New launch TOP date: what the permit sets off for a buyer

The TOP date on a new launch is the day the temporary occupation permit (TOP) is issued, and for a buyer it starts several things at once. URA says that once the TOP is issued and you have paid the progress payment due upon TOP, the developer will tell you how to collect your key. IRAS says property tax on a newly completed property runs from the TOP date, and that a married couple’s six-month window to sell a first home and claim an ABSD refund on an unfinished second home runs from the earlier of the TOP or the Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC).

Of the four projects we checked on 17 October 2026, two have an expected TOP from their developers, both given in a press release rather than on the project page: Far East Organization expects The Serra Residences’ TOP in the fourth quarter of 2030, and Thomson Reserve’s developers expect its TOP in the second half of 2030. Both put vacant possession months later. Ask the developer for every date in writing. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

Who issues a TOP, and how does it differ from a CSC?

It is granted by the building control authority, not by the developer; that is our reading of IRAS’s wording. IRAS’s GST guide for property owners (eleventh edition, published 7 August 2026) says that when the building works are completed, the applicant and the Qualified Person apply to the Commissioner of Building Control for a CSC or a TOP, and that the building can only be occupied when one is granted. IRAS’s buyer’s stamp duty page refers to a “TOP or CSC issued by BCA”.

The two are not always a fixed pair of steps. IRAS’s ABSD refund rule counts from the TOP or the CSC, whichever is earlier, and its page for architects asks them to say whether a CSC is a “direct CSC”. Our reading is that a CSC can be issued without a TOP before it.

What each certificate certifies, and what may still be outstanding at TOP, is set out by the Building and Construction Authority and in the housing developers’ rules. We could not open either on 3 October 2026 or on 17 October 2026, so we do not define the difference here. Check it there and in your sale and purchase agreement (S&PA).

URA’s glossary (updated 17 June 2026) defines “Expected Year of Final TOP” as “the year in which the whole project will be given the Temporary Occupation Permit”, supplied by developers or architects. “Final” and “whole project” suggest a large development can receive more than one TOP (our inference; we have not verified how phased TOPs work), so ask how it applies to your block.

What happens after a TOP, in order?

The dates are fictional and for illustration only; your documents set the real ones.

1. 10 March 2031: the TOP is issued. IRAS taxes a newly completed property from the TOP date, so property tax starts before you have keys. In IRAS’s example (TOP on 8 August, possession on 5 November) the buyer is liable from 8 August, and the lawyer would usually help seek reimbursement from the developer for 8 August to 4 November. Our first property tax bill guide follows the bill.
2. You pay the progress payment due upon TOP (URA). The amount and due date come from your S&PA; URA does not say how you are told.
3. The developer tells you how to collect the key (URA). URA places this after the TOP is issued and that payment is made.
4. 31 March 2031: you collect the keys.
5. 10 September 2031: six months after the TOP. For a couple claiming the ABSD refund on an uncompleted second home, IRAS says the first home must be sold “within 6 months after” the issue date of the TOP or CSC, whichever is earlier. IRAS gives no worked end date, so on a plain reading the last day is 10 September 2031. Your lawyer should confirm the day, and nobody should plan to use it. The clock starts at the TOP, not at key collection, and earlier if a CSC comes first. The rule is for couples including a Singapore Citizen, with other conditions.
6. About 31 March 2032: the defects period would end. URA does not say when the one year starts. This example assumes key collection, so use the start date in your own S&PA.

The TOP date, not your keys, starts some of these clocks. Our new launch deadlines page lists every dated clock in a purchase.

How do live projects state their dates?

Four projects now on preview or on sale, as each developer’s own page or release showed them on 17 October 2026 (our pipeline page covers six projects):

• The Serra Residences (Far East Organization; Novena, 133 units, freehold): Far East’s release of 2 October 2026 says the development is expected to obtain its TOP in the fourth quarter of 2030. The project page’s legal details give an Expected Vacant Possession Date of 1 September 2031 and an Expected Legal Completion Date of 1 September 2034, but no TOP date.
• Thomson Reserve (CapitaLand Development, UOL Group and Singapore Land Group; 1,268 units): the developers’ release of 15 October 2026 says Thomson Reserve is expected to receive its TOP in the second half of 2030, and its factsheet gives a 99-year lease from 14 July 2026 and an estimated date of vacant possession of 28 February 2031. CapitaLand’s project page gives the 99-year leasehold tenure and the status “Under Development” but no dates.
• Lucerne Grand (CDL; 570 units): CDL’s release of 4 October 2026 says it commenced sales on 3 October 2026. Neither that release nor its release of 16 September 2026 gives a TOP, vacant possession or completion date.
• Amberwood at Holland (Sim Lian; 212 residences): Sim Lian’s page lists the project as for sale and gives no tenure, TOP, vacant possession or legal completion date.

Two of the four give an expected TOP, in a press release rather than on the project page, and both put vacant possession months later: on our arithmetic, roughly two to eight months after a TOP in the second half of 2030 for Thomson Reserve, and eight to eleven months after a TOP in the fourth quarter of 2030 for The Serra Residences. All of these dates are expectations: Far East labels its page dates “expected”, the page carries the note “Subject to change without prior notice”, and it puts legal completion three years after vacant possession. Do not read the legal completion date as the CSC date: the pages we could read do not link the two. That Lucerne Grand and Amberwood at Holland publish no dates does not show their developers lack the information; a web page or release may simply not be where it appears (our inference).

The possession date matters beyond keys. MOE’s page on registering with a new property’s address (updated 30 September 2026) uses the vacant or delivery possession date and does not accept the probable completion date; see our P1 registration guide. Our guides to The Serra Residences, Thomson Reserve, Lucerne Grand and Amberwood at Holland cover each project.

What should you ask before you book?

1. The expected TOP year, vacant possession date and legal completion date, in writing, and which document states each.
2. What your S&PA says if a date moves. URA says the S&PA is a private contract, that licensed housing developers must use the standard form, and that no amendment can be made without the Controller of Housing’s prior approval. Ask your lawyer how the standard terms treat late possession.
3. The progress payment due upon TOP: the share of the price, how you will be notified and how you will fund it (cash, CPF or loan). Our payment schedule guide gathers what URA and CPF say about the progress payment due on TOP and about CPF, and labels its stage percentages unverified.
4. When maintenance fees start and from which date you are responsible for the unit; see our monthly cost guide.
5. Whether the developer reimburses the property tax for the months between the TOP and your possession, and when. IRAS says a lawyer would usually help seek this.
6. How to report defects, to whom and in what form, and when the one-year period starts.
7. Whether you rely on an ABSD refund. If so, note the TOP or CSC issue date as soon as you learn it. Keep the answers in your research file.

For other contract terms, see our new-launch glossary.

Common questions