Unauthorised renovation and your home sale: what URA’s crackdown means when you sell
Guides › Owning
Owning · Homeowner notesJames Yeo, CEA R051864Z · 12 October 2026 · 7 min read
Quick answer
On 11 October 2026 URA said it has been receiving close to 150 reports a year of suspected unauthorised works in condos and other strata homes, that about nine in ten turn out to be real, and that it will prosecute owners who ignore its notices. The rules did not change. What changed is that the loft, the glassed-in balcony or the covered roof terrace your renovator built without approval is now more likely to be reported, by a neighbour or by the MCST, and more likely to be acted on.
For a homeowner the question is not "will I be fined", though you can be. It is "what happens when I sell". An unapproved structure shows up in the buyer's lawyer's checks, comes off the bank's valuation, and either delays your sale by months while you regularise it or costs you more in the price than it ever cost to build. If you own a condo and plan to sell in the next two years, sort it out before you list, not after a buyer finds it. If you own an HDB flat, the sequence is different: HDB inspects after the resale application and you rectify what the officer lists before completion, so the job before you list is to know what will be on that list and price for it.
I handle the selling side of this more often than people expect, usually when a buyer's lawyer asks for the approved plans and the seller realises for the first time that the mezzanine the previous owner built is not on them. Here is what URA said, what counts as unauthorised in a condo and in an HDB flat, and what it does to a sale.
What URA actually said
URA received 147 reports of suspected unauthorised works in strata-titled homes in 2024, 148 in 2025 and 116 in the first nine months of 2026. Around 90% of the cases it investigated were confirmed, and most owners removed the works after an enforcement notice without going to court. URA's spokesperson said it "will not hesitate to prosecute" owners who do not comply. Under the Planning Act, carrying out or permitting works that need planning permission without getting it can be fined up to $200,000. Under the Building Control Act, structural work without approval can be fined up to $200,000, with up to two years' jail, or both.
The reports come from neighbours, from the MCST, and from the periodic structural inspections that every residential building goes through every ten years under BCA. That last route matters: an unauthorised loft can sit unnoticed for years and then surface in a routine inspection you had nothing to do with.
What counts as unauthorised in a condo
URA's own guidelines for strata-titled homes draw the line at gross floor area. Internal works that do not add floor area need no planning permission. Works that add floor area do, and the application must include a letter from the MCST confirming a 90% resolution of the subsidiary proprietors authorising them. In practice the works that get owners into trouble are:
- Lofts and mezzanines. One loft per unit of up to 5 sq m, used as a furniture deck, is allowed without permission. Anything larger, or a second one, is added floor area. Mezzanines also load the slab and beams in ways the building was not designed for, which is where BCA comes in.
- Enclosed balconies. Balconies are meant to stay semi-outdoor. Walls or glass panels are not allowed; blinds are. The "glass balcony" that so many renovation photos show is the single most common breach I see.
- Enclosed patios and roof terraces. An open-sided cover over a private enclosed space or roof terrace is fine with MCST consent. Add walls and it becomes enclosed floor space, which needs the 90% resolution, URA approval, and possibly a land betterment charge if the development has used up its paid-up floor area.
- Structural changes. Anything touching slabs, beams or columns needs a professional engineer and BCA approval, regardless of floor area.
Before 12 January 2013 URA did not count private semi-outdoor areas and roof terraces towards a unit's floor area, so a cover that was fine in an older development may have been assessed under rules that no longer apply to new works. If your unit is in a development completed before then, check the approved plans rather than assuming.
What counts as unauthorised in an HDB flat
HDB is a different regime and a stricter one at the point of sale. HDB's resale terms say in plain words that the seller must regularise or remove any unauthorised renovation works in the flat before resale completion, and that HDB's approval of the sale is conditional on it. HDB inspects the flat during the resale process, looking specifically for works that could damage HDB property or affect structural stability.
In practice the sequence is: resale application, HDB inspection, the officer's list of items to rectify, the seller rectifies, then completion. Sellers do not reinstate before marketing, and I do not ask them to. What you do before marketing is find out what the officer is likely to flag, so the cost is in your numbers and a contractor is lined up, rather than discovered three weeks before a completion date you cannot move.
The usual culprits: hacked or shifted walls without a renovation permit, floor levels raised beyond the limit, windows changed without approval, wet-area waterproofing disturbed, and anything built onto a service yard or balcony that encloses it. None of these are exotic. Most were done by a contractor who told the owner "no need permit, everyone does it". HDB's inspector will not take that view.
Why it bites when you sell
This is the part the news coverage does not cover, and it is the reason I am writing this.
The buyer's lawyer will find it. For a private sale, the conveyancing checks now routinely include a request for approved plans and a comparison with what is on site. BCA itself recommends buyers engage an architect or engineer to do exactly that, because the legal search only shows works already reported. For an HDB sale, HDB's own inspection does the finding for them.
