Residential Property Act 1976

Residential Property Act 1976 2020 REVISED EDITION This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021 An Act to restrict the purchase or transfer of residential properties (including vacant land) to citizens of Singapore and approved purchasers, and to provide for matters connected therewith. [11 September 1973] PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title 1. This Act is the Residential Property Act 1976. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires — “approved purchaser” means — (a) a Singapore company; (b) a Singapore limited liability partnership; (c) a Singapore society; (d) a foreign person to whom approval has been granted under section 25, 30 or 31; (e) any person, company, limited liability partnership, society, association or other organisation or body who or which has been exempted by the Minister under section 32; or (f) any body, corporate or otherwise, declared by the Minister by notification in the Gazette to be a public authority or an instrumentality or agency of the Government; “Authority” means the Singapore Land Authority established under the Singapore Land Authority Act 2001; “citizen” or “citizen of Singapore” means any person who, under the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, has the status of a citizen of Singapore; “Committee” means the Residential Property Advisory Committee established under section 25; “Controller” means the Controller of Residential Property and includes a Deputy and an Assistant Controller of Residential Property appointed under section 29; “converted entity”, in relation to sections 9 and 26, means a converted foreign company, converted foreign limited liability partnership or converted society; “converted foreign company” means any Singapore company which becomes a foreign company on or after 1 October 1976 while being an owner of an estate or interest in any residential property that is not non‑restricted residential property; “converted foreign limited liability partnership” means any Singapore limited liability partnership which becomes a foreign limited liability partnership on or after 11 April 2005 while being an owner of an estate or interest in any residential property that is not non‑restricted residential property; “converted society” means any Singapore society which becomes a foreign society on or after 1 October 1976 while being an owner of an estate or interest in any residential property that is not non‑restricted residential property; “court” means the General Division of the High Court; “director”, in relation to a company, means any person occupying or acting in the position of director of the company, by whatever name called; “dwelling house” includes any building or tenement, or any part thereof, which is used, constructed or adapted for use for human habitation; “flat” means a horizontal stratum of any building or part thereof, whether such stratum is on one or more levels or is partially or wholly below the surface of the ground, which is used or intended to be used as a complete and separate unit for the purpose of habitation or business or for any other purpose, and which may be comprised in a “lot”, or in part of any “subdivided building” not shown in a registered “strata title plan” (the last 3 expressions within quotation marks having the meanings given by the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967); “foreign company” means any company (whether a holding company or otherwise) other than a Singapore company; “foreign limited liability partnership” means any limited liability partnership other than a Singapore limited liability partnership; “foreign person” means any person who is not any of the following: (a) a citizen of Singapore; (b) a Singapore company; (c) a Singapore limited liability partnership; (d) a Singapore society; “foreign society” means any society other than a Singapore society; “HUDC flat” means — (a) any flat comprised in any of the subdivided buildings described in the First Schedule; or (b) any of the flats described in the Second Schedule, which has been sold by the Housing and Urban Development Company (Private) Limited, a company incorporated in Singapore, to any person at any time before 1 May 1982 for use as a dwelling place; “land” has the meaning given by the Land Titles Act 1993; “limited liability partnership” means any limited liability partnership, whether registered in Singapore under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 or otherwise; “manager”, in relation to a limited liability partnership, means any person (whether or not a partner of the limited liability partnership) who is concerned in or takes part in the management of the limited liability partnership; “Master Plan” has the meaning given by the Planning Act 1998; “mean average of 2 valuations” means the sum of any 2 specified valuations divided by 2; “member”, in relation to any company, means — (a) any person who owns a share or holds a membership in the company; (b) in the case of a share or membership in the company that is held in trust, the person who is the beneficiary of the trust; or (c) any person, not being an owner of a share or a holder of a membership in the company, who controls any rights attached to any share or membership in the company through a contract or other arrangement; “Minister” means the Minister for Law; “mortgage” includes every instrument creating a mortgage or charge on land or a transfer of a mortgage or a sub‑mortgage; “non‑restricted residential property” means any residential property described in section 4(1) but not in section 4(2); “notice to attach and sell” means any notice issued by the Minister under section 3(6), 3A(3), 4(8), 5(7), 9(11), 22(3), 27(3) or 32(2A) directing the Controller to attach and sell in accordance with this Act such estate or interest in such residential property or land as is specified in the notice; “owner”, in relation to any residential property, means a person other than the mortgagee or chargee not in possession, who is for the time being entitled to dispose of the freehold of any residential property whether