The Proximity Housing Grant (PHG), Explained (2026)

Singapore’s housing policy does not just help you buy a flat; in places it nudges you to stay close to family. The Proximity Housing Grant is one of the clearest examples. If you are buying a resale HDB flat to live with your parents or children, or simply near them, this grant can put a meaningful sum towards your purchase. Here is how the PHG works, who qualifies, and what to check before you count on it.

What the Proximity Housing Grant is

The Proximity Housing Grant, usually shortened to PHG, is a CPF housing grant that helps eligible buyers purchase a resale flat on the open market. What makes it distinctive is its purpose: it rewards buyers who choose to live with, or near, their family. The policy idea is that families who live close by can support one another, whether that is grandparents helping with childcare, or adult children keeping an eye on ageing parents.

Because it is a grant, it reduces the effective cost of your flat rather than something you repay. It is one of several grants that can stack on a resale purchase, which is why it is worth understanding in the wider context of the HDB housing grants available before you buy.

Why it only applies to resale flats

The PHG is specifically for resale flats, not new BTO flats. That is by design: a resale purchase lets you choose a flat in a particular location, so you can pick one that happens to be with or near your family. A new flat launch does not give you that fine-grained control over which block you end up next to. So if living close to family is your goal, the resale market is where the PHG helps you do it.

This makes the PHG a strong reason to look at resale rather than waiting for a new flat, especially if a parent or child already lives in an area you like. If you are weighing the two paths, remember that only the resale route gives you the location control the PHG rewards, so the grant can genuinely tip the balance.

Living with family versus living near family

The PHG recognises two situations, and it treats them differently. The first is living with your family, meaning you buy a flat and move in together under one roof. The second is living near your family, meaning you buy a flat within a defined distance of where your family lives, so you are close by without sharing a home.

The grant amount typically differs between these two cases, with living together usually attracting more than living near. The logic is that living together involves a bigger commitment to mutual support. We are not quoting the amounts here because they are set by HDB and reviewed over time; the important thing to grasp is that the two scenarios carry different grant levels, so it pays to know which one your plan falls under.

What counts as living near

Living near family means buying a flat within a defined distance of your family’s home. The distance is set by policy and can be reviewed, so we are not stating a fixed figure. What matters is the concept: there is a specific radius, and your flat needs to fall within it relative to your family’s address for the near-family grant to apply.

Because the exact distance is a hard boundary, it is worth confirming the current definition with HDB and checking that a shortlisted flat genuinely qualifies before you make an offer. A flat that feels close may or may not fall within the defined distance, and that difference decides whether you get the grant. This is one of the first things to verify on any resale unit you are considering for this purpose.

Families and singles

The PHG is available to eligible families and to eligible singles, but the amounts usually differ. Families buying to live with or near their parents or children are the core case, and singles buying to live with or near their family can also qualify, typically at a different grant level. If you are buying alone, it is worth reading our guide to buying an HDB as a single, since the single route has its own eligibility rules and grant treatment across the board.

As with all these figures, treat the amounts as something to confirm with HDB rather than fixed numbers. The point to take away is that both families and singles have a path to the PHG, so do not assume it is only for married couples.

How the PHG fits with your financing

Because the PHG is a CPF housing grant, it typically flows into your CPF and goes towards the flat purchase rather than arriving as cash in hand. That means it interacts with the rest of your financing plan, including how you use CPF and how much you need in loans. Our guide to using CPF to buy property explains how grants and CPF savings work together in a purchase.

Getting the sequence right matters. Knowing roughly what grants you expect, including the PHG, helps you size your loan and your cash outlay more accurately. Just remember that grant eligibility is confirmed by HDB, so plan with a sensible estimate and verify the actual figures before you commit.

How the PHG stacks with other grants

The Proximity Housing Grant is rarely the only grant in play on a resale purchase. Depending on your household and income, it can sit alongside other housing grants for eligible first-timers, so the total support towards your flat may be larger than the PHG alone. This stacking is exactly why it pays to map out all the grants you might qualify for before you set a budget, rather than counting on a single figure.

The interactions can be nuanced, and eligibility for each grant is assessed separately by HDB. So while it is reasonable to plan around a sensible estimate of your combined grants, treat the final numbers as something to confirm officially. Over-counting your grants and stretching your offer accordingly is a common way buyers get caught short at completion.

What to check before you rely on it

A few practical checks will save you disappointment. First, confirm that your chosen scenario, living with or living near, is the one you are actually applying under, since the amounts differ. Second, verify that a near-family flat falls within the current defined distance of your family’s home. Third, confirm your own eligibility as a family or single applicant. Fourth, check the current grant amounts and distance with HDB, because these are reviewed over time.

If you are buying resale for the first time, it also helps to read a broader first-time HDB buyer guide so the PHG sits alongside the other steps of a resale purchase, from the Option to Purchase to completion.

The bottom line

The Proximity Housing Grant helps eligible families and singles buy a resale flat to live with or near their family, rewarding closeness with a CPF housing grant that goes towards the purchase. The amount differs for living together versus living near, and for families versus singles, and both the amounts and the qualifying distance are set by HDB and reviewed over time. So treat the concept as your guide and the official figures as the thing to confirm before you buy. If you would like help finding a qualifying flat near your family and planning the purchase, get matched with a licensed agent below.