New guidelines on maximum allowable units in private flats and condos outside Central district

PUBLISHED1 HOUR AGO

UPDATED31 MIN AGO


SINGAPORE - The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has revised guidelines on the maximum allowable units in new private flats and condominium developments outside the Central Area.

The revised guidelines will apply to new applications for private non-landed residential developments, including executive condominiums and the residential components of mixed-use projects, received on or after Jan 17, 2019.

Under the new rules, the maximum number of dwelling units per development will be the proposed building Gross Floor Area (GFA) divided by 85 sq m.

It is currently GFA divided by 70 sq m.

Currently, four areas - namely Telok Kurau, Kovan, Joo Chiat and Jalan Eunos - are subject to more stringent requirements where the maximum number of units is derived by dividing the proposed GFA by 100 sq m.

Under the new rules, more areas will also fall under the formula where the GFA will be divided by 100 sq m.

The nine areas with these controls are Marine Parade, Joo Chiat-Mountbatten, Telok Kurau-Jalan Eunos, Balestier, Stevens-Chancery, Pasir Panjang, Kovan-How Sun, Shelford and Loyang.

The guidelines will also apply to the residential component of mixed-use developments.

In a statement on Wednesday (Oct 17), URA said it has observed smaller dwelling unit sizes in new private housing projects. In addition, the number of redevelopments in certain locations may strain local infrastructure.

It said the guidelines will help moderate the reduction in dwelling unit sizes, safeguard the liveability of residential estates, and ensure that local infrastructure will not be overly taxed.

It also said the formulae are intended to derive an "upper bound figure". The actual number of units will be assessed based on "the site context, existing site conditions, and the impact on the local infrastructure".

The URA will also assess the overall layout, design and unit sizes of the development proposals, and may add other requirements where necessary to protect the quality of the living environment.

URA also called on developers to provide a good mix of unit sizes, including larger units that cater to the needs of larger families and which facilitate multigenerational living.

The URA also said it is introducing a new Bonus GFA scheme to encourage the greater provision of indoor recreation spaces in private flats and condos.

The new scheme provides bonus GFA capped at 1 per cent of total GFA.

It also made tweaks to guidelines on balconies.

For example, to address feedback that some balconies are oversized, the total balcony area for each unit will be capped at 15 per cent of the net internal area.

Each balcony is to have a minimum width of 1.5 m as measured from the external building wall to enable it to function as a meaningful outdoor space.