income ceiling and is open to both first-timers and second-timers. As long as you pass the proximity check, buy resale, and meet the family conditions, your income does not affect eligibility for the PHG.
The proximity condition must hold for the full 5-year Minimum Occupation Period. If the parent or child moves beyond 4km during that time, HDB can recover the grant. They may relocate, but only to another home that still falls within the 4km zone.
No. The HDB Distance Enquiry tool is free and needs no login, so you can check any block while still shortlisting. Use it before viewings to rule out flats that fail the 4km line before you waste time or place a deposit.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.