PART 2 TORT OF INTERFERENCE WITH ENJOYMENT OR USE
OF PLACE OF RESIDENCE |
| Interpretation of this Part |
3. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —| “court” means a court of competent jurisdiction and includes a Community Disputes Resolution Tribunal; |
| “exclusion order” means an order made under section 9(2) excluding a contravening party (within the meaning of that section) from his or her place of residence; |
| “place of residence” means a house, a flat, an apartment or other dwelling place used for the purpose of residence; |
| “special direction” means a direction made by a court under section 6(2) against a contravening party (within the meaning of that section); |
| “vicinity”, in relation to a place of residence, includes any common corridor, common space or common property, any road, or any building or other property, in the surrounding area of the place of residence. |
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| Tort of interference with enjoyment or use of place of residence |
4.—(1) An individual who resides in a place of residence (called in this Part the respondent) must not, by his or her act or omission, directly or indirectly, and whether intentionally, recklessly or negligently, cause unreasonable interference with his or her neighbour’s enjoyment or use of the place of residence that the neighbour resides in.(2) An act or omission by a respondent which may cause interference with his or her neighbour’s enjoyment or use of the neighbour’s place of residence may include (but is not limited to) any of the following:| (a) | causing excessive noise, smell, smoke, light or vibration; | | (b) | littering at or in the vicinity of the neighbour’s place of residence; | | (c) | obstructing the neighbour’s place of residence, by placing any thing or object, or by any other manner, at or in the vicinity of the neighbour’s place of residence; | | (d) | interfering with the neighbour or the neighbour’s movable property, at or in the vicinity of the neighbour’s place of residence; | | (e) | surveillance of the neighbour or of the neighbour’s place of residence, where the surveillance is done at or in the vicinity of that place of residence; | | (f) | trespassing on the neighbour’s place of residence; | | (g) | allowing an animal owned by or under the care or control of the respondent to trespass on the neighbour’s place of residence, to cause excessive noise or smell, or to defecate or urinate at or in the vicinity of the neighbour’s place of residence. |
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| (3) A neighbour of a respondent may bring civil proceedings in a court against the respondent for the respondent’s wrongful act or omission in subsection (1). |
(4) For the purposes of this section, a neighbour of a respondent is an individual who lawfully resides in a place of residence —| (a) | that is in the same building as the respondent’s place of residence; or | | (b) | that is within 100 metres of the respondent’s place of residence, |
| but does not include an individual who occupies the same place of residence as the respondent. |
(a) X and Y live in the same apartment but in different rooms. X and Y occupy the same place of residence. (b) An apartment with the same registered address is partitioned into sub-divided units with separate entrances. X and Y live in different sub-divided units in this apartment with the same registered address. X and Y occupy the same place of residence. [Act 43 of 2024 wef 24/03/2025] |
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| (5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b), that distance is to be measured from any part of the boundary of one place of residence to any part of the boundary of the other place of residence. |
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5.—(1) A court may make one or more of the following orders if the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that a claim under section 4 by a respondent’s neighbour has been made out against the respondent, and is satisfied that it is just and equitable to do so:| (a) | an order for damages; | | (b) | an order granting an injunction; | | (c) | an order for specific performance; | | (d) | an order that the respondent provide an apology to the neighbour, in such form or manner as the court thinks fit; | | (da) | any other order that the court may make under this Act; [Act 43 of 2024 wef 24/03/2025] | | (e) | any ancillary order as may be necessary to give effect to any of the court’s orders. |
(2) In deciding whether it is just and equitable for any order to be made under subsection (1), the court is to consider all the following matters:| (a) | the impact of the order, if made, on —| (i) | the respondent; | | (ii) | any individual who, at the time of the making of the order, resides in the same place of residence as the respondent; and | | (iii) | any other person who can reasonably be expected to be affected by the order; |
| | (b) | the ordinary instances of daily living that can be expected to be tolerated by reasonable persons living in Singapore; | | (c) | any other matters as the court deems fit. |
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| (3) To avoid doubt, an order made under this section by the consent of the parties or in the absence of a party, in accordance with Rules of Court made under section 32, has the same force and effect as if the order were made by the court under this section after a hearing by the court. [Act 43 of 2024 wef 24/03/2025] |
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| Special direction on breach of court order, etc. |
