HDB schemes for families with kids: priority ballots, renting while you wait, and grants

HDB schemes for families with kids do three jobs. Priority schemes give you better odds in a BTO ballot, the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) lets you rent a flat while yours is built, and CPF housing grants cut the price. If you're expecting, a doctor's certification of the pregnancy counts for the family priority schemes.

How to get an HDB flat as a family, step by step

1. Ask your doctor for a certification of the pregnancy if you're expecting. HDB accepts it for the first-timer parents category and the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme.
2. Apply for an HDB Flat Eligibility (HFE) letter on the HDB Flat Portal with Singpass. It's free and online only, and HDB says it takes up to a month once your documents are in.
3. Apply well before the sales exercise you're aiming for, because HDB checks priority scheme conditions as at your HFE application and the letter stays valid for 9 months.
4. Read your HFE letter. It lists your CPF housing grants and HDB loan amount before you pick a flat.
5. Choose your priority scheme when you apply in a BTO or Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise. With FPPS you can add one more, such as the Third Child Priority Scheme or the Family Care Scheme (Proximity).
6. Pick a project within 4 km of the grandparents if you want the proximity scheme. HDB measures from the project's nearest block to their home.
7. Apply for a PPHS rental flat once you've booked a flat that isn't built yet. Applications open in even months, from the 1st to the 14th, and cost $10 each.
8. Send a doctor's letter with your Estimated Delivery Date through MyDoc@HDB, since expectant married parents get first priority in the PPHS ballot.
9. Add your baby to your PPHS household through MyRequest@HDB if they're born after your flat application.
10. Get your HFE letter before you take an Option to Purchase if you buy resale instead. HDB needs it valid for both the OTP and the resale application.

Which HDB scheme fits your family

Find your row, then read that scheme's section below. You may fit more than one row.

Priority schemes for families buying a new flat

Priority schemes improve your chances in BTO and SBF ballots. HDB says they don't guarantee a good queue number. You can use one scheme per flat application, or two if one of them is FPPS.

The First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) category, or FT(PMC), is HDB's first-timer parents priority. It covers families with at least one Singapore Citizen child aged 18 and below, and married couples aged 40 and below. Expecting couples count. You can't have owned or sold a home before, and you don't apply for it: HDB checks after you submit and gives you 1 extra ballot chance, for 3 in total.

Looking for the Parenthood Priority Scheme? The scheme HDB lists for parents now is the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS). HDB sets aside up to 40% of BTO flats and up to 60% of SBF flats for it. You both need to be first-timers with a citizen child aged 18 or below, or be expecting. Families also in FT(PMC) get first priority for 4-room or smaller BTO flats in Standard projects.

The Third Child Priority Scheme (TCPS) sets aside up to 10% of BTO and SBF flats for families with 3 or more children, or a third on the way. Your youngest child, or the baby you're expecting, must be a citizen, and you can use TCPS only once. A family eligible for both is balloted under TCPS first, then again under FPPS. Thinking about a third? Our family planning guide covers the costs and leave.

The Family Care Scheme (Proximity) helps you live with the grandparents or within 4 km of them. It replaces the old Married Child Priority Scheme. First-timer families get up to 30% of BTO and SBF flats under it, and the grandparents must keep living with you or within 4 km through the minimum occupation period (MOP).

Renting while you wait: the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme

PPHS lets you rent an HDB flat once you've booked an uncompleted flat. Married couples, fiance and fiancee couples, and divorced or widowed parents with children can apply. Your household income in your flat application must be $8,000 or below, and you need a citizen plus another citizen or PR in the household.

You don't need a child to apply, but children move you up. First priority goes to households with a citizen child aged 18 and below, and to expectant married parents who send a doctor's letter.

Rent depends on the flat's location and size. HDB lists $600 to $900 a month for a 3-room PPHS flat, plus stamp fees and a 1-month deposit when you sign. The first tenancy runs up to 3 years. If you don't pick a flat after 2 chances, you wait a year to apply again. Put the rent beside your other first-year costs with our baby budget guide.

CPF housing grants for families

HDB credits housing grants into your CPF Ordinary Account. You use them to pay for the flat or to borrow less. Your HFE letter shows which ones you get.

• The Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (Families) gives first-timer families up to $120,000 for a new or resale flat. Your average monthly household income must be $9,000 or less, and lower incomes get more. One of you must have worked 12 months in a row, and still be working, when you apply for the HFE letter.
• For the full Enhanced grant, the flat's lease must cover the youngest of you to age 95.
• The CPF Housing Grant for resale flats (Families), which HDB calls the Family Grant, gives a citizen couple $80,000 for a 2- to 4-room flat and $50,000 for 5-room or bigger. A citizen and PR couple gets $70,000 or $40,000. The income ceiling is $16,000. On a resale flat you need this grant before you can get the Enhanced one.
• The Proximity Housing Grant adds $30,000 when you buy resale to live with your parents, or $20,000 to live within 4 km of them.

See what else your family gets with the Baby Bonus calculator and the new parent money checklist. Our guide to financial help for families covers the support outside housing.

Single parents, PR spouses and bigger families

Divorced or widowed parents with a child aged 18 or below can apply under ASSIST. It sets aside up to 5% of 2-room Flexi and up to 10% of 3-room flats in Standard BTO projects, and these parents can also rent under PPHS while they wait. Unwed parents follow a different route, and our single parent benefits guide covers it.

If one of you is a PR, check each scheme's citizenship rule. FPPS needs a citizen child, the Family Grant is lower for a citizen and PR couple, and TCPS needs your youngest child to be a citizen. Your other children can be citizens or PRs.

Buying a home with a new baby is a natural time to name a guardian for your child. Our will and guardianship guide shows how.

Where to get help

Start with your HFE letter on the HDB Flat Portal. It shows the grants and loan HDB worked out for your household, and HDB reviews it if your family members change.

Once you've applied for a flat, write to HDB through MyRequest@HDB with your HFE reference number. If your income was above $8,000 in your flat application but is now $8,000 or below, HDB asks you to write in about PPHS.

Frequently asked questions

What HDB grants for families with kids can we get?

First-timer families can get the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant of up to $120,000 for a new or resale flat, if household income is $9,000 or less. Resale buyers can add the Family Grant, $80,000 for a citizen couple buying 2- to 4-room. The Proximity Housing Grant adds $30,000 to live with your parents or $20,000 to live near them.

Is the Parenthood Priority Scheme still running?

HDB now lists the Family and Parenthood Priority Scheme (FPPS) for parents. It's for first-timer couples with a citizen child aged 18 or below, or expecting with a doctor's certification. Up to 40% of BTO flats are set aside for it.

Can we apply for the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme before the baby is born?

Yes. PPHS doesn't need a child, only a booked uncompleted flat and household income of $8,000 or below. Send a doctor's letter with your Estimated Delivery Date through MyDoc@HDB to get first priority.

Who qualifies for the Third Child Priority Scheme for a flat?

Families with at least 3 children, or expecting a third with a doctor's certificate. Your youngest child, or the baby on the way, must be a Singapore Citizen, you can use TCPS only once, and the 3 children have to live with you through the MOP.

Is there first-timer parents priority for HDB flats?

Yes, the First-Timer (Parents & Married Couples) category. It covers first-timer families with a citizen child aged 18 and below, and married couples aged 40 and below. Expecting couples count too, and HDB applies it on its own, so you get 3 ballot chances instead of 2.

Do we need the HFE letter before applying for a BTO flat?

Yes. HDB needs a valid HFE letter when you apply for a new flat, and before you take an OTP on a resale flat. It's free, takes up to a month once your documents are in, and lasts 9 months.