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Recovery of Possession of Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Bill

Bill No. 14/1968

Read the first time on 9th May 1968.

An Act to provide for the recovery of possession of premises for development purposes where the premises are subject to control under the Control of Rent Ordinance (Chapter 242 of the Revised Edition), for the establishment of a Board to hear applications for recovery of possession of such premises and to assess the amount of compensation to be paid to tenants and sub-tenants on account of such recovery of possession and for purposes connected therewith.

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 Recovery of Possession of Controlled Premises (Special Provisions) Act, 1968, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Board” means the Tenants’ Compensation Board constituted under section 6 of this Act;

“controlled premises” means any premises occupied or used as a dwelling house, flat, factory, warehouse, office, counting house, shop, school and any other building, whether of permanent or temporary construction in which persons are employed, and any part of any such building let or sublet separately; and includes any land whereon any such building is or has been erected with the consent of the landlord, where such premises are subject to control pursuant to the provisions of the Control of Rent Ordinance (Cap. 242) and are situated in a designated development area;

“Chairman” means the Chairman of the Board;

“designated development area” means an area designated for development by the Minister under subsection (1) of section 3 of this Act;

“develop” means to carry out any building, engineering or other operations in, on or over land in accordance with a plan for development; and “development” shall be construed accordingly;

“landlord” means the landlord of controlled premises in respect of which a tenancy exists and includes the landlord of a statutory tenant and in the case of a sub-tenancy a tenant who sublets the premises or any part thereof;

“plan for development” means a plan for development approved by a public officer appointed by the Minister for the purpose;

“rent” means the total amount paid by the tenant to the landlord in consideration of the enjoyment of the premises let to him, whether described as rent or not, and includes any sum paid as hire for the use of furniture where controlled premises are let furnished or where controlled premises are let and the furniture therein is hired by the landlord to the tenant;

“tenancy” means any lease, demise, letting or holding of controlled premises whether in writing or otherwise, by virtue whereof the relationship of landlord and tenant is created, but does not include the letting or hiring of furnished rooms with board;

“tenant” means the tenant of controlled premises in respect of which a tenancy exists and includes a statutory tenant and in the case of a sub-tenancy a sub-tenant to whom the controlled premises or part thereof is sublet.

Minister may declare any area to be a designated development area

3.—(1) The Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, declare any part of Singapore to be a designated development area for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The notification shall state that a plan for development and more particular description of the part of Singapore that is referred to in the notification may be inspected at such place or places as are specified in the notification.

(3) Upon publication of the notification in the Gazette that part of Singapore referred to in the notification shall become a designated development area for the purposes of this Act.

Recovery of possession of controlled premises for the purpose of development

4.—(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of any written law but subject to the provisions of this Act, a landlord of any controlled premises may, upon payment of the prescribed fee, apply in writing to the Board for the recovery of the possession thereof if —

(a)	the controlled premises are situated in a designated development area; and
(b)	the landlord intends to effect or cause to be effected development under this Act in relation to the controlled premises, or any part thereof.

(2) Every application made under subsection (1) of this section shall be supported by —

(a)	evidence that funds are available for the purpose of putting into effect such development;
(b)	evidence that the landlord has obtained written approval for a plan of development;
(c)	an undertaking in writing that work for the purpose of putting into effect such development will commence within six months of the date when possession of the controlled premises shall have been obtained or such further period as the Board may determine in any particular case;
(d)	an undertaking in writing that the landlord will deposit with the Board within fourteen days of the date that he is notified by the Board that his application has been granted such amount of compensation as the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Act determines to be a fair and reasonable compensation to the tenant for any damage or loss which would be sustained or any reasonable expenses which would be incurred by the tenant as a result of such recovery of the controlled premises.

(3) The Board after considering the application made under subsection (1) of this section and upon being satisfied as to the matters referred to in subsection (2) of this section may grant the application and make an order accordingly for the landlord to recover possession of the controlled premises.

(4) Where the Board makes an order for the recovery of possession of any controlled premises the following provisions shall apply: —

(a)	the landlord shall within fourteen days of the making of the order deposit with the Board the amount of compensation awarded in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of this Act and if he fails to deposit the same the order shall, unless the Board otherwise determines, be deemed to be revoked and of no legal effect; and
(b)	every tenant against whom the order is made shall vacate the controlled premises in question within ninety days of the making of the order or within such further period as the Board in any particular case may allow; and on vacating those controlled premises, or any part thereof, such tenant may remove any building or structure erected by him on those controlled premises.

