Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 22/1974

Read the first time on 28th August 1974.
An Act to amend the Jurong Town Corporation Act (Chapter 209 of the Revised Edition).
Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —
Short title and commencement
1.  This Act may be cited as the Jurong Town Corporation (Amendment) Act, 1974 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.
Amendment of section 2
2.  Section 2 of the Jurong Town Corporation Act (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the definition of “Corporation” appearing therein the following new definition: —
“ “flat” means a horizontal stratum of a building or part thereof, whether such stratum is on one or more levels or is partially or wholly below the surface of the ground, which is used or intended to be used as a complete and separate unit for the purpose of human habitation or business or for any other purpose.”.
Amendment of section 5
3.  Section 5 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by deleting the word “fifteen” appearing in paragraph (c) of subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor the word “seven”; and
(b)by deleting the word “eight” appearing in subsection (2) thereof and substituting therefor the word “five”.
Amendment of section 13
4.  Subsection (2) of section 13 of the principal Act is hereby amended —
(a)by inserting immediately after the word “houses” appearing in the eighth line of paragraph (i) thereof the expression “, furniture, fittings, home appliances”;
(b)by deleting the word “and” appearing at the end of paragraph (i) thereof;
(c)by deleting the full-stop appearing at the end of paragraph (k) thereof and substituting therefor the expression “; and”; and
(d)by inserting immediately after paragraph (k) thereof the following new paragraph: —
(l)to provide loans on mortgage at such interest as may be prescribed to enable persons, other than employees of the Corporation, to purchase any flat, house or building which is used or intended to be used solely for the purpose of human habitation.”.
Repeal and re-enactment of sections 20 to 23
5.  Sections 20 to 23 of the principal Act are hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Accounts
20.—(1)  The accounts of the Corporation shall be kept by a Chief Financial Officer appointed by and responsible to the Corporation.
(2)  The Chief Financial Officer shall prepare in respect of each financial year ending on the 31st day of December a statement of accounts in a form approved by the Minister.
(3)  The Chief Financial Officer shall keep proper accounts and records of the Corporation’s transactions and affairs and shall do all things necessary to ensure that all payments out of its moneys are correctly made and properly authorised and that adequate control is maintained over the assets of, or in the custody of, the Corporation and over the expenditure incurred by the Corporation.
Appointment and powers of the Corporation’s auditor
21.—(1)  The accounts of the Corporation shall be audited by the Auditor-General or by an auditor appointed annually by the Minister in consultation with the Auditor-General.
(2)  The Corporation’s auditor shall be paid out of the funds of the Corporation such remuneration, expenses or fees as the Minister, after consultation with the Corporation, shall direct.
(3)  The Corporation’s auditor shall be entitled to full and free access to all accounting and other records relating directly or indirectly to the financial transactions of the Corporation and may make copies of or extracts from any such accounting or other records.
(4)  The Corporation’s auditor or a person authorised by him may require any person to furnish him with such information which such person possesses or has access to as the auditor or the duly authorised person considers necessary for the purposes of the functions of the auditor under this Act.
(5)  An officer of the Corporation who refuses or fails without any reasonable cause to allow the Corporation’s auditor or a person authorised by him access to any accounting and other records of the Corporation in his custody or power or to give any information possessed by him as and when required or who otherwise hinders, obstructs or delays the Corporation’s auditor or any person authorised by him in the performance of his duties or the exercise of his powers shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for every day or part thereof during which the offence is continued after conviction.
Financial statements
22.—(1)  The Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation shall, not later than the 30th day of April in every year, prepare and submit the financial statements in respect of the preceding financial year to the Corporation’s auditor who shall audit and report on them.
(2)  The auditor shall, not later than the 30th day of June next following the end of the year in respect of which he is appointed, send to the Corporation and to the Minister a report of his audit and may also submit such periodical and special reports as may appear necessary to him.
(3)  The Corporation’s auditor shall report —
(a)whether the financial statements show fairly the financial transactions and the state of affairs of the Corporation; and
(b)on such other matters arising from the audit as he considers necessary.
(4)  The Corporation’s auditor shall state in his report whether —
(a)proper accounting and other records have been kept; and
(b)the receipt, expenditure and investment of moneys and the acquisition and disposal of assets by the Corporation during the year have been in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
Presentation of financial statements
23.—(1)  A copy of the audited financial statements signed by the Chairman and the Chief Financial Officer, and certified by the Corporation’s auditor, together with a copy of any report made by the auditor, shall be submitted to the Minister not later than the 31st day of July in each year.
