Policy before and after · Foreign ownership
Singapore lets the Controller of Residential Property charge housing developers for extensions of time
Announced 22 November 2010 · Effective 17 January 2011
Read the full event recordCompare with another policyCreate research brief
Comparison window
Comparison anchored to effective date: 17 January 2011. Before: 18 December 2010 to 16 January 2011. After: 17 January 2011 to 15 February 2011. The same 30 days on each side; the anchor day counts as after.
Before · 18 Dec 2010 to 16 Jan 2011
3 land-sales awards
- 7 land-sales steps in all
- 1 other archive event
The event
Announced 22 Nov 2010
Effective 17 Jan 2011
The effective date is the anchor.
After · 17 Jan 2011 to 15 Feb 2011
0 land-sales awards
- 10 land-sales steps in all
- All 30 days observable
What this comparison can and cannot show
Generated from this window's records
Recorded
- 7 verified claims on this event record a before and an after value.
- 3 land-sales awards in the 30 days before the effective date, and 0 in the 30 observable days after.
- None of the 2 tracked series has a whole period on both sides of a 30-day window, so no market figure is compared.
Cannot be concluded
- That this event moved any figure on this page. The comparison is by date; nothing here is attributed to the event.
- A reading of the concurrent land sales and events as responses to this one. They are listed by date alone.
About this eventIssuing authority, category, affected market, primary source, summary
- Announced
- 22 November 2010
- Effective
- 17 January 2011
- Issuing authority
- Singapore Land Authority
- Category
- Foreign ownership
- Affected market
- Restricted residential property, including vacant residential land, bought by a housing developer as section 31(18) of the Residential Property Act defines one, with the Controller's approval under section 31, and the parallel approvals under sections 26, 28 and 28A. The fines and appeal changes also reach approved purchasers, exemption holders, former citizens and permanent residents, and estates with foreign beneficiaries. Land bought by tender or otherwise from URA or a Government agent is outside the prohibition under section 33(e), as to that acquisition.
- Primary source
- Second Reading Speech by Minister for Law K Shanmugam on the Residential Property (Amendment) Bill 2010
From 17 January 2011 the Controller of Residential Property may require a housing developer to pay an extension charge when extending the completion or disposal period attached to its approval under section 31 of the Residential Property Act, the approval SLA and MinLaw call a Qualifying Certificate. The Act sets no rate: the amount is what the Controller determines, and it need not relate to cost. MinLaw said the framework was essentially the same as the Government Land Sales extension premium. The Act also made directors liable on the Controller's opinion, moved appeals to a new section 31A, created a S$50,000 offence for breaching an exemption condition and raised several fines. The 50% cap on a section 31(7) penalty and the 2-year disposal period did not change.
In brief
In brief
- 3 GLS site awards were recorded in the before window and 0 in the after window.
What changed
No policy matrix is recorded for this event. These are its verified claims that store a before and an after value.
| As recorded in the claim | Before | After | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maximum fine for breaching an approved purchaser's condition, from S$5,000 per MinLawSGD | 5,000 | 200,000 | +3,900% | Claim 17 |
| The maximum fine for a foreign person who buys every flat in a building or every unit in a condominium without approval rose from S$10,000 to S$100,000.SGD | 10,000 | 100,000 | +900% | Claim 21 |
| General fine under the Residential Property Act, from S$5,000SGD | 5,000 | 20,000 | +300% | Claim 16 |
| Where a foreign person would, but for section 3(3), be beneficially entitled to a deceased person's residential property, the personal representatives must sell it to a citizen or an approved purchaser within 5 years from the date of the death, down from 10, or within any extension the Controller allows with the Minister's approval. The 10 years continues to apply where the death occurred before the amendment came into operation.years | 10 | 5 | −50% | Claim 20 |
View all 7 before-and-after valuesHide the other 3
| The disposal period is statutory and was unchanged: all units must be sold to citizens or approved purchasers within 2 years from the issue of the temporary occupation permit or certificate of statutory completion, whichever is earlier.years | 2 | 2 | No change | Claim 9 |
| The cap on a financial penalty for breaching the undeveloped-land or shareholding conditions stayed at 50% of the purchase price, a limit in place since 2006; the 2010 Act added the market value of the shares as an alternative base. | 50% | 50% | No change | Claim 12 |
| A new section 31A replaced section 31(11) and (12): a housing developer refused an extension or served a forfeiture or penalty notice, and a person held liable under section 31(9), may appeal to the Minister within 3 months, or longer in exceptional circumstances.months | 3 | 3 | No change | Claim 14 |
Observed around this event
View linked outcomesThe same statistic over the 30 days before and after the anchor. Figures describe what was recorded in each window; they do not attribute a change to this event.
Singapore private residential transactions, all types of sale
units · Total over whole quarterly periods inside each 30-day window
Before
None
Coverage 0/30 days
After
None
Coverage 0/30 days
Difference
Not stated
No whole quarterly period of this series falls inside either window, so no comparison is stated. A longer window may contain one.
Provenance
- Source
- Urban Redevelopment Authority
- Series kind
- FLOW
- Basis
- Observation periods wholly inside each window, values as originally recorded.
- Origin
- Calculated (sum of published period values)
- Shown because
- Mapped to this kind of event
Private Residential Property Price Index, All Residential
index (2009Q1=100) · Value in the latest whole quarterly period inside each 30-day window
Before
None
Coverage 0/30 days
After
None
Coverage 0/30 days
Difference
Not stated
No whole quarterly period of this series falls inside either window, so no comparison is stated. A longer window may contain one.
Provenance
- Source
- Urban Redevelopment Authority
- Series kind
- INDEX
- Basis
- Observation periods wholly inside each window, values as originally recorded.
