Singapore legislation
Section 40
Section 40
Restrictions relating to purchase of flat, house or building
(1)
No person shall be entitled to purchase any flat, house or other building sold subject to the provisions of this Part if that person, his spouse or any authorised occupier —
is the owner of any other flat, house, building or land or has an estate or interest therein; or
has, at any time within 30 months immediately prior to the date of making an application to the Corporation to purchase the flat, house or building or between the date of such application and the date of completion of the purchase of the flat, house or building, sold any flat, house, building or land of which he was the owner, or divested himself of any interest therein.
(2)
Where a person purchases a flat, house or other building in contravention of subsection (1), he shall not present for registration under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) the assurance of the flat, house or other building.
(2A)
The Corporation shall on discovery of such a purchase —
serve a written notice upon the purchaser of the flat, house or other building of its intention to lodge with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, an instrument for the vesting in the Corporation of the title to or the estate or interest in that flat, house or other building; or
where no lease has been registered in favour of the purchaser, serve a written notice of the Corporation’s intention to terminate the agreement for a lease and to re-enter upon the flat, house or other building or part thereof in the name of the whole and thereupon any interest of the purchaser shall absolutely determine.
(3)
The purchaser may, within 14 days after the service of the notice given pursuant to subsection (2A), appeal to the Minister whose decision shall be final and shall not be questioned in any court.
(4)
Where an appeal has been made to the Minister pursuant to subsection (3), the Corporation shall not proceed to vest the title to or the estate or interest in the flat, house or other building in itself, or to repossess the flat, house or other building, until the appeal has been disposed of or withdrawn.
(5)
The Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall register any instrument, lodged under subsection (2A), without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity, and upon its registration the title to or the estate or interest in the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation without further assurance free from all encumbrances (subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation) for such title, estate or interest as the Corporation would have had on the date of the registration of the instrument, if there had been no sale of the flat, house or building.
(6)
Upon the registration of such an instrument —
in the case of a flat, house or building registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269), the Registrar of Deeds shall make an entry in the books of the Registry that the flat, house or building has vested in the Corporation in accordance with subsection (5), and upon that entry being made, the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation; or
in the case of a flat, house or building, registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157), the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation, and the Registrar of Titles shall cancel the registration of any lease, mortgage or charge thereby overreached.
(7)
The Corporation may, in its discretion, forfeit any moneys paid or deposited in respect of the purchase of any flat, house or other building from the Corporation if the Corporation discovers that the person has purchased or seeks to purchase the flat, house or other building in contravention of subsection (1).
(8)
The Corporation may, in its discretion, exempt any person or class of persons from all or any of the provisions of this section.
(9)
Notwithstanding subsection (1), the Corporation may sell or lease a flat, house or other building to any person, notwithstanding that the person, his spouse or any authorised occupier has purchased or acquired with the prior written consent of the Corporation, any commercial property not exceeding in value $250,000 or such higher value as the Minister may allow, and that commercial property is used or intended to be used by any such person for business purposes.