6.—(1) Where a respondent (called in this Part the contravening party) fails to comply with an order of court made under section 5 (called in this section the disobeyed order), the party in whose favour the disobeyed order was made may apply to a relevant court for a direction that the contravening party must comply with the disobeyed order.| (2) Any court (at first instance or on appeal) may make a direction that a contravening party comply with a disobeyed order within a specified time if the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the contravening party has, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with the disobeyed order. |
| (3) Where a court in subsection (2) makes a special direction, the court may also order any person as the court may specify, to enter into a bond to ensure that the contravening party complies with that direction. |
| (4) The court may, in making an order under subsection (3) for a person to enter into a bond, impose such conditions on or give such directions to that person, as part of the bond, as the court thinks fit, for the purpose of ensuring that the contravening party complies with the special direction. |
| (5) No order under subsection (3) may be made without giving the person mentioned in that subsection an opportunity to attend and be heard. |
| (6) Despite subsection (5), an order under subsection (3) may be made if the person mentioned in subsection (3), having been given an opportunity to attend and be heard, has failed to do so or cannot be found within a reasonable time. |
| (7) A person who fails to comply with an order to enter into a bond under subsection (3) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000. |
| (8) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (7) for failure to comply with an order to enter into a bond, the failure to comply with that order is not punishable as a contempt of court. |
| (9) A person is not to be convicted of an offence under subsection (7) in respect of any non‑compliance which has been punished as a contempt of court. |
| (10) In this section, “relevant court”, in relation to an application for a special direction, means the court of first instance which heard the claim under section 4 (whether or not the claim was allowed), or its equivalent. |
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| Breach of special direction an offence |
7.—(1) A contravening party who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with a special direction shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction, but not exceeding $10,000 in total. |
| (2) It is not a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) that the court which made an order under section 5 or the court which made a special direction should not have, for whatever reason, made that order or direction. |
| (3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) for failure to comply with a special direction, the failure to comply with the special direction as well as the failure to comply with the order of court made under section 5 which is the subject of that special direction is not punishable as a contempt of court. |
| (4) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) in respect of any non‑compliance which has been punished as a contempt of court. |
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| Section 6 not to apply to certain court orders |
| 8. Section 6 does not apply to an order of court made under section 5 which requires a contravening party to pay damages. |
9.—(1) Where a contravening party fails to comply with a special direction, the party in whose favour the special direction was made may apply to a court (called in this section a second court) for an order that the contravening party be excluded from his or her place of residence.| (2) A second court may make an exclusion order if the court is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that the contravening party has, without reasonable excuse, failed to comply with a special direction, and is satisfied that it is just and equitable to do so. |
| (3) A second court may make an exclusion order on such terms and conditions as the court thinks fit. |
(4) In deciding whether it is just and equitable for an exclusion order to be made, the court is to consider all the following matters:| (a) | the impact of the order, if made, on —| (i) | the contravening party; | | (ii) | any individual who, at the time of the making of the order, resides in the same place of residence as the contravening party; and | | (iii) | any other person who can reasonably be expected to be affected by the order; |
| | (b) | any other matters as the court deems fit. |
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| (5) To avoid doubt, a court may make more than one exclusion order under this section against the same contravening party. [Act 43 of 2024 wef 24/03/2025] |
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| Breach of exclusion order an offence |
10.—(1) A contravening party who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with an exclusion order shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction —| (a) | to a fine not exceeding $5,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both; and | | (b) | in the case of a continuing offence, to a further fine not exceeding $1,000 for every day or part of a day during which the offence continues after conviction, but not exceeding $10,000 in total. |
| (2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) for failure to comply with an exclusion order, the failure to comply with the exclusion order is not punishable as a contempt of court. |