(2)  Where the Auditor-General has not been appointed to be the auditor of the Corporation a copy of the audited financial statements and any report made by the auditor shall be forwarded to the Auditor-General at the same time as they are submitted to the Minister.
(3)  The Minister shall present a copy of the audited financial statements and the report of the Corporation’s auditor to Parliament.
(4)  The audited financial statements and the auditor’s report referred to in subsection (3) of this section shall be published in the Gazette.”.
Repeal and re-enactment of sections 29 and 30
6.  Sections 29 and 30 of the principal Act are hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —
Annual report
29.—(1)  The Corporation shall, not later than the 31st day of March in each year, unless the Minister otherwise authorises in writing, furnish to the Minister a report of its functions during the preceding year.
(2)  The Minister shall cause a copy of every such report to be presented to Parliament.
Special provisions relating to the sale by the Corporation of a flat, house, building or land
30.  For the purposes of the registration of an assurance relating to the sale by the Corporation of any flat, house, building or land, the mortgage of such flat, house, building or land in favour of the Corporation or the reconveyance or discharge of such mortgage —
(a)in the case of land registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), the provisions of section 12 of that Act shall not apply; and
(b)in the case of land registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), where a solicitor is not employed by the party acquiring or divesting title under any instrument relating to the transactions referred to in this section, a certificate of an officer authorised in writing in that behalf by the Corporation shall be sufficient for the purposes of section 50 of that Act.”.
New sections 36 to 47
7.  The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 35 thereof the following new sections: —
Application of sections 37 to 47
36.  The provisions of sections 37 to 47 of this Act shall apply only to flats, houses or buildings which are used or intended to be used solely for the purpose of human habitation.
Restrictions on registration of assurance, lease, mortgage, transfer or charge
37.—(1)  The Registrar of Deeds and the Registrar of Titles shall not register any assurance, lease, mortgage, transfer or charge relating to any flat, house or building which has been bought or sold, leased, mortgaged or disposed of by a person in contravention of the provisions of section 38 or subsection (1) of section 39 of this Act.
(2)  A certificate of the Corporation that any flat, house or building has been purchased, sold, leased, mortgaged, transferred or charged in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be conclusive evidence of that fact.
Conditions relating to sale, lease, mortgage or transfer of or charge on flat, house or building
38.—(1)  No flat, house or building which has been sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act shall be sold, leased, mortgaged, transferred or charged without the written consent of the Corporation.
(2)  An assignment or a lease, mortgage or transfer of or a charge on a flat, house or building that is executed by or on behalf of the owner thereof without the written consent of the Corporation shall be void and shall be incapable of being registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276).
Restriction relating to purchase of flat, house or building
39.—(1)  No person shall be entitled to purchase any flat, house or building sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act if such person or his spouse is the owner of any other flat, house or building sold by the Corporation or otherwise.
(2)  If a person purchases a flat, house or building sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act when such person or his spouse is the owner of any other flat, house or building sold by the Corporation or otherwise, such person shall not present for registration under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act or the Land Titles Act the assurance of the flat, house or building so purchased by him.
(3)  The Corporation shall, within three months of the date of the discovery of such purchase, serve a written notice upon the purchaser of the flat, house or building of its intention to lodge with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, an instrument under the provisions of subsection (5) of this section.
(4)  If a person purchases a flat, house or building sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act when such person or his spouse is the owner of any other flat, house or building sold by the Corporation or otherwise, the Corporation may lodge an instrument with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, for the vesting in the Corporation of the title to or the estate or interest in the flat, house or building.
(5)  The Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles shall register any instrument, lodged under the provisions of subsection (4) of this section, without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity, and upon its registration the title to or the estate or interest in the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation without further assurance free from all encumbrances (subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation) for such title, estate or interest as the Corporation would have had on the date of the registration of the instrument, if there had been no sale of the flat, house or building.
