Buyer Guide
One Marina Gardens TOP Date: When Will It Be Ready, and What It Means for Your Payments
Short answer: the developer's expected date of vacant possession for One Marina Gardens is 30 April 2029, and the expected date of legal completion is 30 April 2032. "Vacant possession" is when you get the keys, which normally happens around TOP. These are the latest dates in the developer's sales information; the actual TOP can come earlier, and the dates in your own Sale and Purchase Agreement are the ones that count.
Below is what those two dates mean, how your payments line up with them, and what I would plan for if you are selling a home to buy here.
TOP, vacant possession and legal completion: three different dates
Buyers often mix these up, so here they are in plain words:
- TOP (Temporary Occupation Permit): the building is safe to live in. The developer then gives you notice to collect your keys. URA's buyer guide says you collect your keys once TOP is issued and you have paid the payment due at TOP.
- Vacant possession: the day the developer hands you the unit. For One Marina Gardens the expected date is 30 April 2029.
- Legal completion (CSC): when the Certificate of Statutory Completion is issued and the title is sorted out. This often comes a few years after you move in. For One Marina Gardens the expected date is 30 April 2032.
You can move in, renovate and rent out from vacant possession. You don't have to wait for legal completion to live there.
Source: URA, buying uncompleted property.
Quick facts
- Address: 1, 3 and 5 Marina Garden Lane, Singapore 018935 (District 01)
- Developer: Kingsford Marina Development Pte Ltd
- Tenure: 99 years from 9 October 2023
- Size: 937 homes, mixed development with shops and a restaurant
- Expected vacant possession: 30 April 2029
- Expected legal completion: 30 April 2032
- Nearest MRT: Marina South (Thomson–East Coast Line), about 160m
- Homes left: 249 of 937 as of 4 Nov 2026 (live price list)
How the payments follow the building
For a new launch you don't pay the full price upfront. You pay in stages as the building goes up. The stages are fixed by the Housing Developers Rules:
- 20% when you sign the Sale and Purchase Agreement (within 8 weeks of the option date), including the 5% booking fee
- 10% when the foundation is done
- 10% when the concrete frame is done
- 5% for the walls
- 5% for the roof and ceiling
- 5% for door and window frames, wiring, plastering and plumbing
- 5% for the car park, roads and drains
- 25% at TOP
- 15% at legal completion (part of this is held back for 12 months after you get the keys, to cover defects)
So the biggest single payment, 25%, lands around the April 2029 date, and the last 15% around 2032.
Why this matters: your bank only releases the loan stage by stage, and you pay interest only on what has been released. In the early years your monthly instalment is small, and it goes up as the building goes up. Ask your banker to show you the instalment at each stage, not only the final one.
Source: Housing Developers Rules.
Your share comes first
Under MAS rules, a first housing loan can go up to 75% of the price (if the tenure is 30 years or less and ends by age 65). You need at least 5% in cash, and the rest of your 25% from cash or CPF. With one housing loan already outstanding, the limit drops to 45% and the minimum cash is 25%.
For example, a 2-bedroom from $1,879,900 (the starting price as of 4 Nov 2026):
- 5% booking fee: $93,995, in cash
- 15% at signing, within 8 weeks: $281,985 (cash or CPF)
- the last 5% of your 25% share, $93,995, at the foundation stage
- Buyer's Stamp Duty: about $63,595, due within 14 days of signing
- the bank's 75%, $1,409,925, is released stage by stage up to completion
Higher floors and better stacks cost more than the starting price, so treat this as the lowest case.
One thing to know: construction has already started, so any stage the developer has finished by the time you sign is billed straight away rather than spread out. Ask me for the current stage before you work out your cash flow.
Sources: MAS loan-to-value limits, IRAS stamp duty rates.
If you are upgrading: plan around the date
Many of the buyers I work with are selling a home to buy their next one. This is where the dates matter most.
If you own an HDB flat or a private home now and buy One Marina Gardens as a Singaporean married couple, you pay 20% ABSD on the second property first. IRAS refunds it if you sell your first home within 6 months after TOP or CSC, whichever is earlier, for an uncompleted property like this one. There is no extension. So with an expected date in April 2029, you would want your current home sold by around late 2029. IRAS itself suggests starting to market your first home early, at a realistic price.
On a $1,879,900 unit, 20% ABSD is $375,980. That money sits with IRAS until you sell, so it has to come from somewhere.
Source: IRAS, ABSD remission for married couples.
If you sell first, then buy, you avoid ABSD, but you need somewhere to stay until 2029. HDB's temporary extension of stay is only for sellers moving to a home that is already completed, so it doesn't help while One Marina Gardens is still being built. Budget for rent.
Source: HDB, temporary extension of stay.
I sit down with each family and work out which order is safer for them. It depends on your cash, your CPF and how quickly your current home is likely to sell.
If you are buying to sell later
Seller's Stamp Duty applies if you sell within 4 years of buying (for purchases on or after 4 July 2025): 16% in the first year, 12% in the second, 8% in the third and 4% in the fourth. The clock starts from your purchase date, not from TOP. If you buy in late 2026, you are clear of SSD by late 2030.
Source: IRAS stamp duty rates.
If you are buying to rent out
You can rent out from vacant possession, so the earliest rent is around mid-2029 on the current dates. Until then the loan instalments come out of your own pocket. Marina South is a new area, and One Marina Gardens is the first home development on Marina Gardens Lane, so check rents for similar units nearby closer to the time rather than relying on a number today.
Can TOP be late?
The expected date is the developer's estimate. Your Sale and Purchase Agreement states the dates the developer commits to, and what happens if they are missed. Read those clauses, or ask your lawyer to point them out, before you sign.
What I'd do now
- Look at what's left by unit type and floor before you set your budget. As of 4 Nov 2026, 249 of 937 homes were left, and the 1-bedrooms are sold out.
- Ask your bank for an in-principle approval so you know your real loan limit.
- If you are upgrading, map your timeline against April 2029: when to list, where to stay, and when the 25% at TOP lands.
I'd rather you buy a unit you are comfortable paying for than stretch for one. If the numbers don't work, I will tell you.
Get the balance unit report
Leave your name and WhatsApp number and I'll send you what's left at One Marina Gardens by unit type, floor and stack, with the latest starting prices. I can also map your payment timeline against the 2029 date.
Prefer WhatsApp? Message me directly or call +65 9005 8372
Velisa Leong is an ERA Division Director in Singapore (CEA R053331B) with over 10 years in property. Prices and unit availability are subject to change without prior notice. Dates are the developer's expected dates; your Sale and Purchase Agreement governs.