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Relook 30-month waiting time before EC sellers can buy flats

Under the rules governing the sale of an executive condominium (EC), I have to wait for 30 months after selling my unit before I am eligible to apply for a new EC, or a new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat.

Under the rules governing the sale of an executive condominium (EC), I have to wait for 30 months after selling my unit before I am eligible to apply for a new EC, or a new Housing and Development Board (HDB) flat.

I would like to appeal to the Ministry of National Development and the HDB to review this particular rule. When I first bought my current EC, I had to fulfil a set of eligibility conditions and a Minimum Occupation Period of five years before I could sell my EC to a Singapore citizen or a permanent resident.

Then, when the EC reached the 10-year-old mark, I could sell it on the open market, where foreigners would also be eligible to buy the unit.

However, when my EC reached this milestone, it was privatised and became a “private property”. This made it difficult for me to sell my unit. If I were to sell my “privatised” EC, my family and I would have to look for temporary housing, while waiting out the 30-month period, and then wait for another few years for the Temporary Occupation Permit for the new HDB or EC unit.

I do not understand why the authorities are making it so difficult for an EC owner like me to buy another new unit.

The 30-month period should apply only to owners of private properties that were “private” at the point of purchase. Such private-property owners had the flexibility to sell or rent out their units from day one.

Such a waiting period should not be applicable to EC owners who had bought their units under a different set of eligibilty criteria and occupation rules at the point of purchase.

Executive condominiums started out as a hybrid between public and private housing. After 10 years, EC owners like me are still sandwiched between two set of policies that are targeted at private property owners and HDB upgraders.

I would like to appeal to the ministry and the HDB to review the 30-month waiting period, so that EC owners who bought their units before the property cooling measures were introduced would be eligible to buy a new HDB or new EC unit after selling the current unit.

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