Chencharu BTO or Chencharu Close: which can you buy?

Yishun, District 27 · Last updated 23 September 2026

At least 80% of Chencharu's planned homes are public housing, and four BTO projects have launched there already. For many buyers, though, a BTO flat is not an option at all, and the private homes at Chencharu Close are the only way into the estate. Which side you are on comes down to a handful of rules, set out below from HDB and IRAS.

The four Chencharu BTO projects

Green, Vines and Grove are sold as Standard flats. Hills launched before HDB's Standard, Plus and Prime framework began in October 2024, and HDB applies the same 5-year minimum occupation period to it. HDB's next sales exercise, in November 2026, includes Yishun, but HDB has not yet said which projects.

The income ceiling has just gone up

From 24 August 2026, the monthly household income ceiling for a BTO flat rose from $14,000 to $16,000 for families. For singles aged 35 and above it rose from $7,000 to $8,000, and for new Executive Condominiums from $16,000 to $18,000.

If your household earns between $14,000 and $16,000, that changes your options. Until last month, Chencharu Close was your only way into this estate. Now you may be able to apply for a BTO flat instead.

Who can buy a Chencharu BTO flat

For a family buying a new flat from HDB, every one of these has to hold:

• You are a Singapore Citizen, applying with at least one other citizen or permanent resident.
• You are at least 21 years old.
• Household income is within the ceiling: $16,000 for a 4- or 5-room flat, or $24,000 when buying with an extended family; $8,000 for a 2-room Flexi flat; either $16,000 or $8,000 for a 3-room flat, depending on the project.
• No one listed owns any private residential property, in Singapore or overseas, and no one has sold one in the 30 months before applying.
• Nobody listed has already taken two housing subsidies.

Any HDB flat you already own must be sold within 6 months of completing the new purchase. A single must be 35 or older to buy a new flat, with an $8,000 income ceiling.

Who can buy at Chencharu Close

Private homes have none of those gates. There is no income ceiling, no requirement to buy as a family, no minimum age for singles, and no minimum occupation period. Permanent residents and foreigners can buy, and so can someone who already owns property.

What changes with your circumstances is the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty, charged on top of the price. IRAS's current rates, in force since 27 April 2023:

An HDB flat counts as a residential property in that tally. So a citizen who keeps their flat and buys at Chencharu Close is buying a second property.

If you already own an HDB flat

You must first finish your flat's minimum occupation period: 5 years for Standard flats and those sold before October 2024, and 10 years for Plus and Prime flats. Until then, nobody listed on the flat may buy any private home, in Singapore or abroad. Once the period is over, a household with at least one citizen owner may keep the flat.

Keeping it means 20% ABSD for a citizen, but married couples can get that back. IRAS remits the ABSD when:

• the couple includes a Singapore Citizen and buys in both names only;
• neither spouse owned more than one residential property when buying the second;
• the ABSD is paid first; and
• the first property is sold within 6 months of the new home's TOP or CSC, whichever is earlier, when the new home was still under construction at purchase.

For a home bought off-plan, that means the couple can keep living in their flat while the new one is built, and sell it after completion. Two points matter. The ABSD has to be paid upfront and comes back only later, and IRAS says plainly that the six-month deadline is never extended.

Which side are you on?

Chencharu Close is likely your route into the estate if any of these apply:

• Your household earns more than $16,000 a month.
• You own private property, or sold some in the last 30 months.
• You are single and under 35.
• Nobody in your household is a Singapore Citizen.
• You have already used two housing subsidies.

If none apply, you may qualify for either, and the choice comes down to budget, flat size and timing. HDB's own eligibility check is the HDB Flat Eligibility letter, applied for on the HDB Flat Portal.

What is not known yet

Chencharu Close's pricing, unit mix, floor plans and launch date have not been released, so the two cannot yet be compared on cost. We will add them here once the developer confirms them.

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