PART I | 1. This Act may be cited as the Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act. |
2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —| “accounts” has the same meaning as in section 4(1) of the Companies Act (Cap. 50); [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “authorised officer” means a public officer or an officer of a public authority authorised by the Controller under section 3(5); [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “building project” means a building project comprising units of housing accommodation; [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “certificate of statutory completion” has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Building Control Act (Cap. 29); [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “company” means any company incorporated, formed or registered under the provisions of the Companies Act [Cap. 50] or any corresponding previous written law; |
| “Controller” means the Controller of Housing appointed under section 3(1); |
| “Deputy Controller” means the Deputy Controller of Housing appointed under section 3(3)(a); [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “develop” means to construct or cause to construct housing accommodation, including any building operations in, on, over or under the land for the purpose of erecting housing accommodation and the sale by a housing developer of land which would be appurtenant to such housing accommodation; |
| “housing accommodation” includes a building or tenement wholly or principally constructed, adapted or intended for human habitation or for human habitation and as business premises; |
“housing developer” means any —| (a) | person; | | (b) | group of persons, whether in partnership or otherwise; | | (c) | society, whether a co-operative society or otherwise; | | (d) | company; or | | (e) | limited liability partnership, [17/2005 wef 15/07/2005] |
| who or which engages in or undertakes housing development, but does not include any — |
| (i) | bank which is in possession of a valid licence granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore under the Banking Act [Cap. 19]; [26/2001 wef 01/09/2001] | | (ii) | insurer licensed under section 8 of the Insurance Act [Cap. 142], [Act 11 of 2013 wef 18/04/2013] [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| so long as such bank or insurer only lends or provides money for housing development; |
[Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
“housing development” means the business of —| (a) | developing; | | (b) | providing the money for developing or for the purchase of, |
| more than 4 units of housing accommodation; or |
| (c) | developing and providing the money for the purchase of more than 4 units of housing accommodation resulting from such development; |
|
| “inspector” means an inspector appointed under section 3(3)(b); [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “licence” means a licence granted under section 4(4); |
| “licensed housing developer” means a housing developer holding a valid licence; |
| “limited liability partnership” and “limited liability partnership agreement” have the same meanings as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 (Act 5 of 2005); [17/2005 wef 15/07/2005] |
| “manager”, in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005; [17/2005 wef 15/07/2005] [37/2008 wef 04/05/2009] |
| “partner”, in relation to a limited partnership, means a general partner as defined in the Limited Partnerships Act 2008; [37/2008 wef 04/05/2009] [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “public accountant” means any person registered or deemed to be registered under the Accountants Act (Cap. 2) as a public accountant; [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “public authority” means such board, authority or agency established by or under any public Act to perform or discharge any public function as the Minister approves for the purposes of section 3; [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
“responsible position”, in relation to a housing developer, means —| (a) | in the case of a housing developer that is a company, a director, manager or secretary or a person in a position analogous to that of a director, manager or secretary; | | (b) | in the case of a housing developer that is a society, a president, secretary or treasurer or a person in a position analogous to that of a president, secretary or treasurer; | | (c) | in the case of a housing developer that is a partnership, a partner; | | (d) | in the case of a housing developer that is a limited liability partnership, a partner or manager or a person in a position analogous to that of a manager; or | | (e) | in the case of a housing developer that is a group of persons, any person in that group; [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
|
| “show unit” means any representation or reproduction of any house, flat or other housing accommodation, or any part thereof, that is built, or built and furnished, for viewing by prospective purchasers of, or otherwise for the purpose of promoting the sale of, the or any similar house, flat or other housing accommodation; [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| “unit” means a horizontal stratum of any building or part thereof, whether such stratum is on one or more levels, and which is intended for use in accordance with the provisions of any written law as a complete and separate unit for residential or commercial purpose. [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
| (2) In this Act, unless it is expressly provided to the contrary, the words “group of persons” shall not include a partnership. [37/2008 wef 04/05/2009] |
|
| Appointment of Controller, inspectors, etc. |
3.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint a public officer or an officer of a public authority to be the Controller of Housing for the purposes of this Act.| (2) The Controller shall, subject to any general or special directions of the Minister, be responsible for the administration of this Act and shall perform such duties as are imposed and may exercise such powers as are conferred upon him by this Act and any rules made thereunder. |
(3) The Controller may appoint, by name or office, from among public officers or officers of a public authority —| (a) | a Deputy Controller of Housing; and | | (b) | such number of inspectors as may be required for the purposes of this Act. |
|
| (4) The Deputy Controller may, subject to such directions as may be specified by the Controller, perform all or any of the functions of the Controller or exercise all or any of the powers of the Controller conferred on the Controller by this Act and any rules made thereunder; and any reference in this Act and any rules made thereunder to the Controller shall include a reference to the Deputy Controller. |
| (5) The Controller may authorise any public officer or any officer of a public authority to perform all or any of the functions of the Controller or exercise all or any of the powers of the Controller conferred on the Controller by this Act or any rules made thereunder (except the power of delegation conferred by this subsection), subject to such conditions or limitations as set out in this Act or as the Controller may specify by directions; and any reference in this Act and any rules made thereunder to the Controller shall include a reference to such authorised officer. |
| (6) In performing any function or exercising any power under a delegation under subsection (5), an authorised officer must comply with the directions of the Controller. |
| (7) No delegation under this section shall prevent the exercise of any function or power under this Act or any rules made thereunder by the Controller. |
(8) The Controller, the Deputy Controller and every authorised officer and inspector —| (a) | shall be deemed to be public servants for the purposes of the Penal Code (Cap. 224); and | | (b) | in relation to their administration, assessment, collection or enforcement of payment of composition sums, shall be deemed to be public officers for the purposes of the Financial Procedure Act (Cap. 109), and section 20 of that Act shall apply to such persons notwithstanding that they are not or were not in the employment of the Government. [Act 15 of 2013 wef 25/05/2015] |
|
|
|
