Overseas developers to face tougher regulations here
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The law governing foreign ownership of landed residential property in Singapore is set to be amended, making it more expensive for foreign property developers to speculate in land in the country.
The Amendment Bill to the Residential Property Act (RPA), which was introduced in parliament yesterday, is also aimed at increasing the penalties on foreigners who violate the rules.
The Act also requires permanent residents to obtain approval to acquire restricted properties, or vacant residential land and landed properties.
They can purchase only one restricted asset for owner-occupation and are prohibited to rent out the property. They also cannot sell the asset within the the first few years.
Currently, permanent residents and foreigners own only more than 3 percent of the country’s total landed residential stock of nearly 70,000 units.
Right now, the RPA requires foreign housingdevelopers to complete residential projects within five years. They must also dispose of all units in two years from the time the development obtains its temporary occupation permit.
The new Amendment Bill improves safeguards to prevent speculation among developers. The penalty framework will also be improved to guarantee its relevance and effectiveness.
With the new Amendment Bill, the Ministry of Law is proposing to subject developers who are not able to complete and dispose of their developments within the given period to a new extension charge framework.
Other changes guarantee that foreign buyers who violate the rules of ownership under the Act will also face more penalties.
Foreign beneficiaries of restricted assets also need to dispose of their assets within five years, down from the current 10 years. Ex-permanent residents and former Singapore citizens will have to sell their restricted assets in two years after they give up citizenship or permanent resident status.
The amendments are set to come into effect by end-2010.
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Originally Posted by rattydrama
