Residential Property Act 1976 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Approval to Purchase, Acquire or Retain Residential Property
25. Application by foreign person for approval to purchase, acquire or retain residential property
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A foreign person must apply to the minister to buy, acquire or keep certain residential property. An advisory committee advises the minister, who may approve, with or without conditions, or refuse. Conditions may include using it only as a home, not selling for a set period, and giving security. The minister may forfeit the security if conditions are broken.
Summary · Drafted with AI, checked against the official text on 30 Sep 2026.
Last amended by an amending law of 2010.
For the purposes of this Act, a committee called the Residential Property Advisory Committee is established which consists of a Chairperson and such number of other members as the Minister may, from time to time, appoint for such period as he or she may think fit. Any member so appointed who ceases to be a member is eligible for re‑appointment.
Committee
“Committee” means the Residential Property Advisory Committee established under section 25;
Subject to subsection (14), any foreign person who desires to purchase, acquire or retain any estate or interest in any residential property other than non‑restricted residential property must apply to the Minister through the Controller for the grant of the Minister’s approval to acquire or to retain residential property, as the case may be.
foreign person
“foreign person” means any person who is not any of the following:(a)a citizen of Singapore;(b)a Singapore company;(c)a Singapore limited liability partnership;(d)a Singapore society;
Every such application must be in such form and must state such particulars as the Controller may require.
Controller
“Controller” means the Controller of Residential Property and includes a Deputy and an Assistant Controller of Residential Property appointed under section 29;
The Controller must forward every such application to the Committee; and after consideration thereof, the Committee must make recommendations thereon to the Minister who may, in his or her discretion, grant, with or without conditions (or refuse to grant), approval —
for the purchase or acquisition of the estate or interest in the residential property in respect of which the application was made or for the retention of such estate or interest; or
for the purchase or acquisition of the estate or interest in residential property of such class or nature as the applicant may desire to purchase or acquire.
Without limiting the powers of the Minister under subsection (4), the Minister may, in his or her discretion, grant approval, with or without conditions, to any applicant, being a natural person, who intends to purchase or acquire residential property for the purpose of the applicant’s own occupation and that of the applicant’s family as a dwelling house and not for the purpose of rental or any other purpose; and for the purposes of this subsection “an applicant” means one —
residential property
“residential property” includes —(a)any vacant land upon which no building or other structure exists or any land upon which exists any building or other structure which is constructed or used contrary to any written law;(b)any house, building or other premises or any part thereof which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law as a dwelling house or which is lawfully so used;(c)any land zoned for residential purposes in the Master Plan; and(d)such other land or building, in whatever manner zoned in the Master Plan, as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be residential property for the purposes of this Act,but does not include —(e)any land, whether or not vacant, which is zoned for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes in the Master Plan or which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law solely for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes;(f)any house, building or other premises, or any part thereof, which is permitted to be used pursuant to the Planning Act 1998 or any other written law solely for industrial or commercial purposes or both such purposes or which is lawfully so used;(g)any hotel registered under the provisions of the Hotels Act 1954; and(h)such other land or building, in whatever manner zoned in the Master Plan, as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare to be industrial, commercial or non‑residential property for the purposes of this Act;
who is a permanent resident;
who, in the Minister’s opinion, is of economic benefit to Singapore or who, in the Minister’s opinion, makes or is able to make an adequate economic contribution to Singapore; or
who, not being a citizen, possesses professional or other qualifications or experience which, in the Minister’s opinion, are of value or of benefit or advantageous to Singapore.
Without limiting the powers of the Minister under subsection (4), he or she may grant approval, with or without conditions, to an applicant, being a foreign company or a foreign limited liability partnership which —
foreign company
“foreign company” means any company (whether a holding company or otherwise) other than a Singapore company;
in the Minister’s opinion —
is of economic benefit to Singapore; or
makes or is able to make an adequate economic contribution to Singapore; and
intends to purchase or acquire, or retain any interest in, residential property for the purpose of occupation as a dwelling house by its executives, managers, partners, employees or other personnel and their families and not for any other purpose.
The conditions that the Minister may impose under subsection (4), (5) or (6) include all or any of the following:
that the applicant —
being a natural person, must use the residential property for his or her own occupation and that of his or her family as a dwelling house and not for any other purpose; or
being a foreign company or a foreign limited liability partnership, must use the residential property for occupation as a dwelling house by its executives, managers, partners, employees or other personnel and their families and not for any other purpose;
that the applicant must not sell, assign, transfer or otherwise dispose of the applicant’s estate or interest in the residential property within such period as may be specified by the Minister;
that the applicant must provide such security as the Minister may determine for the purposes of complying with any condition imposed by the Minister;
that the applicant must give an undertaking in writing to comply with the conditions imposed by the Minister.
Where an applicant has failed to comply with any of the conditions imposed by the Minister under this section, the Minister may forfeit (in part or whole) the security provided by the applicant under this section after giving 21 days’ notice in writing to the applicant of the Minister’s intention to forfeit the security and the grounds thereof.
An applicant may, upon receipt of the notice under subsection (7A), appeal to the Minister within 3 months from the date of that notice.
The Minister’s decision on any appeal made under subsection (7B) is final and shall not be called in question in any court.
[Deleted by Act 35 of 2010]
Every applicant mentioned in subsection (5) must provide a declaration as to whether the applicant or the applicant’s spouse or any of their children owns residential property in Singapore, and if so must state full particulars thereof.
Every applicant mentioned in subsection (6) must provide a declaration as to whether the applicant owns residential property in Singapore, and if so must state full particulars thereof; and such declaration must —
where the applicant is a foreign company — be made by a director, manager or secretary thereof or a person holding an analogous position; and
where the applicant is a foreign limited liability partnership — be made by a manager or partner thereof or a person holding an analogous position.
Nothing in this section is to be construed as detracting from or prejudicing in any way the power conferred on the Minister by subsection (4) to approve or to refuse to approve any application.
The Minister’s decision to approve or to refuse to approve any application must be conveyed to the applicant by the Controller by written notice.
Where the Minister has refused an application and the Controller has conveyed the Minister’s decision by written notice to the applicant, the applicant may, within a period of 3 months of the date of the notice (or such later period as the Minister may allow in the circumstances of any particular case), make representations to the Minister against his or her decision; and if the applicant makes representations within that period (including any extension which may be allowed), the Minister, having considered those representations, must direct the Controller to convey to the applicant his or her decision to accept or to reject the representations.
The Minister’s decision to approve or to refuse to approve any application or, if any representations are made pursuant to subsection (12), his or her decision to accept or reject the representations, is final and shall not be called in question in any court.
Where a foreign person is a natural person or a society, the foreign person is not required to make application for the retention of any estate or interest in any residential property vested in the foreign person immediately before 11 September 1973.
society
“society” means —(a)any unincorporated body or association of persons;(b)any trade union, cooperative society, mutual benefit organisation or other organisation; or(c)any statutory body constituted under any written law;