The Housing and Development Board (HDB) of Singapore acquired HDB flats for breaching the Minimum Occupancy Period rules, including 6 Built To Order (BTO) flats and 15 resale units.
HDB previously confirmed back in December that they were investigating 53 cases of HDB listings for the MOP violations.
21 of the 53 units were seized by HDB, with the rest being penalised with fines or warnings.
HDB confirmed that they acquired the flats, and revealed that of the 21 units, 6 were BTO flats and the other 15 were resale units.
HDB told Straits Times that of the 53 units that they were investigating, 25 of them were flat buyers who bought from HDB, while the other 28 were bought from the open market.
They emphasised that homeowners have to physically occupy the flats during the MOP period because they are meant to be occupied by the owners, and reiterated that flat owners are not allowed to sell or rent out the whole flat during the MOP period, as well as invest in private residential property.
They said that the MOP restriction applies to both HDB flats bought directly from HDB and from the resale market.
During the purchasing process, buyers have to acknowledge the rules and regulations for the units, especially the ones that are under MOP.
HDB added that flat owners would therefore know that they are not allowed to leave their flat vacant, or rent out the whole flat without staying in it, during the MOP.
However, in situations where the owners are not able to live in their flats during the MOP period for whatever reasons, such as the death of the owner, the owner being overseas for work, divorce and etc; they can write in to the board to request a waiver, and HDB will then assess their appeals on a case-by-case basis.
Owners who violate the MOP rules face penalties that range from a written warning, a fine of up to $50,000 or compulsory acquisition of the flat by HDB.