(5) Upon vacating those controlled premises the compensation awarded under section 7 of this Act and deposited under subsection (4) of this section shall be paid by the Board to the tenant against whom the order was made.

(6) Where the tenant fails to vacate those controlled premises within the period of ninety days of the making of such order, or within such further period as the Board has allowed, the Board may, without further order, take such measures (including the calling for the assistance of the police) as are necessary to have the tenant evicted from the controlled premises.

(7) The controlled premises vacated by the tenant under this section shall not be used by the landlord for any purpose other than effecting development in accordance with the plan approved for such purpose and until such development is effected such controlled premises shall not be sold, leased, mortgaged, or otherwise disposed of, without the consent in writing of the Board.

(8) Any tenant who without just cause fails to vacate the controlled premises in contravention of an order made under this section and any landlord who in contravention of subsection (7) of this section uses any controlled premises, the possession of which is recovered under this section, otherwise than for the purpose of effecting development in accordance with a plan approved for such purpose, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine and shall also be liable to a further fine of one hundred dollars for every day during which the contravention continues.

Compulsory acquisition of land where landlord fails to develop

5.—(1) Where a landlord who has recovered possession of controlled premises pursuant to an order under section 4 of this Act fails or neglects —

(a)	to commence development in accordance with a plan for development approved for such purpose within six months of the date on which he recovered possession of such controlled premises, or such later date as the Board has allowed; or
(b)	to complete development in accordance with a plan for development approved for such purpose and within such time (such time being not less than three years and not more than ten years) as the Board considers reasonable in any particular case,

the Board may request and the President may, if he thinks fit, direct the acquisition of the controlled premises.

(2) Where a direction has been made under subsection (1) of this section such controlled premises may be acquired in accordance with the provisions of any written law relating to the acquisition of land for residential, commercial or industrial purposes and any declaration required under any such law that such land is so needed may be made notwithstanding that compensation has been paid by the landlord to any tenant under this Act or an ex gratia payment made to any other person.

(3) Such direction shall have effect as if it were a declaration that such controlled premises are needed for residential, commercial or industrial purposes made under section 5 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1966 (Act 41 of 1966), and the provisions of that Act shall, subject to subsection (4) of this section, apply mutatis mutandis to a direction under this section as they apply to a declaration under that Act.

(4) Where controlled premises are acquired pursuant to a direction of the President under this section the value of the controlled premises shall be deemed to be the market value of such controlled premises as on the date of the landlord’s application to recover possession of the controlled premises made under section 4 of this Act.

Constitution of Board

6.—(1) For the purposes of this Act there shall be constituted a Board called the “Tenants’ Compensation Board” consisting of a Chairman and such number of persons, not being less than three persons or more than ten persons, as the Minister may think fit.

(2) The Chairman and every member of the Board shall be appointed by the Minister and upon appointment, the name of the Chairman and every member of the Board, shall be published in the Gazette.

(3) The Chairman shall preside at all meetings of the Board.

(4) No person shall be eligible to be appointed, or to remain, a member of the Board who —

(a)	is an undischarged bankrupt;
(b)	has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term exceeding six months and has not received a free pardon; or
(c)	is a person found or declared under any written law to be of unsound mind.

(5) Any person including the Chairman, who is appointed to the Board shall save where his appointment is revoked by the Minister under the provisions of subsection (6) of this section be a member of the Board, unless he resigns during the period of appointment, for a period of three years or for such shorter period as the Minister may in any case determine but shall be eligible for re-appointment.

(6) The Minister may at any time revoke the appointment of a member of the Board.

(7) Where a person ceases to be a member of the Board the Minister shall as soon as is reasonably practicable take steps to fill the vacancy but the existence of any vacancy in the Board shall not invalidate the acts of the Board.

(8) Every member of the Board when and so long as he is serving on the Board shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the Penal Code (Cap. 119) and the proceedings of the Board shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings.

(9) There shall be paid to the members of the Board such salaries, fees and allowances as the Minister may determine.

(10) Any interested party may be represented before the Board by an advocate and solicitor of the High Court or by such agent as the interested party may appoint.

(11) Every summons and notice issued under the hand of the Chairman shall be deemed to be issued by the Board.

(12) The functions of the Board under this Act shall be —

(a)	to hear and determine applications by landlords for the recovery of controlled premises;
(b)	to award to tenants of controlled premises, possession of which is recovered by the landlord under this Act, such compensation as the Board considers fair and reasonable under section 7 of this Act; and
(c)	to determine and apportion compensation as between tenant and sub-tenant.

