Overview
When someone passes away, the inheritance of the deceased's property will depend on the type of property ownership.
The deceased could own a property under either:
joint tenancy
tenancy-in-common
sole ownership
Property under joint tenancy
If the property is owned under joint tenancy, this means that the co-owners are joint tenants with rights to the whole property.
As joint tenants,
co-owners have equal rights to the whole property
the property automatically goes to the remaining co-owner(s) if 1 co-owner dies, regardless if there’s a will or not.
Their share automatically goes to the remaining co-owners by way of a legal presumption. This is even if their will says otherwise, or if they do not have a will.
For example, A, B, and C are joint tenants of the same property. If C passes away, B and C will continue to have equal rights to the whole property.
The remaining co-owners must lodge a Notice of Death with the Singapore Land Authority either by:
- themselves through SLA’s online service
engaging a lawyer.
If you’re a joint tenant and want to decide who gets your share of the property, you'll need to end the joint tenancy first. Consult a lawyer to understand your options.
You can go to your flat’s managing HDB branch and engage HDB’s legal services to lodge the Notice of Death.
Read more about retaining a HDB flat if a joint tenant passes away .
Property under tenancy-in-common
If the property is owned under tenancy-in-common, this means that the co-owners are tenants-in-common , with each co-owner owning separate and distinct shares in the property .
As tenants-in-common,
Each co-owner owns separate and distinct shares in the property
the property does not go automatically to the remaining co-owner(s) if 1 co-owner dies
Each co-owner can decide how they want to distribute their share of the property in their will
When a tenant-in-common of a property dies, their shares in the property will not be automatically transferred to the remaining co-owners.
It’ll be distributed according to:
the person's will if there is a will left behind
the Intestate Succession Act if there is no will left behind
the Muslim inheritance law (Faraid) if the deceased was a Muslim citizen or permanent resident in Singapore
If there’s a will left behind: apply for a Grant of Probate
If there’s no will: apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration
Executors or administrators can approach the HDB Branch managing the deceased's flat to make an application after obtaining the Grant of Probate or the Letters of Administration.
Read more about retaining a HDB flat after a tenant-in-common passes away .
Property under sole ownership
When the sole owner of a property has died, the property is normally distributed according to:
the person's will if there is a will left behind
the Intestate Succession Act if there is no will left behind
the Muslim inheritance law (Faraid) if the deceased was a Muslim citizen or permanent resident in Singapore
If there’s a will left behind: apply for a Grant of Probate
If there’s no will: apply for a Grant of Letters of Administration
Executors or administrators can approach the HDB Branch managing the deceased's flat to make an application after obtaining the Grant of Probate or the Letters of Administration.
Read more about retaining a HDB flat after a sole owner passes away .