in possession or reversion, or who holds under a leasehold or is entitled to the rents and profits of the residential property; “partner”, in relation to a limited liability partnership, means any person who has been admitted as a partner in the limited liability partnership in accordance with the agreement expressed or implied between the partners of the limited liability partnership or between the limited liability partnership and its partners which determines the mutual rights and duties of the partners and their rights and duties in relation to the limited liability partnership; “permanent resident” means any person who is not subject to any restriction as to his or her period of residence in Singapore imposed under the provisions of any written law relating to immigration for the time being in force, and includes any person resident in Singapore who is deemed by the Committee, in its discretion, in the circumstances of any particular case to be a permanent resident for the purposes of this Act; “Registrar” means — (a) the Registrar of Titles and includes a Deputy Registrar of Titles and an Assistant Registrar of Titles appointed under the Land Titles Act 1993; and (b) where the occasion requires, the Registrar of Deeds and includes a Deputy Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act 1988; “residential property” includes — (a) any vacant land upon which no building or other structure exists or any land upon which exists any building or other structure which is constructed or used contrary to any written law; (b) any house, building or other premises or any part thereof which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law as a dwelling house or which is lawfully so used; (c) any land zoned for residential purposes in the Master Plan; and (d) such other land or building, in whatever manner zoned in the Master Plan, as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be residential property for the purposes of this Act, but does not include — (e) any land, whether or not vacant, which is zoned for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes in the Master Plan or which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law solely for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes; (f) any house, building or other premises, or any part thereof, which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law solely for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes or which is lawfully so used; (g) any hotel registered under the provisions of the Hotels Act 1954; and (h) such other land or building, in whatever manner zoned in the Master Plan, as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be industrial, commercial or non‑residential property for the purposes of this Act; “Singapore company” means any company which satisfies the following requirements: (a) the company is incorporated in Singapore and its directors and members are all citizens; (b) if any member of the company is another company, that other company satisfies the requirements of paragraph (a); (c) if that other company mentioned in paragraph (b) has a member which is a company, which in turn has a member which is also a company and so on, all the members of each such company consist only of any or any combination of the following: (i) citizens; and (ii) companies that satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b); and (d) if any member of the company is a limited liability partnership, that limited liability partnership is a Singapore limited liability partnership; “Singapore entity”, in relation to sections 9 and 26, means a Singapore company, Singapore limited liability partnership or Singapore society; “Singapore limited liability partnership” means any limited liability partnership that satisfies the following requirements: (a) the limited liability partnership is registered in Singapore under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 and all its partners are citizens; (b) if any partner of the limited liability partnership is another limited liability partnership, that other limited liability partnership satisfies the requirements under paragraph (a); (c) if that other limited liability partnership mentioned in paragraph (b) has a partner which is a limited liability partnership, which in turn has a partner which is also a limited liability partnership and so on, all the partners of each such limited liability partnership consist only of any or any combination of the following: (i) citizens; and (ii) limited liability partnerships that satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a) and (b); and (d) if any partner of the limited liability partnership is a company, that company is a Singapore company; “Singapore society” means any society formed or constituted in Singapore and registered or exempted from registration under any written law, all of whose members are citizens and all of whose trustees are either citizens or a trust company licensed under the Trust Companies Act 2005; “society” means — (a) any unincorporated body or association of persons; (b) any trade union, cooperative society, mutual benefit organisation or other organisation; or (c) any statutory body constituted under any written law; “to transfer”, with reference to residential property, means to convey, sell, assign, settle, create by declaration of trust, assent or in any manner dispose of any estate or interest in residential property, and includes the vesting of any estate or interest in residential property, but does not include a transfer by way of mortgage, charge or reconveyance; and “transfer” includes a conveyance, sale, assignment, settlement, declaration of trust, assent, disposition of whatever nature, the vesting of any estate or interest in residential property by an instrument or under a vesting order of court and every instrument capable of vesting any estate or interest in residential property upon registration of such instrument by the Registrar, but does not include a mortgage, charge or reconveyance. [35/2010; 40/2019] (2) The provisions of this Act have effect despite the provisions of any other written law.