ABSD deadline for large en bloc projects extended to facilitate redevelopment

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SINGAPORE – Developers of large residential en bloc sites will get more time to sell units in the project, under changes to the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) regime that are meant to facilitate the redevelopment of such sites.

Announcing this on July 28, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said the Government recognises that developers seeking to undertake the redevelopment of large residential en bloc sites will require more time to construct their developments and sell the units.

Chee said that for larger sites purchased from July 29, the timeline to qualify for the 35 per cent ABSD remission will be extended.

Large sites – those that yield at least 700 residential units but less than 1,400 residential units upon redevelopment – will have their completion and sale timelines extended to 6 years from 5½ years currently.

Meanwhile, mega sites – those that yield at least 1,400 residential units upon redevelopment – will have a completion and sale timelines of seven years, up from the current 5½ years.

Developers of mega sites will have to sell at least half of the residential units at the end of six years, or face a full clawback of the 35 per cent remittable portion of the ABSD. They will also face a full ABSD clawback if they do not sell all units after seven years.

“These changes are intended to set the right incentives for developers to rejuvenate larger estates, so that we can encourage more than intensification and achieve an outcome which is good for society as a whole,” Chee said in a speech at the Singapore Economic Review Conference.

He noted that Singapore could end up with a “lose-lose outcome” overall if developers are discouraged from redeveloping large residential en bloc sites.

Currently, housing developers purchasing residential land are subject to 40 per cent ABSD.

Of this, 5 per cent cannot be remitted. The remaining 35 per cent can be remitted, provided developers meet three conditions – commencing construction within two years or buying the site, completing construction within 5 years of their purchase, as well as selling all housing units within the same period.

In March 2025, the Government provided six to 12-month extensions for developers to qualify for the remission.

For instance, en bloc projects that can yield at least 700 units upon redevelopment, and where the redevelopment yield is at least 1½ times that of the original development, get a 6-month extension, while such projects that have complex technical or infrastructural requirements have a further 6-month extension.

On July 28, Chee said developers of large and mega whose projects meet additional criteria will get further 6-month extensions, which means they can begin construction up to 3 years after they buy the site.

Accordingly, the completion and sale timelines will be 6½ years for large sites and 7½ years for mega sites.

These additional criteria include either projects with complex technical or infrastructural requirements, projects approved under the Strategic Development Incentive scheme, or projects that aim to achieve higher productivity targets, such as through the adoption of nascent construction technologies.