Singapore legislation
Section 34
Section 34
Recovery of improvement contribution from sale of flat
(1)
Where any improvement contribution payable by the owner of any flat to a Town Council under section 32 remains unpaid on the expiry of the period of 3 months after the Town Council has served on the owner of the flat a written demand of such contribution under section 33(1), the improvement contribution (including any interest and penalty thereon) constitutes, on the expiry of that period, a charge on the flat in favour of the Town Council.
(2)
Where a Town Council has incurred or become liable for any reasonable legal costs and reasonable expenses incurred in connection with the collection or attempted collection of the unpaid improvement contribution (including any interest and penalty thereon) before it exercised its power of sale under subsection (5), such legal costs and expenses rank in priority to any other claims as if these costs and expenses were due at the date of the constitution of the charge.
(3)
A charge on a flat constituted under subsection (1) continues in force until all the improvement contributions (including any interest and penalty thereon), and the necessary or incidental charges (including legal costs) incurred by the Town Council concerned before it exercised its power of sale under subsection (5) (as the case may be) secured by the charge have been paid.
(4)
Any charge on a flat constituted under subsection (1) is subject to —
all encumbrances registered or notified under the Land Titles Act 1993 in respect of that flat before the date of the constitution of the charge;
all moneys due under the lease of the flat to the Board (on its own account or on account of the Central Provident Fund Board), whether before, on or after the date of the constitution of the charge; and
all moneys due to the Central Provident Fund Board under the charge constituted under section 21 or 21B of the Central Provident Fund Act 1953, whether before, on or after the date of the constitution of the charge.
(5)
Upon the constitution of the charge on a flat under subsection (1), the Town Council concerned has the power of sale and all other powers relating or incidental thereto to sell and effectually transfer the title to the flat to any purchaser as if the Town Council is a registered mortgagee, even though the charge is not registered under the Land Titles Act 1993.
(6)
Subject to subsection (7), a Town Council must not proceed to sell any flat which is subject to a charge constituted under subsection (1) unless —
notice of the intended sale has been served or published in the prescribed manner;
at the end of 90 days after the date of such notice of the intended sale, the improvement contribution or any part thereof, and any necessary or incidental charges (including legal costs) incurred by the Town Council concerned before it exercised its power of sale under subsection (5), remain due and unpaid;
there is no legal action pending in court to restrain the Town Council from proceeding with the sale; and
the Town Council has obtained prior written approval from the Board as to the eligibility of the person intending to purchase the flat.
(7)
A Town Council must not proceed under subsection (5) to sell any flat in respect of which any improvement contribution (including any interest and penalty thereon) or any part thereof is due if there is upon the flat and liable to be seized and sold by the Town Council, by writ of seizure and sale, any movable property belonging to the owner of the flat of a value estimated by the Town Council to be sufficient to realise the sum required to satisfy such unpaid improvement contribution.
(8)
For the purpose of estimating the value of any movable property belonging to the owner of a flat under subsection (7), a Town Council may, by its employees or agents, and at any reasonable time after giving notice to any occupier of the flat, enter upon the flat to carry out such valuation.
(9)
Where a Town Council has sold any flat under subsection (5), neither the purchaser of the flat nor the Registrar of Titles are to be concerned to inquire into the regularity or validity of the sale or transfer.
(10)
For the purpose of registering a transfer of any flat sold under subsection (5), the Registrar of Titles may dispense with the production of the duplicate lease of the flat or the duplicate subsidiary certificate of title in respect of the flat, as the case may be.
(11)
Where a charge on a flat is constituted under subsection (1), the owner of the flat is, upon payment of all the improvement contributions (including any interest and penalty thereon) due, and any necessary or incidental charges (including legal costs) incurred by the Town Council concerned before it exercised its power of sale under subsection (5), entitled to —
a certificate of discharge executed and acknowledged by the Town Council as to the receipt of such payment; and
upon the execution of the certificate of discharge or, in the event of the Town Council refusing to execute the certificate of discharge, an order of court declaring that the flat is discharged from the charge, and the flat freed from the charge constituted under subsection (1).[24F