Singapore, one of the richest and developed countries of the world, was ruled by the British for a long period. Hence the land laws of Singapore are followed as per British Land doctrine even after independence.

However, specific changes at times were adopted in Singapore from time to time, and presently it follows the Australian Torrens System for land registration.

All land is owned by Government

The Singapore Land Authority was formed in the year 2001 to look after all land matters like acquisitions, registrations and administration of the land owned by the state.

More or less all land is owned by the Government, and they sell it at regular intervals for the development of hotels, commercial and or residential projects.

Types of Land in Singapore

There are specific eligibility criteria & provisions for each type of usage of the land, and let us discuss them in brief.

1. Government Land Sales Programme

The Government of Singapore in association with the Singapore Land Authority and Urban Redevelopment Authority and The Jurong Town Corporation sells land at times for the development of industries, township, commercial buildings, and hotels, residential and private buildings to the private sector. 
Still, they all have to follow the Government Planning Strategies during the construction.

2. Public Housing (HDB)

With the enactment of the Housing and Development Act, the Housing Development Board(HDB) was set up to encourage the plans of Home Ownership Scheme, and at present nearly 4/5th of the population of Singapore loves in the flats sold by the HDB.

The HDB also rents apartments. Since the flats on sale or rental are highly subsidized in pricing by the Government, stringent rules are followed during distribution, and some of the primary criteria are age, income, ethnicity, family nucleus and of course citizenship.

3. Executive Condominium (EC)

The Executive Condominium Act allows purchasing and getting ownership of any private property. 

The rules are quite stringent and almost similar to the regulations of HDB flats.

The right can be transferred by selling the property after occupying it for 5 years.

However, it can only be sold to buyers having a Singaporean Citizenship during the period of 6th to 10th year and at the 11th year of ownership can be sold to anybody.

4. Residential property

Residential land, strata land houses, residential houses can only be sold citizens of Singapore except within the condominium unit that is ruled by the EC act.

Non-commercial shop houses can also be sold through this act.

Conclusion

The land laws are being changed and amended from time to time in Singapore, and one should follow the same to be the owner of the land or stay in a flat.

For further details and queries of Singapore Land Laws, be in touch with us filling the form on our web platform.

 

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