Updated 29 Sep 2026. Before buying a resale condo, ask two questions about its maintenance charges: what must this unit pay now, and what work will the development need to fund next? A low bill can be welcome, but it is not evidence that the building has enough money for future repairs.
The most useful check is to compare the development’s available funds with its commitments and planned works. This guide explains the documents to request, the arithmetic to do and the questions to resolve before you commit.
Management fund and sinking fund: what is the difference?
The management fund pays for recurring common-property expenses, such as cleaning, security, utilities and routine maintenance. The sinking fund provides for longer-term expenditure, including major repairs, replacement of equipment and repainting. Both matter to an owner: daily services need paying for while the building also prepares for larger bills. See BCA’s guidance on recurring contributions and future repairs.
There is no blanket statutory rule requiring a condo sinking fund to equal 10% of its annual management-fund budget. Section 39 of the Building (Strata Management) Act 2004 requires contributions based on reasonable and necessary amounts for actual or expected liabilities. A percentage alone cannot tell you whether future works are adequately funded.
For the buyer, that means a large balance is only reassuring when you know what it must cover. A development that recently completed expensive work may have a smaller balance than one that has deferred it. Compare the remaining obligations and replenishment plan before deciding which position is stronger.
Start with the actual bill for your unit
Request the latest contribution notice, the unit’s share value, the billing period and any separate charges. Owners generally contribute in proportion to share value, and collection schedules can differ. Do not copy the fee from another listing without checking that it applies to the exact unit. Sections 39 and 40 govern the determination and levy of contributions, with the qualifications set out in the Act.
The following numbers are an illustration, not a market average or a quotation for any condo. Assume a six-share unit is billed quarterly:
| Item | Per share | Unit total |
|---|---|---|
| Management fund | S$80 | S$480 |
| Sinking fund | S$40 | S$240 |
| Quarterly total | S$120 | S$720 |
That is S$2,880 a year, or S$240 a month for budgeting. The payment due each quarter remains S$720. Add any separately billed items and approved additional contributions. Do not budget only for the management-fund portion or mistake a quarterly figure for a monthly one.
Request the records before a binding decision
Section 47 of the Act expressly includes prospective purchasers in its written-application process for information and inspection, subject to the prescribed fee. Ask the managing agent how to submit a request for the specific lot, or have your conveyancing lawyer arrange it. These are formal records checks, not a promise of unrestricted public access to every owner’s personal information.
Our suggested reading pack is:
- Latest financial statements and audit report: identify the reporting date, each fund’s balance, cash, unpaid bills and contributions still owed by owners.
- Recent AGM and relevant EGM minutes: look for proposed works, approved budgets, fee changes, deferred decisions and additional contributions.
- Current budget and works schedule: ask what has changed since the accounts were prepared and which estimates have become awarded contracts.
- Unit contribution statement: confirm current charges, unpaid amounts and any issued additional levy.
- Relevant condition or consultant reports, where held: seek the evidence behind a major repair proposal rather than relying on a verbal description.
Read the documents together. A statement dated several months ago cannot settle whether a contract has since been signed. Ask for a dated explanation of material changes and record which information is still missing. If a decision depends on an unanswered question, resolve it before treating the asking price as your complete cost.
Compare usable cash with upcoming commitments
A fund balance in the accounts is not necessarily cash that can all be spent tomorrow. Contributions in arrears have not yet arrived, and part of the cash may be needed for existing bills. Keep the management and sinking funds separate when assessing what can fund a particular project.
Here is a simplified sinking-fund cash forecast. It assumes the incoming contributions arrive before the works must be paid for and that the costs shown are complete. Every amount is hypothetical.
| Cash movement | Amount |
|---|---|
| Opening sinking-fund cash | S$1,200,000 |
| Expected collections before payment dates | + S$300,000 |
| Existing commitments to be paid | – S$900,000 |
| Cash left before proposed works | S$600,000 |
| Proposed additional works | – S$800,000 |
| Illustrative shortfall | S$200,000 |
The opening S$1.2 million looked substantial, but the forecast still shows a gap. Ask how it would be funded, what happens if collections are late, and whether the works estimate includes professional fees, taxes and contingencies. Do not count expected contributions twice if they are already included in the opening figure.
