Singapore legislation
Section 43
Section 43
Recovery of contribution from sale of lot
(1)
Where —
an amount is recoverable by the management corporation from the subsidiary proprietor of a lot under section 30; or
any contribution is levied under section 40 or 41,and the amount or contribution remains unpaid on the expiry of a period of 30 days after the management corporation has served a written demand for the amount or contribution, that amount or contribution, including any interest thereon (if any), constitutes a charge on the lot in favour of the management corporation upon lodgment of an instrument of charge by the management corporation with and the registration thereof by the Registrar of Titles.
(2)
Upon registration of the instrument of charge by the Registrar of Titles —
the management corporation has, subject to subsection (3), the power of sale and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the management corporation is a registered mortgagee; and
the amount or contribution due (including interest thereon) is subject to all statutory charges of any public authority over the lot and to all encumbrances registered or notified prior to the date of lodgment of that instrument of charge except that in the case where a prior registered mortgagee or chargee has sold the lot in exercise of the mortgagee’s or chargee’s power of sale, the registered charge of the estate or interest of the lot when transferred to a purchaser by the mortgagee or chargee shall not be overreached by the exercise of the power of sale by the mortgagee or chargee of a prior registered mortgage or charge.
(3)
The management corporation must not proceed to sell the lot under subsection (2)(a) unless —
a special resolution has been passed by the management corporation to have the lot sold;
a notice of the intended sale has been published once in one or more daily newspapers approved by the Registrar of Titles;
during the period of 6 weeks after the date of such publication, no payment has been received for the amount or contribution due (including interest thereon) and the cost of publication specified in paragraph (b) as well as any other necessary incidental charges; and
there is no legal action pending in court to restrain the management corporation from proceeding with the sale.
(4)
Where a transfer of any lot has been made by the management corporation in the exercise of its power of sale as a chargee under subsections (2) and (3) and lodged with the Registrar of Titles for registration —
the transfer must not be accepted for registration unless there has been lodged with the Registrar of Titles —
a certified true copy of the special resolution of the management corporation authorising the exercise of its power of sale with the seal of the management corporation affixed thereto in the presence of 2 members of the council of the management corporation;
a copy of every publication containing the notice mentioned in subsection (3)(b); and
a statutory declaration made by the members of the council of the management corporation mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) jointly stating that the amount or contribution and interest due thereon, including all necessary incidental charges owing to the management corporation as at the date of the contract for the sale of the lot, have not been paid and that there is no legal action pending in court to restrain the management corporation from proceeding with the sale of the lot; and
neither the person who purchased the lot from the management corporation nor the Registrar of Titles is to be concerned to inquire into the regularity or validity of the sale or transfer.
(5)
Where an instrument of charge has been registered against a lot under this section, the subsidiary proprietor of the lot is —
upon payment of the whole amount or contribution due (including interest thereon) and any necessary or incidental charges (including legal costs) to the management corporation before it has exercised its power of sale conferred by this section, entitled to an instrument of discharge executed and acknowledged by the management corporation as to the receipt of the payment; and
upon registration of the instrument of discharge or, in the event of the management corporation refusing to execute a discharge, an order of court declaring that the lot is discharged from the charge, the lot is freed from the charge constituted under this section.
(6)
For the purpose of registration of a charge, discharge or transfer under this section, the Registrar of Titles may dispense with the production of the relevant duplicate subsidiary strata certificate of title issued under the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967.
(6A)
Without affecting subsection (6), where the existing subsidiary strata certificate of title for the lot is not presented with the transfer, the Registrar of Titles may cancel the existing folio and create a new folio in favour of the transferee.
(7)
Despite section 80 of the Land Titles Act 1993 and section 15 of the Registration of Deeds Act 1988 —
where further contributions and interest thereon are due to the management corporation after the registration of an instrument of charge under this section; or
where the management corporation 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 amount or contribution or further amount or contribution,the amount or contribution due (including interest thereon) and the legal costs and expenses shall rank in priority to any other claims as if the amount or contribution were due at the date of the registration of the charge.
(8)
A charge under subsection (2) continues in force until all the amount or contributions (including interest thereon) and the legal costs and expenses (as the case may be) secured by the charge have been paid.
(9)
This section does not affect the rights and powers conferred on the management corporation by sections 30 and 40 to recover the amount or contribution due and all interest thereon including any legal costs and incidental charges necessarily incurred for the recovery of the amount or contribution in respect of any lot as a debt from the subsidiary proprietor of, or the subsidiary proprietor’s successor in title to, the lot.
(10)
In this section, “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.