As of today (28^th September 2020), the URA has put a stop to the re-issuing of an Option To Purchase (OTP) to prospective home buyers. We can’t call it a sudden move, as just last month the URA was already stepping up the tracking of this practice and discouraging it. Now that it’s officially the law however, new conditions in the sale licenses will:

1. Restrict developers from providing upfront agreement to buyers to re-issue the OTP, and

2. Restrict developers from re-issuing the OTP for the same property, to the same buyer, within 12 months after the expiry of the earlier OTP.

Here’s an explanation of what all this means for home buyers: What were re-issued OTPs, and why were they happening? When you buy a property, the transaction begins with obtaining the Option To Purchase (OTP). This requires a deposit of one to five per cent of the property price....