How long does it take to get HDB sale proceeds?

Where HDB acts as your solicitor, cash proceeds are credited to your bank account by the next working day after resale completion, under clause 34.4 of HDB's resale terms. Completion is about 8 weeks after HDB accepts the resale application.

Can I use a joint account for HDB sale proceeds?

Only if the flat is held in joint tenancy. Then the account must be held jointly by all the owners. Owners holding as tenants-in-common each give an account in their own name.

Which banks can receive HDB sale proceeds?

Where HDB acts as your solicitor, clause 34.2(a) of its resale terms requires an account with DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB. If a private solicitor acts for you, ask them which accounts they can pay into.

How long does the CPF refund take after selling an HDB flat?

CPF Board says it typically receives refunds from HDB within four to eight weeks of completion, or from lawyers within one week. It then credits them within three working days if sent electronically, or up to 15 working days if sent by cheque or cashier's order.

Can I spend the option fee before completion?

It is safer not to. Option money counts as part of the selling price. If your proceeds after the loan cannot cover the full CPF refund, it must go towards that refund before completion.

When do you get your HDB sale proceeds? Bank account rules and CPF refund timing

If HDB acts for you, your cash is credited electronically by the next working day after completion, into a DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB account that matches how you own the flat. Your loan and CPF refund are paid first, and CPF crediting takes longer.

6 min read · Figures checked 22 October 2026 · By Michelle Lee Ling Ching, CEA R009798I

When do you get your HDB sale proceeds?

If HDB acts as your solicitor, your cash proceeds are credited electronically to your bank account by the next working day after resale completion. That is clause 34.4 of HDB's resale terms, updated on 7 September 2026. The cash is what remains after your loan, CPF refund and other deductibles are paid. Your CPF refund runs on a slower clock.

HDB says completion is about 8 weeks after it accepts the resale application. Counting from acceptance, plan for roughly eight weeks plus a working day before cash reaches you. Do not assume every sale from a particular date follows the same steps. Ask HDB to confirm how and when your own sale will be paid out.

How HDB works out the cash it pays you

Clause 34.1 of the resale terms sets the order. HDB credits the cash proceeds of sale “after the payouts for redemption of any outstanding housing loan, CPF refund and other deductibles”. In practice that gives four layers, settled in this sequence.

Your outstanding housing loan is redeemed first, whether it is owed to HDB or to a bank. HDB's OTP notes warn that if the price cannot clear the loan, you must pay the loan shortfall in cash before the resale can go ahead.
Your CPF refund comes next. This is the CPF principal you withdrew plus accrued interest. It goes back into your CPF accounts, not to your bank.
Other deductibles follow. Under clause 13.2, HDB may deduct arrears, debts, taxes and administrative charges you owe HDB or other government authorities. HDB's OTP notes add that any outstanding upgrading cost is taken from the cash proceeds.
Whatever is left is your cash proceeds, paid into the bank account you gave HDB.

This guide is about when and where each layer lands. To estimate the amounts themselves, use the proceeds calculator in our seller costs guide, linked at the end of this page.

Which bank account HDB will pay into

Clause 34.2 applies where you have appointed HDB to act as your solicitor in the sale. You give HDB the bank account for your cash proceeds as part of the resale application. HDB's application page asks you to submit those details within 3 calendar days of submitting the resale application. The account you need depends on how the flat is owned.

All sales: the account must be with one of three local banks, DBS/POSB, OCBC or UOB (clause 34.2(a)).
Sole owner: the account must belong to that owner (34.2(b)).
Joint tenancy: the account must be held jointly by all the owners of the flat (34.2(c)).
Tenancy-in-common: each owner provides an account that belongs to them (34.2(d)).
Sale by an executor or administrator: the account must belong to the late owner's estate (34.2(e)).
Sale under a court order after a divorce: each owner provides an account in their own name (34.2(f)).
Sale by an attorney, a donee under a Lasting Power of Attorney, or a court-appointed deputy: the account must belong to the payee named in the power of attorney, LPA or court order (34.2(g)).
An owner who is an undischarged bankrupt in an SPR household: that owner's share goes to the Official Assignee or a court-appointed trustee, and the other owners follow the rules above (34.2(h)).

If a private solicitor acts for your sale

The bank account rules in clause 34.2 are written for sales where HDB acts as your solicitor. You can appoint a private solicitor instead, and HDB says you must if you have a housing loan from a bank to redeem. In that case HDB tells you to give your bank account details directly to your solicitor. Ask them in writing how and when they will pay you after completion.

CPF Board gives one useful marker for this route. It says it typically receives refunds from lawyers within one week of completion, against four to eight weeks for refunds from HDB. Your solicitor can tell you how that applies to your file.

When your CPF refund is credited

Cash and CPF move separately. CPF Board says it typically receives refunds from HDB within four to eight weeks from the date of completion. Its own processing starts only after the funds arrive. It credits the refund within three working days when funds and details come electronically. If they come by cheque or cashier's order, it allows up to 15 working days from receipt.

Where the refund lands depends on your age. Below 55, it is credited to your Ordinary Account. From 55, CPF uses it first to top up your Retirement Account to your retirement sum, and the balance stays in your Ordinary Account. Each owner can preview their own figure in the “What Happens If” section of the CPF Home ownership dashboard.

A thin margin does not always mean a cash bill. CPF Board says that if you sell at market value and the price, after the loan, cannot cover your full CPF refund, you do not have to top up that shortfall in cash. Money you have already received from the buyer is treated differently, as the next section explains.

Option money already in your hands

The option fee and exercise fee are paid to you directly, well before completion. Together they form the deposit, which HDB caps at S$5,000. CPF Board treats this option money as part of the selling price. It is not extra money on top of the price, because the buyer's later payments only cover the balance.

If the price after the loan cannot cover your full CPF refund, the deposit is drawn in. Clause 33.2 says you must pay the cash deposit, or part of it, to HDB as directed, towards the refund. CPF Board says that option money must go back to CPF before the transaction can complete. Until your figures are confirmed, keep the deposit untouched.

Paperwork to line up before completion

The right bank account for your ownership type, active and in the exact names that clause 34.2 requires.
The amount needed to redeem your housing loan on the expected completion date. Ask your bank, or HDB if it is an HDB loan, and check any charges under your loan terms.
Each owner's CPF refund figure from the CPF dashboard, so you know how much returns to CPF rather than to your bank.
Proof that service and conservancy charges are paid up to the completion date. Clause 16.1 asks you to produce it at completion, and clause 15.3 also covers property tax and other charges.
Any outstanding upgrading cost. HDB's OTP notes say it must be settled in full before completion, and CPF savings cannot be used for it on a flat being sold.
Your agent's fee and its due date. Our fixed fee is S$2,178.91 including GST, payable on completion, so plan it into the week the cash arrives.

Plan the next home around real arrival dates

List every payment for your next home with its due date. Anything due before your completion must come from money you already have. Cash from HDB is credited by the next working day after completion. A CPF refund from a sale HDB handles can take several more weeks. If you are buying another HDB resale flat at the same time, ask HDB whether the Enhanced Contra Facility fits your case. Our sell-and-buy timing guide explains how contra works.

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.

Ask about selling