http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...ouse-info-easy

URA makes access to shophouse info easy

By Renald Yeo

[email protected]

Jun 3, 2016


BUSINESSMEN, investors and shophouse owners who wish to look up allowable and last-approved uses for private shophouses in Singapore will no longer have to write in to the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), pay a search fee and wait for days to do so.

Instead, they will be able to instantly search for the information at no charge via their computers and smartphones, thanks to a function in a new online portal - called URA SPACE - launched by URA on Thursday.

The portal consolidates land-use and private property-related information into a "one-stop platform presented on geospatial maps", making information more easily accessible, URA said.

Users are able to access information relating to urban design guidelines, private property use and approval, carpark locations and availability along with past private residential property transactions.

Noting that the majority of queries received by URA pertain to allowable uses for a shophouse, Minister for National Development Lawrence Wong said in a blog post on Thursday that Singapore "may well be one of the few cities in the world" to offer the shophouse allowable use searching function in the portal.

Previously, a search fee of S$53.50 would have applied to enquiries for approved uses of shophouse premises, with wait times of up to seven working days for a response by URA.

While the portal is optimised for mobile usage, there are no plans for an app, said a URA spokeswoman in response to a query by The Business Times. The need for an app will be reviewed according to public feedback, the spokeswoman added.