(6)  Upon the registration of such an instrument —
(a)in the case of a flat, house or building registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), the Registrar of Deeds shall make an entry in the books of the registry that the flat, house or building has vested in the Corporation in accordance with the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, and upon that entry being made, the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation; or
(b)in the case of a flat, house or building, registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the flat, house or building shall vest in the Corporation free from all encumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Corporation, and the Registrar of Titles shall cancel the registration of any lease, mortgage or charge thereby overreached.
Penalty for unlawful purchase of flat, house or building
40.  Any person who acts in contravention of the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) of section 39 of this Act shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months or to a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine.
Conditions in respect of a flat, house or building
41.—(1)  No lien by deposit of the title deeds, as security for a debt, of any flat, house or building that has been sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act shall be capable of being created in favour of any person and no caveat in support of any such lien by deposit shall be capable of being registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) or the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276).
(2)  No such flat, house or building shall vest in the Official Assignee on the bankruptcy of the owner thereof.
(3)  No such flat, house or building shall be attached in execution of a decree of a court.
(4)  Every trust or alleged trust, whether the trust is express, implied or constructive, which purports to be created in respect of such flat, house or building by the owner thereof shall be null and void and shall be incapable of being enforced by a court.
Transfer of a flat, house or building on the death of the owner
42.—(1)  The transmission, on the death of the owner, whether testate or intestate, of a flat, house or building that has been sold under the provisions of this Act shall not be registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act or the Land Titles Act without the written consent of the Corporation.
(2)  Where the Corporation refuses to give its consent, the Corporation shall make a written offer to purchase the flat, house or building at a price to be determined by the Corporation.
(3)  Any person who is dissatisfied with the price, determined by the Corporation under the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, may, within fourteen days of the date of the written offer, appeal to the Minister whose decision thereon shall be final.
(4)  The Corporation shall —
(a)where there is an appeal under the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, within four weeks of the determination of the appeal by the Minister; or
(b)in any other case, within six weeks of the written offer,
purchase the flat, house or building at the price determined by the Corporation or the Minister on appeal, as the case may be.
Establishment of management corporations
43.—(1)  The owners of flats in any building or buildings of the Corporation shall, as soon as possible after they are directed by the Corporation in writing, establish a body corporate under the name of “The Management Corporation for flat numbers … of the Jurong Town Corporation building situate in Lot number … in Town SubDivision or Mukim …”.
(2)  The Corporation shall not, without consulting all the owners of the flats in any building or buildings, make any direction, under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, upon owners of the flats.
(3)  Where a direction of the Corporation under the provisions of subsection (1) of this section is not carried out, the Corporation may, by notification in the Gazette, authorise a company, incorporated under the provisions of any written law for the time being in force relating to companies, to exercise the functions, duties and powers of a management corporation.
(4)  The Corporation may, by notification in the Gazette, revoke any authorisation granted to a company, under the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, without assigning any reason therefor.
(5)  A management corporation, referred to in subsection (1) of this section, shall be constituted by order made by the Corporation, which shall be published in the Gazette.
(6)  Upon the constitution of a management corporation under subsection (5) of this section and so long as one exists in relation to one or more buildings the owners of flats in the building or buildings shall be —
(a)members of the management corporation; and
(b)entitled to such voting rights as may be prescribed.
(7)  A management corporation, constituted under the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, shall have perpetual succession and may sue and be sued in its name and do all other matters and things incidental or appertaining to a body corporate and not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act.
(8)  The management corporation shall establish and maintain a fund for administrative purposes sufficient in the opinion of the corporation for the control, management and administration of the common property of the building or buildings in relation to which the management corporation exists, for the payment of any rent, rates and premiums of insurance in respect of the common property and the discharge of any other obligations of the corporation.
(9)  For the purposes of establishing and maintaining a fund in accordance with the provisions of subsection (8) of this section the management corporation may —
(a)determine from time to time and the amounts to be raised for the purposes referred to in subsection (8) of this section;
(b)raise amounts so determined by levying contributions on the owners of flats in the building or buildings referred to in subsection (8) of this section in such proportions as may be prescribed; and
(c)recover from any of the owners by an action in a court of competent jurisdiction any sum of money expended by the management corporation for rents, rates, premiums, maintenance, conservancy or for repairs to or done by it at its direction to his flat.
