Guide

Progressive payments: how an off-plan home is paid for

Buying off-plan means paying for the home in instalments rather than in one sum. The sale and purchase agreement for uncompleted private housing follows a standard form under the Housing Developers Rules, and that form spreads the price across the construction stages. Each instalment falls due only once the building reaches the stage it pays for. This guide walks through the stages, the deadlines and what each one means for your cash and your loan.

Why the schedule is fixed by law

Developers of private housing must be licensed, and the sale and purchase agreement they use is a prescribed form. The payment schedule inside it is the same for every licensed project of the same kind, which protects buyers: a developer cannot ask for money ahead of the work, and the instalments paid before the temporary occupation permit go into a project account that the developer can only draw on under set rules.

The stages for a strata home

For a condominium or apartment, the standard schedule reads as follows. The first payment covers the booking fee and the balance of the downpayment; after that, each payment waits for the developer to notify you that the next stage is finished.

Stage	Share of the price
On signing the agreement, or within 8 weeks of the option date, including the booking fee	20%
Foundation work, including pile caps, completed	10%
Reinforced concrete framework completed	10%
Partition walls completed	5%
Roofing completed	5%
Door and window frames in position, electrical wiring and plumbing done	5%
Car park, roads and drains serving the project completed	5%
Temporary occupation permit issued, with vacant possession	25%
Certificate of statutory completion and legal completion	15%

The shares add up to the full price. Executive condominiums use a very similar schedule, except that the first 20% is due on signing or within nine weeks of the option, whichever is later.

How each payment is triggered

After the agreement is signed, each construction instalment is payable within 14 days of the buyer receiving the developer's notice that the stage has been completed, certified by the project's qualified person. If a payment is late, interest runs on it, and a payment left unpaid for long enough gives the developer the right to treat the agreement as ended. In practice, if you have a bank loan, the bank pays the instalments it covers directly once you forward each notice, so keep the bank's paperwork moving promptly.

What the stages mean for your cash

The first 20% is where most of your own money goes. Your booking fee secures the option; the remainder of the 20% follows when you exercise it and sign. The loan-to-value limits decide how much of that 20% can come from CPF and how much must be cash; the loan limits guide has the table. Stamp duty is separate and is due within 14 days of signing.

Once the downpayment is paid, the later stages are usually funded by the loan, which the bank draws down stage by stage. That is the main advantage of buying off-plan: you pay interest only on the part of the loan drawn so far, so the monthly instalment starts small and grows as construction progresses.

A worked example with an illustrative figure

Take an illustrative price of $1,000,000. The numbers are for illustration; try your own price in the calculator.

Booking and exercise of the option: $200,000, of which the booking fee is part.
Foundation: $100,000. Framework: $100,000.
Partition walls, roofing, frames and wiring, and car park and roads: $50,000 each, $200,000 in all.
Temporary occupation permit: $250,000.
Certificate of statutory completion and legal completion: $150,000.

With a 75% loan, the bank lends $750,000. After the downpayment, the loan funds each later stage in turn until it is fully drawn.

Temporary occupation permit and keys

The temporary occupation permit (TOP) is issued by the Commissioner of Building Control when the building is safe to occupy. Once it is issued and the roads, drains and sewers serving the project are complete, the 25% instalment falls due, and the developer hands over vacant possession, usually with a key collection appointment. A defects liability period of 12 months then runs, during which the developer must fix defects you report.

The certificate of statutory completion

The certificate of statutory completion (CSC) confirms that the building complies with all the building rules. The final 15% is tied to it and to legal completion, when title passes to you. Part of that last instalment is held by the Singapore Academy of Law as stakeholder until completion, which protects the buyer if something is still outstanding. The new launch purchase guide explains how the notice to complete is timed.

Questions buyers often ask

**Can I pay faster?** You may, but you are not required to, and there is little reason to pay ahead of the schedule.
**What if construction is delayed?** The agreement fixes a latest date for handing over the home and for completion, and late delivery entitles you to damages under its terms.
**Does the scheme apply to completed homes?** No. A completed home is bought on the usual resale terms, with the balance paid at completion.

Projects to compare

Projects that are open for sale and still under construction in the directory include The Robertson Opus and Zyon Grand. The new launches page lists projects that have not yet opened.

Calculators

The private home progressive payment calculator lays out every stage for a price you enter. For ECs, use the EC progressive payment calculator.

Sources and date checked

Figures checked on 12 November 2026 against these primary sources:

Your own agreement is the document that binds you; read its payment schedule with your lawyer.

Last updated 13 November 2026