How TDSR, MSR and LTV work together

By Winfred Quek · CEA R073319H · Published 28 August 2026

Rates and thresholds change. The current figures are kept in one place: the Singapore property rules reference.

Facts verified against the sources linked throughout this guide.

Most buyers meet TDSR, MSR and LTV for the first time as three acronyms on a bank's rejection letter, after budgeting around a single figure an online calculator gave them. The three test different things, using different bases, and for an HDB or EC purchase all apply at once. This guide is a companion to the affordability calculator and the TDSR and MSR scenario tool, explaining the mechanics those tools apply.

Three separate checks, not one number

Start with what each one actually is, because the confusion usually begins with treating them as interchangeable.

TDSR and MSR are income tests, a ratio of monthly debt to monthly income. LTV is a valuation test, it has nothing to do with income, it is about how much of the price a bank will lend versus how much you must find yourself. A borrower can pass TDSR comfortably and still be short on cash because of LTV, so treat all three as separate gates, because that is exactly how a bank treats them.

TDSR: the income wide cap

The Total Debt Servicing Ratio caps all of your monthly debt obligations, the new mortgage plus every existing loan, at 55% of gross monthly income. It is a MAS requirement, not a bank policy, so every licensed lender in Singapore applies it identically. What counts toward the 55%: the new mortgage instalment, any other outstanding mortgages, car loans, student loans, and credit card facilities, typically counted at 5% of the outstanding balance per month. Household expenses, insurance premiums and school fees are not counted.

The instalment itself is not calculated at your actual mortgage rate. Banks apply a stress test rate of at least 4% per year, even though the rate you pay is usually lower, to check you could still service the loan if rates rise. That mechanic is why an online calculator using today's rate routinely overstates what a bank will actually approve.

Income is not always counted at face value either. Fixed salary counts in full, but variable income, bonuses, commission, self employment earnings, dividends and rental income from other properties, is typically counted at 70%, averaged over two years, and foreign sourced income carries a similar discount. A household with a large bonus component should expect their TDSR income to sit below payslip total.

MSR: the tighter HDB and EC overlay

The Mortgage Servicing Ratio only applies to HDB flats and Executive Condos bought from a developer, and where it applies, it caps the mortgage repayment on its own at 30% of gross monthly income, well under TDSR's 55%. A private condo purchase never has MSR applied, TDSR is the only income test that runs.

This is where most of the confusion sits. For an HDB or EC buyer with no other debt, TDSR alone would allow a monthly repayment far higher than 30% of income, but MSR still holds the mortgage itself to 30%, so MSR becomes the binding constraint. At a household income of $8,000 a month, MSR caps the HDB mortgage repayment at $2,400, supporting a loan of roughly $503,000. The same $8,000 income, applied to a private condo where only TDSR applies, supports a loan of roughly $920,000, translating to a maximum purchase price of around $1,227,000 at 75% loan to value on a first property loan.

Public housing lending is held to a more conservative ceiling than the private market, so moving from HDB to private condo can unlock more borrowing capacity even without a change in income. For an Executive Condo, MSR applies while the unit is still treated as public housing, and it drops away once the EC privatises, leaving only TDSR from then on.

LTV: a different kind of limit entirely

Loan to Value is not an income test. It caps how much of the price or valuation, whichever is lower, a bank will lend, and the maximum LTV falls as your outstanding residential property loans rise, counted worldwide, including HDB loans, co borrower positions and guarantor obligations on your balance sheet.

The outstanding loan count is what trips people up. An HDB loan you are still servicing counts as one outstanding loan, so a bank loan for a private property taken out while that HDB loan remains open is treated as a second property loan for LTV purposes, not a first, even though it is your first private purchase. The maximum LTV drops from 75% to 45% under standard tenure, and the minimum cash portion of your down payment rises from 5% to 25%. This is one reason many HDB upgraders clear their existing loan before taking on the next one, it restores the more generous first loan LTV tier.

Loan tenure interacts with this too. Maximum tenure is 30 years for a private bank loan, or 25 years for an HDB concessionary loan, and neither can run past age 65. Breach either limit and the reduced LTV tier applies instead, 55%, 25% or 15% by loan count rather than 75%, 45% or 35%. A shorter tenure also means a higher monthly instalment for the same loan quantum, which tightens TDSR and MSR headroom on top of what LTV already constrains.

Reading all three together

The practical question is never which single number applies, it is which check binds first, because that is your real ceiling. Work through them in this order.

The two checks can bind independently. A high income household with no other debt might sail through TDSR and MSR, and still be capped by LTV because they already carry one outstanding loan. A lower income household might sit well within LTV's 75% tier, and still be capped by MSR because they are buying HDB. Running only one check and assuming the other looks after itself is the most common affordability mistake.

Frequently asked questions

Do TDSR, MSR and LTV all apply to the same loan at once?

For an HDB flat or an Executive Condo bought from a developer, yes, all three apply together, and the tightest one sets your real ceiling. For a private condo or landed home, only TDSR and LTV apply, MSR does not come into it at all. Whichever combination applies to your purchase, every check has to pass, there is no picking the most favourable one.

Why is MSR usually tighter than TDSR for the same income?

Because MSR caps the mortgage repayment itself at 30% of gross income, while TDSR caps all debt repayments combined at 55%. A buyer with no car loan or other debt could theoretically use the full 55% under TDSR, but if MSR applies, the mortgage alone is still held to 30%, well under what TDSR would otherwise allow. This is a deliberate design choice to keep public housing more conservatively financed than the private market.

Does having an existing HDB loan affect the LTV on a new private property loan?

Yes. LTV limits are set by how many outstanding residential property loans you already carry, in your name, anywhere in the world, not by whether the new purchase is your first private property. An outstanding HDB loan counts as one outstanding loan, so a private property loan taken out alongside it is treated as a second property loan for LTV purposes, with a lower maximum LTV and a higher minimum cash down payment than a genuine first loan.

Why do banks stress test at 4% when actual mortgage rates are lower?

The 4% figure is a regulatory floor set by MAS, not a bank's own policy, and every licensed lender applies it the same way. Banks calculate your maximum loan as if your instalment were charged at 4% per year, even though the rate you actually pay may be lower. The gap exists to make sure you could still service the loan if rates rise, so your approved loan quantum is smaller than a calculator using today's actual rate would suggest.

Is the loan to value limit the same as my down payment?

Not quite. LTV is the maximum percentage of the purchase price or valuation, whichever is lower, that a bank will lend. Whatever LTV does not cover is your down payment, split between a minimum cash portion and the rest from CPF or cash. On a first property loan with no outstanding loans, LTV of 75% means a down payment of 25%, at least 5% of which must be cash, the remaining 20% can be CPF or cash.

Winfred Quek is an Associate Marketing Consultant at Crestbrick Pte Ltd (CEA Licence No. L31010886H), CEA Registration No. R073319H. The information on this page is general and does not constitute financial, legal or tax advice. Always conduct independent due diligence and consult qualified professionals, including your mortgage banker and conveyancing lawyer, before making any property decision.