{"id":120533,"date":"2021-07-09T02:34:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T19:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/bto-flat-buyers-hit-by-construction-delays-may-appeal-to-cancel-booking-without-penalties\/"},"modified":"2021-07-18T17:02:58","modified_gmt":"2021-07-18T10:02:58","slug":"bto-flat-buyers-hit-by-construction-delays-may-appeal-to-cancel-booking-without-penalties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/bto-flat-buyers-hit-by-construction-delays-may-appeal-to-cancel-booking-without-penalties\/","title":{"rendered":"BTO flat buyers hit by construction delays may appeal to cancel booking without penalties"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nBTO flat buyers hit by construction delays may appeal to cancel booking without penaltiesHDB will waive\u00a0the option fee and one-year wait-out period\u00a0for successful appeals.\u00a0
\nBuyers of Build-to-Order (BTO) flats affected by construction delays may appeal to the Housing Board for the cancellation of their flat booking without penalties, reported The Straits Times (ST).
\nMany BTO projects face construction delays of up to one year or more as the construction industry struggle with labour shortage due to tighter border controls to curb the spread of COVID-19.
\n\u201cWe recognise the challenges faced by flat buyers given the Covid-19 situation and HDB will consider waiving forfeiture based on an assessment of the flat buyers\u2019 specific circumstances,\u201d said the Ministry of National Development (MND) in various written parliamentary replies on 5 July.
\nThe ministry noted that there may be buyers looking to cancel their BTO booking to acquire a resale flat to meet urgent housing needs.
\nRecommended read:\u00a0Should You Buy a Balance Flat (HDB SBF\/Open Booking) or a Resale Flat?
\nBuyers who cancel their flat booking typically forfeit either their option fee which could be between $500 and $2,000, or the 5% of the unit\u2019s purchase price that was paid in advance.
\nMoreover, they would have to wait out a one-year period before they could apply again for another subsidised flat \u2013 either a new HDB unit or a resale flat with grants.
\n\u201cThese measures are in place to ensure that buyers are serious when they buy a flat and do not deprive others with urgent housing needs of the opportunity to do so,\u201d said MND as quoted by ST.
\nBut if the buyer\u2019s appeal is granted, the financial penalty and one-year wait-out period will be waived by the HDB.
\n\u201cThe waiver of the one-year wait-out period will allow first-timer families with urgent housing needs to receive housing grants if they decide to buy a resale flat,\u201d explained MND.
\nEligible buyers can get up to $160,000 in grants once they acquire a resale flat.
\nAmong those who were able to successfully appeal for the cancellation of their BTO flat booking was a 27-year-old buyer who wanted to be identified only as Ms Low.
\nIn March 2020, Ms Low and her husband applied via open booking for a five-room BTO flat in Tampines GreenVines, believing the project would be swiftly completed since it had been launched in 2018.
\nNotably, it was their sixth try, with their first five attempts not yielding a queue number.
\n\u201cWhen HDB first notified us of the nine months\u2019 delay after the circuit breaker period, we were already thinking of cancelling the BTO flat. But it wasn\u2019t easy to get one so we decided to wait,\u201d she told ST.
\n\u201cBut when we heard news of even further delays, we decided we need to get a resale flat so we engaged a property agent while submitting the appeal to cancel the BTO flat at the same time.\u201d
\nLow described her appeal, which took around two months, as a \u201ctedious process\u201d. Nonetheless, she considers herself lucky to have been granted a full waiver.
\nThe couple have since purchased a resale four-room flat in Canberra, which is currently undergoing renovations.
\n\u201cBecause of all these delays, we now have to throw our savings into a resale flat which is more expensive than a BTO flat. But if we held on to the BTO flat, we would have to delay our plans to start a family till much later,\u201d she shared.
\n\u00a0
\nLooking for a property in Singapore? Visit PropertyGuru\u2019s\u00a0Listings,\u00a0Project Reviews\u00a0and\u00a0Guides.
\nVictor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this story, email:\u00a0victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
\n
\nSource : proppertyguru.com.sg\/Property Market
\nRead more…BTO flat buyers hit by construction delays may appeal to cancel booking without penalties<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BTO flat buyers hit by construction delays may appeal to cancel booking without penaltiesHDB will...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":120534,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-120533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/HDB-Singapore.jpg?fit=810%2C422&ssl=1","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p75ss1-vm5","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":122413,"url":"https:\/\/www.siamlandbank.com\/propertynews\/property-news\/average-wait-times-for-bto-projects-remains-at-four-to-five-years-says-desmond-lee\/","url_meta":{"origin":120533,"position":0},"title":"Average wait times for BTO projects remains at four to five years, says Desmond Lee","date":"October 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"\r The total waiting time for BTO projects is still under six years, with\u00a0BTO projects launched this year and last year having wait times ranging between\u00a0three to 5.5 years. 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