(13) The Minister may appoint a Secretary of the Board and such other officers and servants of the Board as may be necessary.

Payment of compensation to tenants to be within certain limits

7.—(1) Where the Board has made an order under subsection (3) of section 4 of this Act in favour of a landlord of controlled premises, the following provisions with regard to quantum of compensation to be awarded by the Board to any tenant and sub-tenant shall apply: —

(a)	in the case of controlled premises or part thereof occupied or used for commercial purposes the amount of compensation to be awarded shall be such amount as the Board considers fair and reasonable except that any amount of compensation, so awarded, shall not be less than the total of eight years’ rent paid over the period of the eight years preceding the date of the application by the landlord to the Board;
(b)	in the case of controlled premises or any part thereof that are occupied or used for residential purposes the amount of compensation to be awarded shall be such amount as the Board considers fair and reasonable except that any amount of compensation, so awarded, shall not be less than the total of six years’ rent paid over the period of the six years preceding the date of the application by the landlord to the Board; and
(c)	in the case of controlled premises or any part thereof which when originally let consisted of vacant land but there has since been erected thereon a building or buildings of a temporary character, an amount of not less than the total of twelve years’ ground rental and the value of the building or buildings thereon as determined by the Board as being the market value at the date of the application by the landlord, or the cost of demolishing the same and transporting the materials derived from such demolition to another site, as the Board may reasonably allow.

(2) In determining the amount of compensation to be awarded to a tenant and sub-tenant under this section, the Board shall have regard to the following matters: —

(a)

in the case of controlled premises used or occupied for commercial purposes —

(i)	loss of income attributable to the recovery of possession of the controlled premises;
(ii)	loss of goodwill (if any) attributable to the change of location of the controlled premises;
(iii)	loss attributable to disruption of business caused by removal to another site;
(iv)	cost of removal to another site;
(v)	annual rent paid for the controlled premises;
(vi)	length of time that the controlled premises have been subject to control under the Control of Rent Ordinance (Cap. 242); and

(b)

in the case of controlled premises, used or occupied for residential purposes, sub-paragraphs (iv), (v) and (vi) of paragraph (a) of this subsection only shall be taken into account.

(3) For the purposes of this section the expression “commercial purposes” means controlled premises used or occupied for purposes of carrying on any business, trade, profession or vocation and includes the use or occupation of any controlled premises as a school or club or other like institution or association; and the expression “residential purposes” means controlled premises used or occupied for purposes of human habitation.

Landlord may make compensation agreement with tenant and sub-tenant

8.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall preclude a landlord who has been granted an order to recover possession of controlled premises under this Act from making an agreement with a tenant and sub-tenant (if any) as to the quantum of compensation to be paid.

(2) If such agreement has been made and the compensation agreed upon has been paid to the tenant and sub-tenant (if any) the landlord shall inform the Board of such fact and the Board shall, thereupon, cause the agreement to be registered in the register kept for the purpose of registering compensation awards under this Act.

(3) Upon registration of such agreement the agreement shall operate in all respect and for all purposes as if it was an order of the Board as to compensation made under this Act.

Circumstances where landlord not liable to pay compensation to a sub-tenant

9.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a landlord who recovers possession of controlled premises pursuant to an order of the Board made under section 4 of this Act shall not be liable to pay compensation to a sub-tenant if the tenant of the controlled premises —

(a)	has sublet the controlled premises contrary to the terms of his tenancy with the landlord; or
(b)	has been convicted of an offence under section 21 of the Control of Rent Ordinance (Cap. 242).

(2) Where by virtue of the operation of subsection (1) of this section a landlord is not liable to pay compensation to a sub-tenant it shall be the duty and obligation of the tenant to pay to his sub-tenant out of any amount of compensation paid to him pursuant to an order of the Board under subsection (5) of section 4 of this Act, such amount of compensation as the Board in accordance with the provisions of this Act determines to be fair and reasonable.

(3) If a tenant fails to pay to a sub-tenant the amount of compensation as determined by the Board he shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine.

Landlord may make ex gratia payments to persons using or occupying controlled premises who do not pay rent

10.—(1) Nothing in this Act shall preclude a landlord from making an ex gratia payment to any person (other than a tenant or sub-tenant) using or occupying any part of the controlled premises and not paying to the landlord any rent for such user or occupation under a tenancy, who is bound to vacate such part of the controlled premises consequent upon an order of the Board made in the landlord’s favour under section 4 of this Act.