| (3) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under subsection (1) in respect of any non‑compliance which has been punished as a contempt of court. |
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| Termination of tenancy, etc. |
11.—(1) Where a person who is ordered to enter into a bond under section 6(3) is a landlord of the place of residence a contravening party resides in (called in this section the specified residence), the landlord is entitled to terminate, in accordance with subsection (2), any tenancy relating to that specified residence to which the landlord is party.| (2) A tenancy may be terminated by giving written notice which must specify a date of re‑possession that is at least 14 days after the date on which the notice is given. |
| (3) A landlord is entitled to terminate a tenancy in accordance with this section despite anything in any other law or in any agreement, and section 18 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1886 does not apply to or in relation to any tenancy which is lawfully terminated under this section. |
| (4) A landlord is not liable in respect of any termination of a tenancy in accordance with this section. |
(5) Where a landlord terminates a tenancy for a specified residence in accordance with this section and there is a subtenancy derived out of that tenancy in relation to that specified residence —| (a) | the tenant is not liable in respect of any termination of that subtenancy, if the tenant is not a contravening party; and | | (b) | section 18 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act 1886 does not apply in relation to that subtenancy. (a) X lets out a place of residence to Y. Y, or another person occupying that place of residence, is a contravening party. If a court orders X to enter into a bond under section 6(3), X is entitled to terminate the entire tenancy with Y, even if the contravening party only occupies a part of that place of residence. (b) X lets out one part of a place of residence to Y under a tenancy with Y. X lets out another part of the place of residence to Z under a separate tenancy with Z. Y, or a person occupying the part of the place of residence which is the subject of Y’s tenancy with X, is a contravening party. If a court orders X to enter into a bond under section 6(3), X is entitled to terminate the tenancy which X has entered into with Y but may not terminate the tenancy which X has entered into with Z. |
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| Order to address hoarding |
11A.—(1) A tribunal may, on the application of the Director-General, make an order to authorise a community relations officer or any other person specified in the order to remove and dispose of any thing or material in a place of residence specified in the order if the tribunal is satisfied on a balance of probabilities that —| (a) | there are accumulated or stockpiled, excessive or unconstrained things or material in the place of residence that a reasonable person would consider to be of low or no value or no utility in the circumstances; | | (b) | the individual residing in the place of residence is unwilling or unable to remove or dispose of those things or material despite a notice or advisory to do so given by a community relations officer, a public officer, an officer or employee of a statutory body or a person exercising a public official function; | | (c) | the accumulation or stockpiling of those things or material in the place of residence is of a nature or in a quantity that is causing unreasonable interference to the individual’s neighbour; and | | (d) | an order for specific performance had been made under section 5(1)(c) whether before, on or after the appointed date but prior to the Director-General’s application, for the removal and disposal of the things or material mentioned in paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) but any term of the order has not been complied with. |
(2) The order of the tribunal made under subsection (1) may authorise a community relations officer or any other person specified in the order to do any of the following with or without the consent of the owner or occupier of the place of residence:| (a) | enter a place of residence at any reasonable time of the day for the purpose of enforcing the order; | | (b) | remove and dispose of any thing or material in the place of residence, that if not removed or disposed of would in the opinion of a reasonable person cause unreasonable interference to the individual’s neighbour; | | (c) | do any other act that may be specified in the order. |
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| (3) The tribunal may vary, suspend or revoke the order made under subsection (1) on the application of the Director-General or any party to the order. |
| (4) In this section, “appointed date” means the date of commencement of section 11 of the Community Disputes Resolution (Amendment) Act 2024. [Act 43 of 2024 wef 24/03/2025] |
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| 12. Where a court convicts any person for an offence under section 6, 7 or 10, the court has the power to make a community order under Part 17 of the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 despite any provision to the contrary in section 337(1)(h) of that Code. |
| 13. The Minister may exempt from the application of section 6(3) any person or class of persons as the Minister may, by order in the Gazette, prescribe. |
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