Showflat vs actual unit: what URA lets you change later

Showflat vs actual unit: under URA’s published rules for flats, condominiums and strata landed units that are not conserved, internal works need no planning permission if floor area does not increase and the home stays one self-sufficient unit, and a loft designed as a furniture deck needs none if there is one per unit and it is no more than 5 sqm. Open-sided covers over a balcony, private enclosed space (PES) or private roof terrace (PRT) also need no URA planning permission, but homeowners are to seek consent from their management corporation (MCST). A balcony may not be enclosed with walls or glass panels, and works that increase floor area need a letter showing a 90% management corporation resolution, submitted with a URA planning application.

Taken a fancy to a loft, a covered terrace or a study partition in a showflat? The question has two halves: what the sale includes, and what you may change once the unit is yours. This guide covers the second half.

This is general information from pages read on 3 October 2026 and reread on 17 October 2026, not renovation, legal or purchase advice. It does not say that any named showflat has any of these features.

Do you need URA approval to renovate a condo?

Often not, but the test is floor area, not the size of the job. URA’s renovation overview says alterations or additions generally need planning permission if they increase gross floor area (GFA). For strata units, its guidelines say internal works need none when GFA does not increase and the premises still function as a self-sufficient residential unit.

Partitions have their own test: the unit must still work as a single self-sufficient flat with its essential communal spaces, such as the living and dining area, kitchens and service yards (if any). Partitioning that creates new sub-units is not exempt.

URA’s strata page deals with planning permission. It does not mention removing walls or structural limits, and it does not set out your MCST’s by-laws, so treat “no URA permission” as the first answer, not the last.

Which showflat features can you copy, and which can’t you?

Here are eight features a viewer might want to copy, each mapped to URA’s rule. It is a list rather than a table so you can paste it into your own research file.

• 1. Open-plan living, with a partition left out: not addressed directly by URA’s page. Our reading: taking out a partition inside your own unit is internal work, which needs no planning permission provided GFA does not increase and the unit stays self-sufficient. The page does not mention removing walls, so ask about structural limits and what your MCST requires before you plan it.
• 2. An added partition for a study nook: no URA permission, unless it creates a sub-unit. The unit must still work as a single self-sufficient flat.
• 3. A loft or furniture deck: no URA permission, within limits. It must be designed as a furniture deck, one per unit, no more than 5 sqm (about 54 sq ft, or for illustration a deck 2 m by 2.5 m). What applies to a larger or second loft is a question for URA.
• 4. An open-sided cover over a balcony, private enclosed space (PES) or private roof terrace (PRT): no URA permission, but MCST consent is needed. The cover must also meet the requirements of other relevant agencies, such as the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) and the Fire Safety and Shelter Department (FSSD, SCDF), where necessary.
• 5. Blinds on a balcony: no URA permission. URA calls blinds “akin to furnishing”.
• 6. Glass panels or walls around a balcony: not allowed. Balconies “shall not be enclosed with walls or glass panels”.
• 7. Louvres or fins on a balcony: only a screen that meets URA’s criteria. It must be able to be drawn open or retracted fully and allow natural ventilation at all times, even when fully drawn closed. In a new development the developer’s screen design is approved upfront (see the next section).
• 8. Works that increase floor area: a 90% resolution letter and a URA planning application. A letter signed by the Secretary or Chairperson of the council of the management corporation (MC) must explain that the MC authorised the homeowner by a 90% resolution to carry out the works, and it is submitted with the planning application. The page does not say whether URA will approve such works.

Read “no URA permission” as “URA does not require you to apply”, not “approved to go ahead”.

What does the balcony screen rule mean at the sales gallery?

This is where URA’s rules reach into the showflat itself. Its handbook says developers who erect a sales gallery or show unit are required to install the approved balcony screen at actual scale in the show unit or, if it may block the entrance, to erect a mock-up of the full approved screen elsewhere in the gallery premises. Partial or scaled-down mock-ups are not allowed, and where a development has several approved designs, all of them are to be mocked up. A written notice and a detailed drawing must be displayed next to the mock-up. The notice must state that “The balcony shall not be enclosed except with the approved balcony screen”, and that purchasers have the option to have the screen pre-installed, making clear whether they bear separate costs.