(10)  Subject to the provisions of subsection (12) of this section, any contribution levied under the provisions of subsection (9) of this section shall be due and be payable —
(a)on the passing of a resolution to that effect by the management corporation and in accordance with the terms of that resolution; or
(b)if the Corporation or a company, as the case may be, is performing the functions of a management corporation and has been vested with its powers, under the provisions of section 44 of this Act, on the service of a written notice and in accordance with the terms of that notice,
and may be recovered by the management corporation or the Corporation or company, as the case may be, in an action in a court of competent jurisdiction from the owner of a flat in a building referred to in subsection (8) of this section at the time when the resolution or notice, as the case may be, was passed or served and from the owner of the flat at the time when the action is instituted jointly or severally.
(11)  A certificate of the Corporation shall be conclusive evidence of the amount that may be due to the Corporation under the provisions of subsection (10) of this section.
(12)  A management corporation shall, on the application of an owner of a flat in a building in relation to which the management corporation exists under the provisions of this Act or a person authorised in writing by him, certify —
(a)the amount determined as the contribution of the owner;
(b)the manner in which that contribution is payable;
(c)the extent to which his contribution has been paid by the owner; and
(d)the amount of any rates paid by the management corporation and not recovered by it,
and in favour of any person dealing with that owner such a certificate shall be conclusive evidence of the matters certified therein.
(13)  A management corporation, constituted under the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, shall not be wound up except by an order made by the Corporation cancelling the order by which it was constituted.
(14)  An order made under subsection (13) of this section shall be published in the Gazette and shall provide for the winding up of the management corporation and for its dissolution.
Corporation or company may exercise the powers of management corporation
44.  The functions and duties of a management corporation constituted under the provisions of section 43 of this Act may be performed and its powers shall be vested in and may be exercised by —
(a)the Corporation —
(i)where a management corporation has not been constituted under the provisions of subsection (5) of section 43 of this Act; or
(ii)where a management corporation, which had been constituted under the provisions of subsection (5) of section 43 of this Act, has been wound up by an order made under the provisions of subsection (13) of that section; or
(b)a company authorised by the Corporation under the provisions of subsection (3) of section 43 of this Act.
Determination of the lease of a flat, house or building
45.  The Corporation may, where a flat, house or building has been sold by the Corporation under the provisions of this Act —
(a)if any rent reserved by the lease or part thereof is unpaid for three calendar months after becoming payable and the Corporation has sent a demand in writing by registered post addressed to the owner of the flat, house or building (whether the demand has been received by the owner or not);
(b)if any condition on the part of the owner is not performed or observed within two weeks after notice in writing has been sent by the Corporation to the owner addressed to the owner at the flat, house or building drawing the attention of the owner to the non-performance or non-observance of the condition (whether the demand has been received by the owner or not);
(c)if the owner has submitted a false statement in his application form for the purchase of the flat, house or building;
(d)if the owner has, in the opinion of the Corporation, committed a breach of any of the rules made under the provisions of paragraph (f) of subsection (1) of section 46 of this Act; or
(e)if the owner has, in the opinion of the Corporation, used the flat, house or building otherwise than for a purpose allowed by the lease,
in every such case re-enter upon the flat, house or building or a part thereof in the name of the whole and thereupon the lease shall determine; but such determination shall be without prejudice to any right of action or remedy of the Corporation in respect of any such breach or any other breach of the conditions contained in the lease.
Power to make rules
46.—(1)  The Corporation may, with the approval of the Minister, make rules for giving effect to the provisions of sections 37 to 45 of this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, for or with respect to all or any of the following matters: —
(a)the terms and conditions for the sale of a flat, house or building under the provisions of this Act;
(b)the persons to whom the flat, house or building may be sold, including the qualifications as to income, number in the family and citizenship of such persons;
(c)a scheme of savings by a prospective purchaser of the flat, house or building with the Corporation for the first minimum payment therefor;
(d)the minimum first payment for the purchase of the flat, house or building and the maximum period that may be allowed for the payment of the balance of the purchase price thereof, together with the prescribed interest;
(e)the functions, duties and powers of a management corporation constituted under the provisions of section 43 of this Act; and
(f)regulating the use of flats, houses or buildings that have been sold under the provisions of this Act, and the common property thereof.
(2)  All such rules shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.
Exemption
47.  The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, exempt any person or class of persons or any flat, house or building or flats, houses or buildings described therein from any of the provisions of sections 37 to 46 of this Act.”.