What is GFA harmonisation in Singapore property, and why does it matter more than you think?
- Vann Lim
- 1 day ago
- 4 min read
If you’ve been comparing new launch condos with older resale units and thought,
“Why do new projects look smaller on paper?”
You’re not imagining things.
The answer is GFA harmonisation — a policy change that quietly but fundamentally changed how property sizes are measured in Singapore.
Most buyers hear the term, nod along, and move on. But if you don’t understand it correctly, you can very easily misjudge value, PSF, and even layout efficiency.
Let’s break it down clearly.
What is GFA harmonisation?
GFA harmonisation is the standardisation of how Gross Floor Area (GFA) is defined and calculated across Singapore’s key built-environment agencies.
Before harmonisation, different agencies used different “rulers” to measure space:
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) — planning control and GFA
Singapore Land Authority (SLA) — strata area and land titles
Building and Construction Authority (BCA) — building regulations
Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) — fire safety requirements
Because these definitions were not aligned, the same space could be:
counted by one agency,
excluded by another,
and misunderstood by buyers.
Harmonisation aligns these definitions so everyone measures space the same way, from planning approval through to what ends up on your title.
The guiding principle is simple:
If a space is legally owned by a unit (strata area), it is counted as GFA. If it is not owned, it should not inflate the unit size.
When was GFA harmonisation introduced?
GFA harmonisation was announced in September 2022.
It applies to:
Government Land Sales (GLS) sites launched from September 2022 onward
Private development applications submitted from 1 June 2023
This is why most new launches today follow the harmonised framework, while older condos do not.
And if you are still deciding between a new launch or resale, these playbooks will help you. Download them for free.
Why was GFA harmonisation necessary?
The old system created three real problems.
First, unit sizes often looked larger on paper than they felt in real life. Certain spaces — especially vertical voids and design features — could inflate numbers without increasing usable floor area.
Second, it distorted incentives. Developers were encouraged to design for optical size rather than liveability. Double-volume spaces, internal voids, and clever exclusions made brochures look great, but buyers paid PSF for space they couldn’t actually use.
Third, PSF comparisons became unreliable. Two units with the same stated size could deliver very different living experiences, yet buyers were told they were comparing like-for-like.
Harmonisation was introduced to fix this — not to shrink homes, but to make measurements honest and comparable.
Why doesn’t HDB have GFA harmonisation?
This is an important point that often gets misunderstood.
HDB flats do not fall under GFA harmonisation, and that’s because they never needed it.
HDB, under the Housing & Development Board, has always sold flats based on internal floor area — space you can actually live in. There are no voids counted as size, no strata-based marketing, and no PSF competition between projects.
In many ways, GFA harmonisation makes private condominiums behave more like HDB in how space is measured. It corrects an issue that existed in the private market, not the public one.
What is included and excluded in GFA after harmonisation?
This is where confusion usually sets in, so let’s tackle the three most common questions directly.
Voids
A void is an open-to-below space, such as a double-height living room.
Post-harmonisation, voids are excluded from GFA. There is no floor slab, no strata ownership of the air, and therefore no reason to count it as floor area.
This is why newer units with high ceilings often appear smaller on paper — the “air” is no longer counted.
Air-Conditioner (AC) Ledges
AC ledges are not livable space, and you’re absolutely right to question why they sometimes still count.
Under harmonisation, the deciding factor is ownership, not usability.
If the AC ledge is:
part of your strata unit,
shown within your strata boundary,
and legally owned by you,
Then it must be included in GFA.
If the AC ledge is common property — maintained by the MCST and not owned by any unit — then it is excluded from GFA, subject to URA’s dimensional limits.
The intent is transparency. If a buyer owns it and pays for it, it cannot be hidden outside the GFA calculation.
Planter Boxes
Planter boxes follow the same logic.
Private planter boxes that sit within a unit’s strata boundary are included in GFA, even though they are not liveable.
Communal planter boxes that form part of the building façade and meet URA’s criteria are excluded from GFA.
Again, harmonisation is not judging whether the space is useful. It ensures that what is sold is counted, and what is not sold is not.
Why does this still feel counterintuitive?
Many buyers struggle with this idea because they assume GFA should only reflect livable space.
But that has never been how GFA works.
GFA is a planning and ownership metric, not a lifestyle one. Harmonisation simply removes the grey areas that previously allowed certain owned spaces to be excluded.
The result:
fewer illusions,
fewer loopholes,
and far more meaningful comparisons between projects.
The right way to think about GFA harmonisation
Think of it this way:
The homes didn’t suddenly shrink.
The ruler became stricter.
Once you understand that, GFA harmonisation stops being confusing—and becomes a useful filter for judging real value.
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