Singapore legislation
Section 15
Section 15
Authority may recover costs and expenses of new street or of widening, opening, etc., of public street
(1)
Where the Authority intends to construct any new street or to widen, open, enlarge or otherwise improve any existing street, the Authority may recover the costs and expenses of acquiring the land for, and of —
constructing the new street; or
widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving the existing public street,as the case may be, from the owners of the premises —
fronting, adjoining or abutting on the new street or public street, as the case may be; and
which do not front, adjoin or abut on the new street or public street (as the case may be) but access to which will be obtained through the new street or the widened, opened, enlarged or otherwise improved public street by means of another street or backlane, and which, in the opinion of the Authority, will benefit by the construction of the new street or the widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving of the public street.
(2)
The Authority must prepare an estimate of the costs and expenses of the street works to be apportioned among —
the owners of the premises abutting on the new street or public street; and
the owners of such other premises (if any) as the Authority may, in accordance with subsection (1)(d), decide to include in the apportionment,and must serve a notice of its decision in writing to proceed with the street works and to recover the costs and expenses thereof upon each such owner, and such costs and expenses must be paid by each such owner within such period as may be specified in the notice and in such proportions as are settled by the Authority.
(3)
If the owner of any such premises is dissatisfied with the Authority’s apportionment of costs and expenses, that owner may, within 14 days from the date of service of the notice, appeal to the Minister whose decision is final.
(4)
The apportionment of costs and expenses of street works among the owners of the premises fronting, adjoining or abutting on the street in respect of which the costs and expenses are to be incurred must, unless the Authority otherwise decides, be apportioned according to the frontage of the respective premises; but the Authority may, if it thinks fit, decide that in settling the apportionment regard must be had to the following considerations:
the degree of benefit accruing to any premises by the construction of the new street; and
the amount and value of any street works already executed by the owners or occupiers of any such premises,and the Authority may, if it thinks fit —
include in the apportionment any premises which do not front, adjoin or abut on the street but access to which is obtained from the street through another street or backlane and which, in its opinion, will be benefited by the street works; and
fix the sum or portion to be charged against any such premises accordingly.
(5)
The Authority may, in any estimate of the costs and expenses of street works, include such reasonable charges in respect of surveys, superintendence and publication and service of notices as it may from time to time determine.
(6)
The Authority may, if it thinks fit, pay the whole or any part of the costs and expenses of the street works, and the payment of part of the costs and expenses by the Authority may be made in such a manner as wholly to relieve the owner of any particular premises to the exclusion of other owners or to relieve that owner to a greater extent than other owners.
(7)
Where the street works have been completed by the Authority and the costs and expenses thereof ascertained —
the Authority must cause a final apportionment of the costs and expenses of the street works to be made by dividing the costs and expenses in the same proportions as those in which the estimated costs and expenses were divided in the provisional apportionment;
that final apportionment is conclusive for all purposes;
notice of the final apportionment must be served upon the owners of the premises affected thereby; and
the sums apportioned thereby are recoverable in the manner provided in section 43.
(8)
If the costs and expenses incurred in executing the street works as shown in the final apportionment exceed the estimated costs and expenses, the owner may, within 14 days from the date of service of the notice, appeal to the Minister whose decision is final.
(9)
For the purposes of this section, the construction of a new street may include the widening, opening, enlarging or otherwise improving of any part or parts of any existing private street for the purpose of constructing the new street.