(2) Such ex gratia payment shall be such sum as the landlord considers adequate to meet the cost of demolition or removal of any buildings erected by such person and such other charges as may reasonably be incurred in the removal of that person to another place in Singapore.

Order of Board to have effect to grant full and exclusive possession to landlord

11. Every order of the Board made in a landlord’s favour enabling him to recover possession of controlled premises under this Act shall, subject to this Act, be effective to grant to the landlord full and exclusive possession of those controlled premises.

Effect of order as against persons using or occupying the controlled premises who do not pay rent

12.—(1) Where, pursuant to an order of the Board made under this Act, a landlord recovers, and enters into, possession of controlled premises that order shall, notwithstanding anything in any written law, be enforceable against any person using or occupying the controlled premises who does not pay rent to and has no tenancy with, the landlord in respect of that user or occupation.

(2) Where any person so using or occupying the controlled premises fails to deliver up possession and vacate the controlled premises within such period as the Board may determine (being a period not exceeding two months of the date that the landlord enters into possession thereof) the Board may take such measures (including the calling for the assistance of the police) as are necessary to have such person evicted from the controlled premises.

(3) Any person who fails or neglects to deliver up possession and vacate the controlled premises in contravention of the order of the Board shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to both such imprisonment and fine and shall be liable to a further fine of one hundred dollars for every day during which the contravention continues.

(4) The provisions of this section shall not prejudice, restrict, or in any way affect, any right of the landlord to pursue any action or remedy that is available to him under the general law relating to eviction of trespassers from land.

Powers of the Board to examine on oath, etc

13. The Board shall have powers to examine any witness on oath, to summon any person to appear before it and to require any interested party or witness to produce any relevant document which the Board may require.

Duty of Board to advise tenants and sub-tenants of landlord’s application

14.—(1) Upon an application being made by a landlord to recover possession of controlled premises under subsection (1) of section 4 of this Act and before any order is made in the landlord’s favour under subsection (3) of that section the Board shall cause a notice in the Malay, Chinese, Tamil and English languages to be exhibited in the controlled premises in question.

(2) Such notice shall inform every tenant and sub-tenant of the controlled premises that —

(a)	the landlord has made an application to the Board to recover possession of the controlled premises;
(b)	the Board intends to consider such application on the date and at the place stated in the notice; and
(c)	if the landlord obtains an order for possession of the controlled premises the Board proposes to determine the quantum of compensation to be awarded under this Act to every tenant and sub-tenant of such controlled premises.

(3) The notice shall further inform every tenant and sub-tenant that he may attend the proceedings of the Board on the date and at the place specified in the notice and, if he so attends, he shall have an opportunity of being heard and producing such evidence, oral or documentary, as seems relevant to the Board.

Orders and awards of Board to be binding and final

15.—(1) Any order of the Board made under section 4 of this Act shall be binding on any landlord, tenant and sub-tenant and any person using or occupying the controlled premises who does not pay rent to the landlord and has no tenancy with the landlord.

(2) Any award of compensation made by the Board under section 7 of this Act shall be binding upon the landlord, tenant and sub-tenant.

(3) Any order or award made by the Board under this Act shall be final and shall not be challenged, appealed, quashed or called in question in any court and shall not be subject to certiorari, prohibition, mandamus or injunction in any court on any account.

16.—(1) The Board shall cause to be kept a register called the “Compensation Awards Register” and shall record in such register details of every award of compensation made under this Act including such matters as the names of the landlord, tenant and sub-tenant, the address of the controlled premises, the amount of compensation awarded to the tenant and sub-tenant and the date of the award.

(2) This register shall be available for inspection by the public without payment of fee at the office of the Chairman.

Proof of order of Board

17. Any order of the Board may be proved in any court by the production of a copy thereof duly signed by the Chairman.

Rules

18.—(1) The Minister may make rules generally for carrying out the provisions of this Act and for the guidance of officers in all matters connected with this Act.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section the Minister may make rules —

(a)	prescribing the practice and procedure of the Board;
(b)	prescribing the fees to be charged in dealing with applications for recovery of possession of controlled premises under this Act; and
(c)	prescribing the places where and the times at which applications for the recovery of possession of controlled promises under this Act shall be heard by the Board.

(3) All such rules shall be published in the Gazette and shall be presented to Parliament as soon as may be after publication.