The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is asking the public for comments and feedback on proposed amendments to Housing Developers Rules (HDR) such as what they should (or should not) include in advertisements and purchasing terms.
The purpose of the HDR is to protect home buyers’ interests by imposing developers requirements and standard contracts, especially for the sale of uncompleted private residential properties.
So, to ensure continued protection, the public consultation comes in a form of a survey. In summary, the key proposed amendments are as follow:
A. Information on advertisements
1. Developers may sometimes include features like vehicle pick-up/drop-off point, landscaping and water features in advertisements.
With the proposed amendment, they must obtain prior approval from the relevant agencies before including them in advertisements.
2. Developments that obtained their Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) or Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC), are required to state the TOP or CSC date in the advertisements.
This will allow home buyers to know when they can move into their units.
3. Information such as land encumbrance (eg. mortgage in favour of so-and-so bank) is usually not relevant to prospective home buyers. So these can be left out of advertisements.
B. Provide more information on the housing project and developer’s track record before accepting the booking fee
4. Developers will have to provide more information on their track record and past projects, including their Construction Quality Assessment System and Quality Mark scores, and Green Mark certification for completed projects in the past five years.
5. Developers to provide more details in their plans, including additional information on the location of key communal facilities across the site and storey plans.
On unit floor plans, they are required to mark out void areas, explain abbreviations used, etc. for buyers’ reference.
C. Provide information on ground rent and reversionary owner
6. Developers will have to make known to buyers if the 99-year-leasehold units they’re selling is subject to ground rent if the land they’re building the property on belongs to a landowner (ie. reversionary owner) with freehold or 999-year leasehold land.
If this is the case, the developer must provide information on who this landowner is and the ground rent payable in the Option to Purchase and Sales and Purchase Agreement.
D. Provide a simplified payment schedule
Who Pays What When the Deal Is Signed? Quick‑Guide to the Final 15%
Short version: The last chunk of your mortgage can swing like a pendulum, depending on whether you sign the CSC first or the Completion Notice kicks in. The new rule is all about making the payment stream feel more like a smooth ride.
Old Playbook (Pre‑Amendment)
- Last 15% split changes based on the order of these key dates.
- CSCs (Contract Settlement Certs) and Completion Dates play a game of “who’s first?”
- Result: buyers could end up with a bit of juggling between two payment slots.
New Playbook (After the Amendment)
- Everything now rides on the CSC timeline.
- At the CSC stage, you hand 8% to youdream developer and 5% goes into a special SLAW (Singapore Academy of Law) safety‑buffer.
- Only after the Completion Notice lands (i.e., the formal “we’re officially done” stamp) does the remaining 2% land in the developer’s coffers.
The Big Picture (Why It Matters)
Think of it as moving from a “see‑what‑happens‑first” game to a single, straight‑line mechanic. You’re less likely to nibble on one payment and still be stuck with another later. The new rule also keeps the developer in line by giving the law an extra hold‑out round.
Bottom‑Line Takeaway
Ultimately, the freshly signed contract will see your final 15% arrive in one tidy sequence – no more strange back‑and‑forth any longer. That’s what makes the process feel less like gambling and more like a smooth finish.
E. Later commencement of Defects Liability Period (DLP) and home buyer’s liability for maintenance charges
8. What Happens After the Payment is Done?
When you sign a Sales and Purchase Agreement today, it usually has a one‑year DLP (Damage Loss Provisions) kicked in. But here’s the kicker:
- It starts on the 15th day after the shop tells you the top‑up payment has cleared, or the day your unit actually arrives—whichever comes first.
- So if the payment clears early, you get a buffer of a full year of protection a few weeks to a month after the final check.
- If the unit ships before the payment is officially confirmed, you still get that year of coverage starting from the delivery date.
In short, you’re protected for a full year from the earliest of either the payment confirmation or the courier’s bell ringing at your door.
With the proposed amendment, the revised DLP and home buyer’s liability for maintenance charges will commence later on the 35th day after receipt of notice of TOP payment, or the actual unit delivery date, whichever is earlier.
This 35th day takes into account the 14 days home buyers need to make payment for the installment due at the TOP stage and the 21 days for developers to deliver vacant possession of the unit upon payment receipt.
F. Reduce threshold for claims for the shortfall in the area
9. When the actual area in the unit falls short of what’s stated in the Sale and Purchase Agreement by more than three per cent, the developer currently has to compensate home buyers.
With the proposed amendment, the shortfall is now reduced to two per cent, due to advancements in building/construction technology, accuracy and standard of construction.
G. Safeguard home buyers’ interests in relation to changes to approved plans
Developer Building Rules
Blueprints and the Golden Ticket
Once a developer gets the green light on the building design, they’re locked into the scaled unit floor plan and the site plan that buyers see before they pay the booking fee. Think of it as a contract to keep the layout as originally promised.
“I’m Changing It” Clause
- Any alteration to the unit floor layout or a substantial change to the common‑facility site plan after the Option to Purchase (OTP) issue date requires the developer to obtain explicit buyer consent.
- That means you’ll get a notification, a revised plan, and then a thumbs‑up or a down from the purchasers.
Authority’s Mandate Exception
If the changes are imposed by a new regulatory requirement—say a building code update or safety mandate—the developer is exempted from seeking buyer approval. They must simply comply with the law.
H. Enhanced refund coverage in annulment
11. If a Sale and Purchase Agreement is annulled, developers are usually required to refund all instalment payments and any stamp duty paid to the home buyer.
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However, there are other costs incurred during the purchase.
With the proposed amendment, developers will also be required to refund interest paid on loans, loan cancellation charges and legal fees (eg. to their bank), subject to a cap of 15 per cent of the purchase price.
Similar to how rules governing wording in insurance policies are usually enhanced and improved, these 11 proposed amendments to the HDR should provide home buyers (and developers and property agents) better clarity before, during and after the option to purchase, sales and purchase agreement and final payments are made.
This article was first published in 99.co.
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