The valuer will not count it. A bank valuation is based on approved floor area. Your 120 sq m unit with an unapproved 15 sq m loft is valued as 120 sq m. If the buyer has been shown "135 sq m of living space" and priced accordingly, their loan comes in lower than they planned and the gap has to be cash. Many buyers cannot close that gap, and the sale falls through at the exercise stage.
Regularising takes months, and the clock is often running. To keep the works you need a registered architect or professional engineer to submit plans, a 90% resolution from an MCST that may meet once a year, and URA's approval. Removal is faster but still weeks of hacking and making good. If you are an upgrader who has already bought, the six-month disposal deadline in the sell-first-or-buy-first guide does not pause while you wait for the MCST.
The buyer inherits the liability. URA has said so directly: a new owner can be held responsible for unauthorised works carried out by the previous one. A well-advised buyer prices that risk in. In my experience the discount they ask for is larger than what it would have cost the seller to remove the works before listing, because the buyer is pricing uncertainty, not just the hacking bill.
What to do before you list
- Get the approved plans. For a condo, from the developer's handover documents or by requesting them from URA. For an HDB flat, pull your renovation permit history from HDB's portal. Compare them with what is actually in the unit.
- Walk the unit with the list above. Loft, balcony, patio or roof terrace cover, any wall that is not on the plan. If you bought the unit renovated, assume nothing was approved until you see the paperwork.
- Decide: remove or regularise. Removal is usually cheaper and always faster. Regularise only if the works add real value, the MCST is likely to give the 90%, and you have the months to spare.
- Condo: do it before marketing, not after the option. Once a buyer has found it, you are negotiating from behind. HDB: wait for the inspection, but be ready for it. The officer's list comes after the resale application and the work has to be done before completion, so have the cost budgeted and a contractor on standby.
- Disclose what remains. If anything is still unapproved when you list, say so in writing and price for it. A surprise at the lawyer's stage kills more sales than a known issue priced in at the start.
- Keep the approvals with the title. Permits, MCST letters, URA approvals, engineer's reports. They are part of what you are selling.
What I would do
Selling a condo with a glassed-in balcony or a loft over 5 sq m: remove it before the first viewing. Buyers see the space either way; what they cannot see is the problem you have just taken off the table.
Selling an HDB flat with a renovation you are not sure was permitted: check the permit history first so you know what the HDB officer is likely to flag, put the reinstatement cost into your proceeds calculation, and have a contractor ready. You do the work after the inspection, before completion, not before marketing.
Buying either: ask for the approved plans before you exercise, and budget a few hundred dollars for an engineer to walk the unit if there is anything built that looks like it added space.
This is one of the checks I do before I quote a price on any flat, because it changes the price. If you are not sure what you have, send me a photo of the structure and the block on WhatsApp and I will tell you what I would do with it.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell a condo with an unauthorised loft?
Legally the sale can go through, but the buyer's lawyer will usually find it, the bank will not value the extra floor area, and the buyer inherits the liability to remove it. Expect either a price cut larger than the removal cost or a sale that falls through at the exercise stage.
Can I sell an HDB flat with unauthorised renovation?
You can market and sell it, but not complete without fixing it. HDB inspects the flat after the resale application, the officer lists what must be rectified, and the seller does the work before completion. Sellers do not reinstate before marketing; they find out what will be flagged and budget for it.
Is a loft allowed in a condo?
One loft per unit, used as a furniture deck and no larger than 5 sq m, is allowed without URA permission. Larger lofts and mezzanines add floor area and need a 90% MCST resolution plus URA approval, and a professional engineer if they load the structure.
Can I enclose my balcony with glass?
No. URA requires balconies to remain semi-outdoor; walls and glass panels are not permitted. Blinds are fine, and an open-sided cover is fine with MCST consent.
I bought the unit like this. Is it still my problem?
Yes. URA has said owners are responsible for works already in place when they bought, and a buyer can be held liable for a previous owner's unauthorised works. Check the approved plans and regularise or remove.
What are the penalties?
Under the Planning Act, up to $200,000 for carrying out or permitting works without planning permission. Under the Building Control Act, up to $200,000 and up to two years' jail for structural works without approval. In practice URA issues an enforcement notice first and prosecutes owners who ignore it.
Licensed real estate salesperson, CEA R051864Z. 91 homes sold across 22 towns, 78 of them HDB. Creator of the C.H.O.I.C.E. framework and author of Buy & Sell Properties Start With C.H.O.I.C.E. I sell for a fixed $1,999 plus GST instead of 2%, with no exclusive agreement to sign.
Not sure whether something in your home was approved? Send me a photo and the block on WhatsApp and I will tell you what I would do before listing.
WhatsApp James · +65 8688 0009