- Origin
- Source fact (latest whole period)
- Shown because
- Mapped to this kind of event
Concurrent planning and land activity
Land sales and other archive events dated inside the windows, listed by date only. Each land-sales line shows the site as the record stood on that day.
Before the effective date
8 lines
7 land-sales steps (3 awards) · 1 archive event
From the effective date
10 lines
10 land-sales steps (0 awards) · 0 archive events
Explore concurrent eventsHide concurrent events
Before (8)
5 January 2011 · Land sales
Yuan Ching Road: Tender closedDesign, Build and Sell Scheme public housing · status on 5 January 2011: Tender closed, award pending
5 January 2011 · Land sales
Robinson Road / Boon Tat Street: Tender closedHotel · status on 5 January 2011: Tender closed, award pending
6 January 2011 · Land sales
Robertson Quay: Launched for tenderHotel · status on 6 January 2011: Tender open
10 January 2011 · Land sales
Yuan Ching Road: AwardedDesign, Build and Sell Scheme public housing · status on 10 January 2011: Awarded · awarded to Hoi Hup Realty Pte Ltd, Sunway Developments Pte Ltd and SC Wong Holdings Pte Ltd at S$131,600,000
11 January 2011 · Land sales
Gopeng Street / Peck Seah Street: Tender closedHotel · status on 11 January 2011: Tender closed, award pending
11 January 2011 · Land sales
Robinson Road / Boon Tat Street: AwardedHotel · status on 11 January 2011: Awarded · awarded to Royal Group Holdings Pte Ltd at S$86,000,000
13 January 2011 · Archive event
Singapore raises SSD to 16% to 4% over four years and tightens LTV limits againAnnounced 13 January 2011
14 January 2011 · Land sales
Gopeng Street / Peck Seah Street: AwardedHotel · status on 14 January 2011: Awarded · awarded to Golden Development Private Limited at S$194,770,000
After (10)
18 January 2011 · Land sales
Bedok Reservoir Road: Launched for tenderResidential · status on 18 January 2011: Tender open
19 January 2011 · Land sales
Kaki Bukit Road 4: Launched for tenderBusiness 2 · status on 19 January 2011: Tender open
21 January 2011 · Land sales
Choa Chu Kang Drive: Launched for tenderExecutive Condominium housing · status on 21 January 2011: Tender open
21 January 2011 · Land sales
Sengkang Square / Compassvale Road: Launched for tenderCondominium or Flats · status on 21 January 2011: Tender open
21 January 2011 · Land sales
Bishan Street 14: Launched for tenderCondominium or Flats · status on 21 January 2011: Tender open
26 January 2011 · Land sales
Clementi Avenue 4: Launched for tenderDesign, Build and Sell Scheme public housing · status on 26 January 2011: Tender open
27 January 2011 · Land sales
Paya Lebar Road / Eunos Road 8: Launched for tenderCommercial · status on 27 January 2011: Tender open
31 January 2011 · Land sales
Ang Mo Kio Street 62: Launched for tenderBusiness 1 · status on 31 January 2011: Tender open
10 February 2011 · Land sales
Bartley Road / Lorong How Sun: Launched for tenderResidential · status on 10 February 2011: Tender open
15 February 2011 · Land sales
Punggol Central / Punggol Walk: Tender closedMixed commercial and residential · status on 15 February 2011: Tender closed, award pending
Methodology5 rules
- Comparison anchored to effective date: 17 January 2011. The anchor is the effective date where one is recorded, otherwise the announcement date.
- The windows are the same number of days on each side of the anchor, and the anchor day belongs to the after window.
- A series counts toward a window only for observation periods wholly inside it, with values as originally recorded, not as later revised.
- Where no whole period falls inside a window, no value and no difference is stated; a day no whole period covers is missing, never zero.
- Concurrent land sales and archive events are listed by date alone. Nothing on this page is attributed to the event.
Sources
The event's sources (11)
Primary sources11
Second Reading Speech by Minister for Law K Shanmugam on the Residential Property (Amendment) Bill 2010
Ministry of Law · Primary source · Published 22 November 2010
Residential Property (Amendment) Act 2010
Ministry of Law · Primary source · Published 12 January 2011
Residential Property (Amendment) Act 2010 (No. 35 of 2010)
Attorney-General's Chambers (Singapore Statutes Online) · Primary source · Published 14 January 2011
Residential Property Act (Chapter 274), point-in-time version effective 17 January 2011 to 31 December 2017
Attorney-General's Chambers (Singapore Statutes Online) · Primary source · Published 17 January 2011
Residential Property Act (Chapter 274), Revised Edition 2009, point-in-time version effective 31 July 2009 to 1 January 2011
Attorney-General's Chambers (Singapore Statutes Online) · Primary source · Published 31 July 2009
Assistance Measures for the Property Market in the Economic Slowdown
Ministry of Law · Primary source · Published 22 January 2009
Residential Property Act 1976, 2020 Revised Edition
Attorney-General's Chambers (Singapore Statutes Online) · Primary source · Published 31 December 2021
What are the conditions attached to a QC?
Singapore Land Authority · Primary source · Publication date not recorded
What if the housing developer is not able to complete the housing development within the 5-year period?
Singapore Land Authority · Primary source · Publication date not recorded
What if the housing developer is not able to sell all the units in the development within the 2-year period?
Singapore Land Authority · Primary source · Publication date not recorded
Who can apply for a Qualifying Certificate (QC)?
Singapore Land Authority · Primary source · Publication date not recorded
Event checked against its primary sources on 27 September 2026. Each claim keeps its own verification status.
Observed series come from the published statistics named on each card. Land-sales lines link to the site record and its releases.