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Land Titles (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 18/1973

Read the first time on 19th March 1973.

An Act to amend the Land Titles Act (Chapter 276 of the Revised Edition).

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 Land Titles (Amendment) Act, 1973 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Amendment of section 5

2. Section 5 of the Land Titles Act (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the principal Act”) is hereby amended —

(a)	by inserting immediately after the expression “Deputy Registrars of Titles,” appearing in the second line of subsection (3) thereof the words “Assistant Registrars of Titles”; and
(b)	by inserting immediately after the word “Titles” appearing at the end of subsection (5) thereof the words “or an Assistant Registrar of Titles”.

Amendment of section 6

3. Subsection (2) of section 6 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “Deputy” appearing in the third line thereof the words “or Assistant”.

New sections 8A, 8B and 8C

4. The principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 8 thereof the following new sections: —

“Effect of mortgage of right, title and interest in land surrendered and notified on land register

8A.—(1) Where unregistered land has been surrendered to the State for the re-issue of one or more fresh titles freed and discharged from any subsisting mortgage registered under the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281), the person entitled to be issued with the fresh title or titles in respect of the whole or part of the land surrendered may, with the written consent of the Collector of Land Revenue and the Registrar, create a mortgage in respect of his right, title and interest therein prior to the issue of a certificate by the Collector of Land Revenue or the issue of a State grant or lease by the President, as the case may be, with the intent that the said mortgage shall pro tanto be in substitution of a mortgage which was subsisting prior to the surrender of the unregistered land.

(2) The following provisions shall apply to any mortgage created in accordance with subsection (1) of this section: —

(a)	notwithstanding any other provision of this Act the mortgage created in accordance with subsection (1) of this section may be registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act;
(b)	where the said mortgage has been registered (provisionally or otherwise) under the Registration of Deeds Act the person claiming as mortgagee under the said mortgage may lodge an application with the Registrar for notification of the said mortgage on the relevant folio (when created) of the land-register, and the Registrar shall, if satisfied that the application is in order, pending the creation of the folio of the land-register record the application in a provisional register-book, and thereupon the mortgage shall constitute a legal mortgage to the extent that the mortgagee of the said mortgage may exercise the same powers as if he is a legal mortgagee; and
(c)	where the Registrar has recorded the application for the notification of the mortgage pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subsection, the Registrar shall notify the mortgage on the relevant folio (when created) of the land-register, and the provisions of subsections (5), (6) and (7) of section 17 of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the said mortgage.

(3) Nothing in this section shall require the Registrar to notify any mortgage created in accordance with subsection (1) of this section on the folio (when created) of the land-register unless an application to notify the mortgage has been lodged with and accepted by the Registrar as being in order for notification, and except in the case of fraud a purchaser dealing with the whole or part of the land on or after the date when the said land has been brought under this Act pursuant to the re-issue of a fresh title or titles subsequent to a surrender to the State shall not be deemed to have notice of any mortgage which has not been notified by the Registrar on the folio (when created) of the land-register.

(4) Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, no assurance of any unregistered land surrendered to the President or any part thereof made by the person entitled to be issued with one or more fresh titles in respect of the surrendered land shall be capable of being registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) and the Registrar of Deeds shall have the power to refuse the registration of that assurance when presented for registration, or in the case where that assurance has been registered the Registrar of Deeds shall have the power to cancel the registration of that assurance and any entries relating thereto, except that before the Registrar issues a certificate of title pursuant to the receipt of a certificate by the Collector of Land Revenue or a State grant or lease issued for the unregistered land surrendered or any part thereof —

(a)

a mortgage created in accordance with subsection (1) of this section and an assurance dealing with the said mortgage made with the consent of the Collector of Land Revenue and the Registrar may be registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281); and

(b)

an assurance made in favour of a purchaser by the mortgagee exercising his power of sale under the mortgage created in accordance with subsection (1) of this section may, with the consent of the Collector of Land Revenue, be registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act, and upon acceptance by the Registrar of Deeds of the assurance for registration —

(i)

the purchaser from the mortgagee shall be deemed to be a successor in title of the right, title and interest in the land surrendered for a re-issue of a new title or titles to the extent of the whole or part of the land conveyed to the purchaser by the mortgagee under the assurance, and shall be bound by all the terms and obligations relating to the surrender of the whole or part of the land sold as if these terms and obligations have been made between the purchaser and the Collector of Land Revenue; and

(ii)

a certificate by the Collector of Land Revenue or a State grant or lease, as the case may be, shall be issued to the purchaser named in the assurance registered under the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) if the Collector of Land Revenue on behalf of the President is satisfied with the right, title or interest conveyed to the purchaser by the mortgagee under the assurance.