Under rule 10(4) of the Housing Developer Rules, the handbook says, developers must state in the Form 3 unit floor plan that balconies are not to be enclosed except with a balcony screen that has been approved and complies with the Competent Authority’s guidelines. The pre-installation option must be offered by side letter at the point the option to purchase is issued, unless the developer pre-installs approved screens on all balconies.

URA’s wording ties upfront screen approval to new residential developments with proposed balconies, including the residential component of mixed-use developments, and the show-unit duty applies where a sales gallery or show unit is erected. We did not see a start date on the page, so ask whether a given project’s balconies are covered. For existing developments without screens, URA says screens may be installed if they meet the same criteria, and owners who propose one should follow any design guidelines their MCST has set.

Our reading, not URA’s wording: because a screen must allow natural ventilation at all times, even when fully drawn closed, it cannot turn a balcony into a sealed room. For how balconies and PES appear on the plan, see our guide to reading a new-launch floor plan.

What sits behind the yes for PES and roof terrace covers?

For PES, the handbook says covers are approved upfront as part of the development application. Developers are to install a cover at least 2 m wide from the external wall, and homeowners may choose the cover for the rest of the PES from the approved designs, provided they obtain MCST clearance before installation. So for “PES cover approval”, design approval happens at the development stage and the owner’s step, on the handbook’s wording, is MCST clearance. URA’s strata guidelines add that covers must meet the requirements of other agencies such as BCA and FSSD (SCDF) where necessary.

For a private roof terrace, installing a cover is optional: homeowners may choose one of the approved designs and are to obtain MCST clearance before installation. Separately, the handbook says structures on a roof terrace must remain open-sided as viewed from the external façade. Do not assume what your unit’s PES or PRT may have: ask which approved cover designs exist for it.

How can you test any other feature you like?

Ask three questions in order.

1. Does it add floor area? If so, you need the 90% resolution letter and a planning application.
2. Does it cover or enclose a balcony, PES or PRT? Covers must be open-sided and need MCST consent; a balcony may not be walled or glassed in.
3. Does it change what the unit is? A partition that creates a new sub-unit is not exempt.

An illustrative example, not a real project: a household likes a show unit where the balcony is a reading corner and wants to glaze it in. Question 2 says no; the options are blinds, or a screen that meets URA’s criteria. A quiet study would instead be a partition inside the unit, which question 3 allows if the unit still works as one self-sufficient flat.

What should you ask the sales gallery before you commit to a unit?

URA’s buying-property page says developers have to ensure that the plans and models displayed, and show units erected, are accurate and in accordance with the approved building plans, as required under the Housing Developers (Show Unit) Rules. It adds that if you plan to renovate or redevelop after buying, you should check what the approved plans are, and it links a downloadable list of things to look out for at the show flat, which we did not open. The page does not say which show-unit items are in your unit’s price, which is why our questions beyond the showflat guide asks about inclusions. Before you pay for any unit, our guide to what a developer must have lists the licence, project-account and show-unit checks.

For each feature you like, ask whether it is built in, optional at extra cost, or something the owner would have to apply for. Then ask for written answers about your exact unit:

• Is this feature built into my unit, or only in the show unit? If optional, what does it cost and where is that written?
• If I would have to apply later, is that to URA, the MCST or both?
• Does my unit type have a loft, and what is its area in sqm?
• Does the Form 3 floor plan carry the balcony statement? Which screen designs are approved, and where is the full-scale mock-up?
• Is screen pre-installation offered by side letter, and at what separate cost?
• Is a PES or roof terrace cover included, how wide, and which approved designs could I choose for the rest?
• Which approved plan does the show unit follow, and can I see it?

What to do next

Print the floor plan of the unit you are considering, tick each feature against the list and record each answer with its date and the name of the person who gave it, as our research file guide suggests. Add any feature that decides your choice to your household brief. Before you pay, see what each date starts in our option to purchase guide, or browse the viewings topic.

Common questions