If, purely for illustration, an approved S$200,000 contribution were allocated by share value across 1,200 shares, a six-share unit’s portion would be S$1,000: S$200,000 × 6 ÷ 1,200. Your actual bill depends on the applicable resolution, allocation and payment notice. Dividing the cost equally by the number of apartments can produce the wrong answer.
Is the cheaper condo still cheaper after major works?
Start with two homes that both meet your space, location and occupation needs. Then compare a defined period of ownership. A lower asking price is a negotiating starting point, not a completed transaction, and a forecast levy is not an issued bill.
| Assumed cost | Home A | Home B |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase price | 1,500,000 | 1,525,000 |
| Regular contributions over five years | 24,000 | 27,000 |
| Separate works allowance | 20,000 | 0 |
| Subtotal of these items | 1,544,000 | 1,552,000 |
Every figure is invented for comparison. Regular contributions are assumed constant at S$400 and S$450 a month respectively, including both funds. A’s S$20,000 allowance is additional to those contributions, not the total project cost counted again. B’s zero allowance is an assumption for this example, not a promise that a better-funded development will never need more money.
A starts S$25,000 cheaper and remains S$8,000 cheaper on these limited items. If A’s additional works cost rises to S$30,000, its subtotal becomes S$1,554,000, or S$2,000 more than B. Do not treat either subtotal as an all-in budget: loan interest, stamp duties, legal fees, property tax, insurance, renovation, moving costs and eventual sale proceeds are excluded. Obtain those amounts separately before deciding.
The example answers a narrow question: how much of a price difference survives an allowance for common-property spending? It does not establish either home’s value or future return. If the works estimate is unreliable, show several allowances and the payment dates instead of presenting one precise-looking answer.
Mark each works figure by its status
- Discussed in minutes: a possible project needs further investigation. Do not describe its suggested cost as an approved levy.
- Quoted or budgeted: check the date, scope, exclusions and approval status. An old quotation may not cover the work now contemplated.
- Approved contribution: obtain the resolution and unit notice, including amounts and due dates. Your lawyer should settle the transaction’s allocation of responsibility.
- Contract awarded: request the payment schedule, funding explanation and relevant updates. An awarded contract does not itself prove that all required cash has been collected.
For an occupier, ask about lift availability, access to the flat, noisy periods and the effect on a child, older resident or someone working from home. Request a works programme rather than inventing a completion date. For an investor, check the existing tenancy and repair obligations before assuming disruption can be passed to the tenant or recovered through higher rent.
Your alternatives include making an offer that reflects evidenced costs, choosing the better-documented home, or waiting for information that could change the decision. A contingency reserve helps with uncertain costs; it cannot fix an unsuitable living arrangement. For the recurring-fee comparison, see our condo maintenance-fee guide.
Which findings should change your buying decision?
Ask further questions when major works repeatedly appear in minutes without a funding plan, collection assumptions depend on substantial arrears, or an estimate is old and has no updated quotation. These findings do not automatically make a condo a bad purchase. They identify uncertainty that needs an explanation, a cost allowance or a change to your offer.
Also consider disruption. Lift works, façade access and pool closure may affect an own-stay household even when fully funded. An investor should allow for repair costs and potential vacancy without assuming a fee increase can immediately be passed to a tenant. A property’s maintenance bill is only one part of its ongoing cost.
Settle liability and cash timing with your lawyer
Do not assume unpaid contributions disappear on a sale. Section 40 provides for potential joint liability, subject to section 47’s certificate provisions. Ask your lawyer to obtain the relevant certificate, check outstanding contributions and interest, and address the allocation of charges and approved levies in the contract and completion statement. The dates matter. See sections 40 and 47.
Keep money available for contributions due after completion as well as renovation inside the unit. If your purchase budget only works while fees remain unchanged, reduce the commitment or increase the reserve before buying. For the wider sequence, use our property buyer’s checklist.
Editorial method: checked against current Singapore legislation and BCA guidance on 29 September 2026. The calculations are original illustrations, not accounts from an identified development. Correction history: the 12 September revision removed the unsupported 10% minimum-reserve claim and unverified fee, levy and return figures. The featured Robertson Quay photograph is an archive image from 2011, not evidence of any condo’s current condition.
Archive photograph for context, not evidence of an individual property’s condition or an identified family transaction. Robertson Quay, Singapore – 20110731 (photographed 2011). Photo: Bryanmackinnon. Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Image resized for this website.
