Land Titles Act 1993

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act which makes provision for the registration of titles to land.

[1 March 1994]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1. This Act is the Land Titles Act 1993.

Division into Parts

2. This Act is divided into Parts, as follows:

PART 1

...

sections 1-4

PART 2

...

sections 5-7

PART 3

Division 1

...

sections 8-18

Division 2

...

sections 19-24A

Division 3

...

sections 25-27

PART 4

...

sections 28-44

PART 5

Division 1

...

sections 45-49

Division 2

...

section 50

PART 6

...

sections 51-62

PART 7

...

sections 63-67

PART 8

Division 1

...

sections 68-80

Division 2

...

sections 81-85

PART 9

...

sections 86-93

PART 10

...

sections 94-106

PART 11

...

sections 107-114

PART 12

...

sections 115-130

PART 13

...

sections 131-137

PART 14

...

sections 138-141

PART 15

...

sections 142-145

PART 16

...

sections 146-150

PART 17

...

sections 151-160

PART 18

...

sections 161-164

PART 19

...

sections 165-176.

Reconciliation with existing laws

3.—(1) Except as provided in this Act, all Acts, regulations, rules, and other laws, and all practices, relating to estates and interests in land and operative at 1 March 1994, so far as they are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act in their application to registered land, are repealed.

(2) Nothing in this Act affects the right of the Collector of Land Revenue, or of any other person or authority empowered by any written law, to enter on registered land pursuant to such a power.

(3) Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the Registration of Deeds Act 1988 does not apply to registered land.

(4) This Act binds the Government.

Interpretation

4.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“approved form” means any form approved by the Registrar for the purposes of any of the provisions of this Act and includes an electronic form produced by making an electronic copy, image or reproduction of a written instrument;

“assurance”, in relation to unregistered land, has the meaning given by the Registration of Deeds Act 1988;

“assurance fund” means the assurance fund constituted under section 151;

“Authority” means the Singapore Land Authority established under the Singapore Land Authority Act 2001;

“caveatee” means the proprietor or other owner of land described in a caveat and to whom notice of the caveat is required to be given;

“caveator” means the person by whom or on whose behalf a caveat has been lodged;

“certificate of title” —

(a)	in relation to a manual folio, includes a duplicate certificate of title issued by the Registrar before or after 1 March 1994; and
(b)	in relation to a computer folio, includes a print‑out of that folio bearing a facsimile of the Registrar’s seal;

“Chief Surveyor” means the Chief Surveyor appointed under section 3 of the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act 1998;

“Collector” has the meaning given by the Land Revenue Collection Act 1940;

“competent authority”, in relation to any development or subdivision of land, means the competent authority appointed under section 5 of the Planning Act 1998 in respect of the development or subdivision of land, as the case may be;

“computer folio” means a folio that is not a manual folio;

“dealing” means any instrument other than a certificate of title or caveat which is registrable or capable of being made registrable under the provisions of this Act or in respect of which any entry or notification in the land‑register is by this Act required or permitted to be made;

“electronic instrument” means an instrument in an electronic form;

“executor” means the executor to whom probate has been granted, and includes an executor by right of representation;

“folio” means a folio of the land‑register, whether qualified or unqualified as to title;

“instrument” includes a transfer, lease, mortgage, transmission application, charge and any other application, or any other document in writing relating to any disposition, devolution or acquisition of land or any claim to or vesting of interest in land;

“interest”, in relation to land, means any interest in land recognised as such by law, and includes an estate in land;

“land” means —

(a)	the surface of any defined parcel of the earth, so much of the subterranean space below and so much of the column of airspace above the surface whether or not held apart from the surface as is reasonably necessary for the proprietor’s use and enjoyment, and includes any estate or interest therein and all vegetation growing thereon and structures affixed thereto; or
(b)	any parcel of airspace or any subterranean space whether or not held apart from the surface of the earth and described with certainty by reference to a plan approved by the Chief Surveyor and filed with the Authority, and includes any estate or interest therein and all vegetation growing thereon and structures affixed thereto,

and where the context so permits, the proprietorship of land includes natural rights to air, light, water and support and the right of access to any highway on which the land abuts;

“land‑register” means the land‑register that is maintained under section 28;

“Land Titles Registry” means the Land Titles Registry of the Authority;

“limited liability partnership” means any limited liability partnership whether registered in Singapore under the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005 or otherwise;

“manual folio” means a folio maintained by the Registrar wholly in the form of a document in writing;

“microfilm”, in relation to a document, includes storing a reproduction of the document on magnetic, optical or other medium in a computer from which a facsimile of the document may be perceived or further reproduced with the aid of a machine or other device;

“proprietor” means any person who appears from the land‑register to be the person entitled to an estate or interest in any land which has been brought under the provisions of this Act, and includes a mortgagee, chargee and lessee;

“purchaser” means a person who, in good faith and for valuable consideration, acquires an estate or interest in land, and includes a mortgagee, chargee and lessee; and “purchase” shall have a corresponding meaning;

“qualified folio” means a folio qualified as to title;

“registered land” means land which has been brought under the provisions of this Act by being included in a folio;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of Titles appointed under section 5;

“Registrar of Deeds” means the Registrar of Deeds appointed under the Registration of Deeds Act 1988;

“relevant authority” means any Government department or authority or statutory authority empowered to approve plans for development or subdivision of any land or plans relating to the construction of any building under the Planning Act 1998 or under any other written law and includes the competent authority;

“State title” means any grant or lease issued under the State Lands Act 1920 or State Lands Ordinance 1886 and includes a Crown grant or lease issued under the Crown Lands Ordinance 1886 at any time prior to 16 September 1963;

“subdivided building” has the meaning given by the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967;

“unregistered land” means any land which has not yet been brought under the provisions of this Act.

[8/2014; 11/2015]

(2) [Deleted by Act 8 of 2014]

(3) A reference to land alienated by the State includes a reference to land alienated by the Crown at any time prior to 16 September 1963.

(4) A reference in this Act to a facsimile of the Registrar’s seal is a reference to an official seal which is a facsimile of the seal of office mentioned in section 6(1).

(5) A reference in this Act to subdivision of land (whether registered or unregistered) permitted, approved or granted by the competent authority includes, where applicable, a reference to subdivision of land that is authorised by the Minister under a notification made under section 21(6) of the Planning Act 1998.

(6) Where by reason of any notification made by the Minister under section 21(6) of the Planning Act 1998 —

(a)	the strata subdivision of any building or class of buildings as specified in that notification is authorised; and
(b)	the approval by the competent authority of a strata subdivision plan for that building or class of buildings is not required under the Planning Act 1998,

then for the purposes of this Act, any reference to a subdivision plan issued or approved by the competent authority is, where applicable, to be construed to mean a reference to building plans approved by the relevant authority —

(c)

which are endorsed with a certificate by a surveyor who is registered under the Land Surveyors Act 1991 and has in force a practising certificate issued under that Act certifying that the boundaries of all the strata lots which the surveyor has delineated on the approved building plans have been endorsed by the proprietor of the development to be correct and in accordance with what was sold or agreed to be sold by the proprietor; and

(d)

which contain such other certifications and particulars as may be required by the Registrar or the Chief Surveyor.

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