Residential Property Act 1976 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 2 · Prohibition on Purchase or Acquisition of Residential Property by Foreign Persons
6. Attachment and sale of residential property by Controller
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The Controller must, on receipt of any notice to attach and sell, sell by public auction or otherwise to either a citizen or an approved purchaser the estate or interest in the residential property or land specified in the notice at the following time:
Controller
“Controller” means the Controller of Residential Property and includes a Deputy and an Assistant Controller of Residential Property appointed under section 29;
where any application is made to the Controller within the time limited under section 6A(2) or (3) to fix the reserve price for that estate or interest in the residential property or land — at any time after the reserve price is fixed in accordance with section 6A;
where no such application to fix the reserve price is made — at any time after the expiry of the time period allowed for any application to fix the reserve price under section 6A(3)(b)(ii).
In order to attach and sell any estate or interest in any residential property or land specified in any notice to attach and sell, the Controller must lodge with the Registrar —
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;
in the case of any residential property or land which is registered land — an application in the approved form to register the notice to attach and sell that property or land; or
in the case of any other residential property or land — a copy of the notice to attach and sell relating to that property or land.
The Registrar must —
Registrar
“Registrar” means —(a)the Registrar of Titles and includes a Deputy Registrar of Titles and an Assistant Registrar of Titles appointed under the Land Titles Act 1993; and(b)where the occasion requires, the Registrar of Deeds and includes a Deputy Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act 1988;
on receipt of the application mentioned in subsection (2)(a) — register the application in the relevant volume and folio of the land‑register in the Land Titles Registry of the Authority and enter the appropriate memorial that the Controller has attached the residential property or land concerned and is empowered to transfer the registered estate or interest in that property or land; or
on receipt of the copy of the notice to attach and sell mentioned in subsection (2)(b) — enter a note in the books and other records maintained at the Registry of Deeds of the Authority that the residential property or land concerned has been attached by the Controller.
On lodgment of an application or a copy of the notice to attach and sell in accordance with subsection (2), the Controller has the power —
notice to attach and sell
“notice to attach and sell” means any notice issued by the Minister under section 3(6), 3A(3), 4(8), 5(7), 9(11), 22(3), 27(3) or 32(2A) directing the Controller to attach and sell in accordance with this Act such estate or interest in such residential property or land as is specified in the notice;
to sell the estate or interest in the residential property or land described in the application or copy (as the case may be) and all other powers relating or incidental thereto as if the Controller were the proprietor of that estate or interest in the residential property or land; and
to execute any instrument to effect a transfer of that estate or interest in the residential property or land,and any such transfer executed by the Controller is conclusive and shall not be challenged or called in question in any court.
The foreign person whose estate or interest in the residential property or land remains the subject of any notice to attach and sell, or its subsisting mortgagee or chargee (if any) must —
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;
within a period of 21 days after the reserve price for that estate or interest is fixed under section 6A; or
if no application to fix the reserve price is made under section 6A, within a period of 21 days beginning on the date immediately following the expiry of the period specified in subsection (1)(b),deliver to the Controller the title deed or certificate of title of the residential property or land (as the case may be) and in default of such delivery, the Controller is not obliged to produce to the purchaser of such estate or interest in the residential property or land any other title apart from the certified true copy of the title deed or a replacement certificate of title thereto.
Where the Controller is unable to sell any estate or interest in the residential property or land at or above the reserve price fixed under section 6A for that estate or interest, the Controller must postpone the sale for a period of 2 years, and thereafter must proceed to sell that estate or interest in the residential property or land (as the case may be) by public auction or otherwise at any price, whether that price is higher or lower than the reserve price.
Where the Controller has sold an estate or interest in any residential property or land under this section, the Controller must without delay apply those proceeds of sale —
firstly, in payment of all costs (such as legal costs, survey costs and valuation costs), charges and expenses properly incurred incidentally to or in connection with the sale of the property or land (including any previous unsuccessful sale under this section) between the date of the notice to attach and sell that property or land and the date of the sale (both dates inclusive);
secondly, in payment of all financial penalties payable under this Act in respect of the residential property or land sold; and
thirdly, in payment of the balance, in order of priority, to the foreign person who was the owner of the estate or interest in the residential property or land sold and any person having a prior interest to such owner or representative as shown in the relevant records in the Land Titles Registry or the Registry of Deeds of the Authority, as the case may be,except that where there is any dispute as to the apportionment of these proceeds between the persons mentioned in paragraph (c), the Controller must pay the balance into court.
Nothing in this section prevents a foreign person on whom a copy of a notice to attach and sell is served from selling on the foreign person’s own accord the foreign person’s estate or interest in the residential property or land concerned to a citizen or an approved purchaser.
citizen
“citizen” or “citizen of Singapore” means any person who, under the provisions of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, has the status of a citizen of Singapore;
Where a foreign person has sold on the foreign person’s own accord the foreign person’s estate or interest in the residential property or land concerned under subsection (8), the foreign person shall be liable to reimburse the Controller for all legal costs, survey costs, valuation costs and any other costs, charges and expenses incurred by the Controller with a view to a sale (including any previous unsuccessful sale) under this section of the property or land between the date of that notice to attach and sell and the date the Controller is informed by the foreign person that the property or land has been sold by the foreign person (both dates inclusive).
Where the Controller is of the opinion that circumstances have arisen since the lodgment of the application or copy of the notice mentioned in subsection (2) which renders the sale of any estate or interest in any residential property or land concerned impracticable, whether on account of an earlier sale by a person permitted under subsection (8) or the occurrence of an event, such as the winding up of a foreign company, the issue of an order of attachment for the same property or land by any court or otherwise, the Controller must refer the relevant particulars of the residential property or land to the Minister with a statement setting out his or her reasons as to why it is impracticable to sell the property or land.
foreign company
“foreign company” means any company (whether a holding company or otherwise) other than a Singapore company;
The Minister may, on receipt of the Controller’s statement under subsection (10), countermand his or her direction to the Controller to attach and sell the estate or interest in the residential property or land in question by cancelling his or her notice to attach and sell that residential property or land.
Where the Minister has, under subsection (11), countermanded his or her direction to the Controller to attach and sell any residential property or land, the Registrar must —
in the case of any residential property or land which is registered land — cancel the registration of the notice to attach and sell that property or land on receipt from the Controller of an application for that purpose made in the approved form; or
in the case of any other residential property or land — register a memorial of discharge of the notice to attach and sell that property or land,and thereafter, the Controller does not have any power mentioned in subsection (4) in relation to any estate or interest in that residential property or land.
In this section and section 6A, any reference to a foreign person includes —
a reference to a mortgagee or chargee; or
a reference to the person’s legal personal representatives if he or she is deceased and a notice has been issued by the Minister under section 3(6) in relation to any estate or interest of the foreign person in residential property or land.