How much is the HDB option fee and exercise fee?

Option Fee: S$1 to S$1,000 at grant. Option Exercise Fee: set so the two fees together do not exceed S$5,000. Neither fee may be zero. Confirm the live wording on HDB's Option to Purchase page.

Can a seller grant two Options to Purchase at once?

No. Wait for the live OTP to lapse, or to be dealt with under its terms, before granting another.

What must be true before I grant an OTP?

A valid Intent to Sell, a completed 7-day wait, buyer eligibility papers as HDB requires for that case, and signatures from all co-owners.

Who prepares the HDB-prescribed OTP under Fairnest?

Fairnest prepares the prescribed form and walks it with you. You and all co-owners sign. Buyers pay the Option Fee to you as sellers.

HDB Option to Purchase for sellers: fees, 21 days, and checks

Grant the HDB-prescribed Option only after Intent and the 7-day wait. The option period is 21 days and ends at 4pm.

8 min read · Figures checked 26 September 2026 · By Michelle Lee Ling Ching, CEA R009798I

What an HDB OTP is

For an HDB resale, sellers and buyers must use the HDB-prescribed Option to Purchase. Any other agreement, or a supplementary agreement, relating to the sale or purchase of the flat is not valid under the Housing and Development Act.

After you register Intent to Sell, HDB prompts you to download the prescribed OTP. That form is the contract. It is not a side letter from an agent, and it is not a private template.

Preconditions before you grant

A valid Intent to Sell, registered on My Flat Dashboard in the HDB Flat Portal.
The 7-day cooling-off period after Intent registration has passed. You may grant an OTP only after that wait.
Buyer papers. Buyers on an HDB loan path generally need a valid HDB Flat Eligibility letter, or the successor document HDB names, when the OTP is granted. Bank-loan buyers need their own loan path in order. HDB's terms say when a Letter of Offer is required, often by exercise or by the resale application. Confirm that on the current HDB pages for your buyer's case.
All co-owners must sign before the OTP is handed to the buyers.

If Intent is missing, the wait is incomplete, or the buyer's eligibility papers are not ready, do not grant. Fix the precondition first. HDB's published resale-buyer note says a buyer needs a valid HFE letter before obtaining an OTP from a seller, and again when submitting the resale application. Treat a bank Letter of Offer as a case-by-case check, not as one rule for every loan type.

Option fee and exercise fee

These amounts follow HDB's prescribed structure. Verify the live figures on HDB's Option to Purchase page if you are reading this later. The buyer pays the seller an Option Fee when the OTP is granted, between S$1 and S$1,000, as you agree. The buyer pays an Option Exercise Fee when exercising the OTP. Together with the Option Fee, that exercise fee does not exceed S$5,000. Neither fee may be S$0. Together they form the deposit, capped at S$5,000, and they count toward the purchase price under the OTP.

Swipe to see all columns. Keyboard: focus this table and use the arrow keys.

Option fee and option exercise fee under the HDB-prescribed OTP
Payment by buyer to seller	When	Amount
Option Fee	When the OTP is granted	Between S$1 and S$1,000, mutually agreed
Option Exercise Fee	When the buyer exercises the OTP	Set so Option Fee plus Exercise Fee does not exceed S$5,000

The 21-day option period

The option period is 21 calendar days, including Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays, counted from the option date. It expires at 4pm on the 21st calendar day. HDB's own example: if you grant on 1 April, the option expires on 22 April at 4pm. During that window the buyers review financing and other arrangements. You have granted those buyers exclusive purchase rights for that flat for that window.

What you cannot do once an OTP is granted

You cannot grant a second OTP to another buyer while a live OTP is out.
You wait for exercise, or for the OTP to lapse at expiry, before granting a new one.
If the buyers do not exercise in time, they lose the option. In the usual prescribed path, the seller keeps the Option Fee when the buyer fails to exercise. Confirm that wording on your signed OTP and on current HDB notes.
After lapse, you can re-list and grant a new OTP to a new buyer.

A longer fall-through playbook is a separate topic. On this page, check the OTP, the clocks, and your next listing step.

Request for Value, from the seller's side

A buyer using CPF savings or a housing loan submits a Request for Value by the next working day after the option date, so the value usually arrives inside the 21 days. A low value can make the buyer hesitate before exercising. Read the COV guide for the cash gap, and the timeline guide for where the 21-day clock sits.

What Fairnest does at OTP stage

We take over price and terms once a serious offer appears after an owner-hosted viewing. You do not have to haggle alone at the door.
We screen the Intent wait and the buyer's HFE or other eligibility papers before you grant.
We prepare the HDB-prescribed OTP fields: price, fees, expiry, parties, and the resale-application timing fields.
We guide option-fee payment to you as seller.
After exercise, we drive the HDB Flat Portal steps with you through to completion.

Fairnest's seller fee remains S$2,178.91 incl. GST, payable on successful completion. An OTP that never completes does not trigger that package payment.

If the buyer does not exercise

Wait for expiry at 4pm on day 21, unless the buyer exercises earlier. Then decide whether to re-engage the same buyer on new terms or grant a fresh OTP to someone else. Our guide on a sale falling through after the Option covers the option fee, the agent fee and relisting.

Common questions

Sources

Written by

Michelle Lee Ling Ching

Michelle Lee Ling Ching · CEA Registration Number: R009798I · ERA Realty Network Pte Ltd · CEA Licence Number: L3002382K · Tel: +65 9680 1106

We are a fixed-fee HDB agent, non-exclusive and paid on completion. See our HDB seller fee and what it covers.

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