10. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 48 thereof the following new sections: —“Board may compulsorily acquire property sold subject to the provisions of this Part |
48A.—(1) The Board may compulsorily acquire any flat, house or other living accommodation sold subject to the provisions of this Part, whether before or after the date of the commencement of the Housing and Development (Amendment) Act, 1975 —(a) | if the owner thereof and his spouse, if any, has, in the opinion of the Board, ceased to occupy the same; or | (b) | if the owner thereof or his spouse has at any time, whether before or after the date of the commencement of the Housing and Development (Amendment) Act, 1975, acquired whether by operation of law or otherwise any title to or an estate or interest in any other flat, house or building or land; or | (c) | if the owner thereof has, in the opinion of the Board, used the flat, house or other living accommodation otherwise than for the purpose permitted by the lease; or | (d) | if the owner thereof has permitted any person other than an authorised occupier to reside or stay in the flat, house or other living accommodation; or | (e) | if the owner thereof has failed to perform or observe any condition contained in the lease to be performed or observed on the part of the owner after a notice in writing has been sent by the Board drawing his attention to the non-performance or non-observance of the condition in the lease and the Board is of the opinion that he is likely to continue to do the same if he should continue to own the flat, house or other living accommodation; or | (f) | if the owner thereof has made a misleading or false statement in his application to the Board for the purchase of the same; or | (g) | if the owner thereof has made a misrepresentation of a material fact, whether innocently or otherwise, in his application to the Board for the purchase of the same; or | (h) | if the owner thereof assigns, underlets or parts with the possession of the same or any part thereof without obtaining the prior written consent of the Board as required by the lease; or | (i) | if, in the opinion of the Board, the flat, house or other living accommodation is not being occupied by such minimum number of persons as the Board may require; or | (j) | if the owner thereof has at any time, whether before or after the date of commencement of the Housing and Development (Amendment) Act, 1975, ceased to be a citizen of Singapore; or | (k) | if the rent or any payments or any part thereof due to the Board reserved under the lease or mortgage remains unpaid for three calendar months after they are due and payable and the Board has sent a notice of demand in writing to the owner thereof. |
(2) Where the Board intends to exercise its powers of compulsory acquisition conferred by this section, the Board shall serve a notice in writing on the owner of the flat, house or other living accommodation and all persons known or believed to be interested in claiming all or any part of the compensation to be paid for the flat, house or other living accommodation (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “an interested person”) stating the Board’s intention to acquire the premises and the compensation to be paid therefor. |
(3) An owner or interested person who objects to a proposed acquisition by the Board may within twenty-eight days after the service of a notice referred to in subsection (2) of this section submit in writing to the Board precisely the grounds upon which the objects to the acquisition and the compensation offered by the Board. |
(4) The Board shall consider the objection and may either disallow it or allow it either wholly or in part, and shall serve the owner or interested person by post or otherwise with a written notice of its decision. |
(5) Any owner or interested person aggrieved by the decision of the Board may, within twenty-eight days after the date of service of such decision, appeal to the Minister in the prescribed manner whose decision thereon shall be final. |
(6) This section shall not limit or affect the powers conferred upon the Board by any other provision of this Act or under any other written law to exercise its right of forfeiture and right of re-entry for a breach of the conditions of a lease. |
(7) The compensation to be paid by the Board for any flat, house or other living accommodation compulsorily acquired by the Board under this section shall be determined by the Board. |
|
Vesting of acquired property in the Board |
48B.—(1) When the Board has made a decision pursuant to section 48A of this Act to compulsorily acquire a flat, house or other living accommodation, the Board may —(a) | lodge an instrument with the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, for the vesting in the Board of the title to or the estate or interest in that flat, house or other living accommodation —(i) | in the case where no objection has been made pursuant to section 48C of this Act, on the expiry of a period of twenty-eight days after the date of service of the notice referred to in subsection (4) of section 48A; and | (ii) | in the case where an appeal has been made to the Minister, at any time after the appeal has been determined by the Minister or when the appeal is withdrawn, as the case may be; and |
| (b) | in the case where no lease has been registered in favour of the owner, serve a written notice to terminate the agreement for a lease and to repossess the flat, house or other living accommodation or part thereof in the name of the whole and thereupon any interest of the purchaser shall absolutely determine. |
(2) The Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles shall register any instrument lodged under subsection (1) of this section without being concerned to inquire into its regularity or validity and —(a) | in the case of a flat, house or other living accommodation 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 other living accommodation has been vested in the Board and upon that entry being made; or | (b) | in the case of a flat, house or other living accommodation registered under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 276), the Registrar of Titles shall register the instrument on the relevant folio of the land register without the necessity of the production of the duplicate certificate of title and upon registration thereof, |
the title to and the estate or interest in the flat, house or other living accommodation shall vest in the Board free from all incumbrances, subject to such subsisting covenants, conditions or restrictions, if any, as may be binding on the Board, and the Registrar of Deeds or the Registrar of Titles, as the case may be, shall cancel the registration of any mortgage, charge or lease thereby overreached. |
|
|
48C.—(1) The Board shall pay the compensation determined by the Board or varied by the Minister on an appeal to an owner or to both an owner and an interested person in such proportion as the Board may decide or as may be varied by the Minister and in the case where any party refuses to accept it or where there is a dispute between the parties to the proportion they are entitled to the compensation to be paid the Board shall apply to the High Court ex parte by summons supported by an affidavit for an order to deposit the amount of the compensation or any part thereof in Court and, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Rules of the Supreme Court for the time being in force the High Court may make such an order.(2) The Board may withold any compensation payable in respect of any flat, house or other living accommodation vested in the Board under this Act to any person until the Board has taken possession of that flat, house or other living accommodation. |
|
48D. Where any flat, house or other living accommodation has been vested in the Board pursuant to section 41, 45 or 48B, the Board may proceed to take possession of that flat, house or other living accommodation on the expiry of a period of thirty days after the service of a notice on the owner thereof and if any of the officers of the Board is opposed or impeded in taking possession under this section of any flat, house or other living accommodation, the Board may take such measures (including the calling for the assistance of the police) as are necessary to have the occupants evicted from and to enforce the surrender of the same and to remove all things and other movable property found therein. |
48E. Any person who makes any statement in his application to the Board for the purchase of a flat, house or other living accommodation which is false, and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. |
48F.—(1) Any person who being the lessee of a flat, house or other living accommodation sold by the Board subject to the provisions of this Part assigns, underlets or parts with the possession of the said flat, house or other living accommodation or any part thereof without obtaining the prior consent of the Board as required by the lease shall be gulity of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.(2) Any person who abets the commission of an offence under this section shall be punished with the punishment provided for the offence.”. |
|
|
|