Singapore legislation
Section 21
Section 21
Charge on immovable property to secure repayment of withdrawals from Fund
(1)
Where in accordance with any regulations made under section 77(1), a member of the Fund has on or after 1 June 1981 withdrawn any money standing to the member’s credit in the Fund for all or any of the following purposes:
to make payment, either full or partial, towards the purchase or acquisition of an immovable property;
to repay or to make periodic payments towards the repayment of any loan taken by the member to finance or re‑finance the purchase or acquisition of an immovable property;
to repay any loan or to reimburse any cost, fee or other expense pursuant to regulations made under section 77(1)(i);
(ca)to pay —
any improvement contribution due to the Housing and Development Board in respect of upgrading works carried out under Part 4A of the Housing and Development Act 1959 or to a Town Council in respect of lift upgrading works carried out under Part 4A of the Town Councils Act 1988;
any interest imposed by the Housing and Development Board or the Town Council (as the case may be) on the improvement contribution referred to in sub‑paragraph (i), where the improvement contribution is paid in instalments; and
any costs, fees or other incidental expenses arising from such works;
to pay any costs, fees or other expenses incurred —
for the purchase or acquisition of an immovable property;
(ia)to change the manner of holding of an immovable property from a joint tenancy to a tenancy in common, or vice versa;
(ib)for the transfer of any part (but not the whole) of the member’s estate or interest in an immovable property to any other person;
for obtaining a loan to finance or re‑finance any purchase or acquisition referred to in sub‑paragraph (i); and
in connection with withdrawals of any money from the Fund,there is a charge on the member’s estate or interest in the immovable property, or the remainder thereof (if paragraph (d)(ib) applies), to secure the repayment of the money withdrawn from the Fund including the whole or such part, as the Board may determine, of the interest that would have been payable thereon if the withdrawal had not been made.
(1A)
Where the immovable property is purchased, acquired or owned by the member as a co-purchaser, joint tenant or tenant‑in‑common (as the case may be) with one or more persons, the charge, with the prior written consent of all the co‑purchasers or co‑owners, extends to all their respective estates or interests in the immovable property.
(2)
A charge under subsection (1) extends to all the rights, benefits and interests of the member or the co‑purchasers or co‑owners (as the case may be) under his or her or their agreement for sale and purchase of the immovable property.
(3)
[Deleted by Act 23 of 2012]
(4)
Upon lodgment by the Board with the Registrar of an instrument (which must be in such form as the Registrar may require) for the purpose of registering or notifying any charge under subsection (1) and the acceptance of the instrument by the Registrar, the Board has —
the power of sale and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the Board is a registered mortgagee; and
the power to sell, assign and dispose of all rights, benefits and interests under the agreement for the sale and purchase of the immovable property.
(5)
The Registrar need not be concerned to enquire into the regularity or validity of a charge under subsection (1), and must, on acceptance of the instrument to register or notify the charge, register or notify the charge in the appropriate register maintained by the Registrar under the Land Titles Act 1993, the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967 or the Registration of Deeds Act 1988, as the case may be.
(6)
A charge under subsection (1) is subject to all statutory rights and charges of any public authority over the immovable property and, in the absence of any agreement giving priority to the Board, to all encumbrances registered or notified prior to the date of acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge.
(7)
[Deleted by Act 23 of 2012]
(8)
Despite section 80 of the Land Titles Act 1993 and section 15 of the Registration of Deeds Act 1988 —
where further withdrawals from the Fund are authorised by the Board after the registration or notification of any mortgage or charge created in favour of the Board at any time after the acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument lodged under subsection (4) for the purpose of registering or notifying a charge under subsection (1), all such withdrawals rank in priority to any other claims as if the withdrawals were made at the date of the creation of the mortgage or charge in favour of the Board; and
where any further advances have been made by a prior mortgagee or chargee after the Board has given written notice of the charge under subsection (1) to the prior mortgagee or chargee or after the acceptance by the Registrar of the instrument to register or notify the charge under subsection (4), such further advances do not rank in priority to the Board’s charge under subsection (1).
(9)
Despite subsections (1) and (8), advances, interest and other moneys secured by a mortgage or charge on an immovable property may, with the agreement of the Board and subject to such conditions as the Board may impose, rank in priority or in pari passu to the Board’s charge under subsection (1) or any mortgage or charge created in favour of the Board.
(10)
A charge under subsection (1) on a member’s estate or interest in an immovable property continues in force until, and the member or any other person having an interest in the immovable property is entitled to have the charge cancelled in the event that, all moneys secured by the charge —
have been repaid to the Fund; or
are no longer required by any regulations made under section 77(1) to be repaid to the Fund.
(10A)
Without prejudice to subsection (10), where there is a charge under subsection (1) on a member’s estate or interest in an immovable property, and the Board is satisfied of the occurrence of any event prescribed in any regulations made under section 77(1) for the purposes of this subsection, the member or any other person having an interest in the immovable property may, with the approval of the Board, have the charge cancelled.
(11)
Subsections (4), (9), (10) and (10A) apply to all charges under subsection (1) securing the repayment of moneys withdrawn from the Fund pursuant to any regulations made under section 77(1).
(12)
In this section and sections 15, 21A and 21B —
Definition
“public authority” means the Government, the Collector of Land Revenue, the Comptroller of Property Tax, and any other person, corporation or body, authorised or empowered by any written law to attach, sell or acquire land compulsorily;
Definition
“Registrar” means —
the Registrar of Titles, a Deputy Registrar of Titles or an Assistant Registrar of Titles appointed under the Land Titles Act 1993; and
where the occasion requires, the Registrar of Deeds or a Deputy Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act 1988.
(13)
This section does not apply to any immovable property or class of immovable properties which the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, specify.