If you intend to commence divorce proceedings and you have a HDB flat as a matrimonial asset, you are required to send these standard queries to the HDB. You can find the HDB Standard Query form here. For CPF members aged 55 years and above, you will also need the CPF Standard Query form here.
The replies to these queries form part of the Proposed/Agreed Matrimonial Property Plan which you will have to file as part of your divorce papers. Without the replies, you will not be able to commence a divorce action unless special permission is granted by the court for you to do so or if you do not receive their replies within one month from the time you served the queries (but this has never happened in my practice).
The purpose of these queries is to assist the Court in ascertaining:
- ownership, parties’ contributions and the liabilities relating to the HDB’s property
- parties’ proposals on how the flat is to be disposed off and distributed;
- HDB’s consent or objections to these proposals; and
- whether there are any HDB policies affecting the property eg minimum occupation period, subsidies for special schemes etc.