Surrender of title subject to mortgage registered in the Registry of Deeds

8B.—(1) Where the President agrees to accept the surrender of any unregistered land for the re-issue of one or more fresh titles under any existing law or otherwise agreed upon between the President and the proprietor of the land, as the case may be, the President may accept a surrender of the land subject to any subsisting mortgage registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act and in lieu thereof issue a fresh title or titles for the land surrendered subject to such mortgage:

Provided always that such surrender shall not be accepted unless —

(a)	the fresh title or titles to be issued will be of the same tenure as that of the title to the land to be surrendered;
(b)	the mortgagee claiming under the subsisting mortgage has given his consent in writing to the surrender and the re-issue of the fresh title or titles; and
(c)	the Registrar has given his consent in writing to the surrender.

(2) Where the President has accepted a surrender of the unregistered land subject to any subsisting mortgage registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, a certificate may be issued by the Collector of Land Revenue or a State grant or lease may be issued by the President, as the case may be, and such certificate or State grant or lease shall be endorsed by the Collector of Land Revenue with a notification of the registered subsisting mortgage and forwarded by the Commissioner of Lands to the Registrar.

(3) The Registrar after receipt of the certificate issued by the Collector of Land Revenue or the State grant or lease endorsed with the notification of the subsisting mortgage shall bring the land comprised therein under the provisions of this Act and have the endorsed subsisting mortgage notified on the relevant folio (when created) of the land-register, and thereafter deliver the relevant duplicate certificate of title to the person entitled thereto.

(4) The provisions of subsections (2) to (5) of section 8 of this Act shall apply to a certificate of title issued pursuant to a Collector’s certificate issued by the Collector of Land Revenue under this section.

(5) Where the Registrar has entered a notification of the subsisting mortgage on the relevant folio of the land-register pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, the provisions of subsections (5), (6) and (7) of section 17 of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to the notified mortgage.

(6) Subject to the provisions of subsection (5) of this section, where any unregistered land or part thereof has been surrendered to the President and no certificate of title has yet been issued by the Registrar, the provisions of subsection (4) of section 8A of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to that unregistered land or part thereof.

Powers of the Registrar of Deeds to refuse registration or cancel deeds registered

8C. Where an assurance which requires the prior written consent of both the Collector of Land Revenue and the Registrar or either of them, as the case may be, under section 8A or 8B of this Act has been made without the endorsement of the written consent thereon —

(a)	the Registrar of Deeds shall have the power to refuse to accept for registration that assurance when presented for registration, or in the case where that assurance has been registered under the provisions of the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281) the Registrar of Deeds shall have the power to cancel the registration of that assurance and any entries relating thereto; and
(b)	the Collector of Land Revenue shall disregard that assurance and may issue a fresh title or titles as if that assurance has not been made.”.

Amendment of section 10

5. Section 10 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by inserting immediately after subsection (4) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(5) A certificate of title, qualified or unqualified, issued pursuant to this section on, before or after the date of commencement of the Land Titles (Amendment) Act, 1973 may, if the circumstances so require, be qualified as to boundaries and dimensions, and the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of section 144 of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply thereto.”; and

(b)

by renumbering the existing subsections (5), (6), (7), (8) and (9) thereof as subsections (6), (7), (8), (9) and (10) respectively.

Amendment of section 13

6. Section 13 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting subsection (3) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(3) Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section where the unregistered land comprises any subdivided building or where the proprietor has notified the Registrar in writing that any building to be erected on the unregistered land is intended to be dealt with in parts after subdivision approval thereof has been granted under the Planning Act (Cap. 279), the Registrar shall —

(a)	proceed under the provisions of paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section; or
(b)	proceed under the provisions of paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section; or
(c)	direct the proprietor to lodge a primary application pursuant to section 10 of this Act,

except that in any case where the Registrar is unable to proceed under any of the provisions of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this subection he may, in his discretion, proceed under paragraph (c) of subsection (2) of this section.”;

(b)

by inserting immediately after subsection (5) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(6) A qualified certificate of title issued pursuant to paragrah (b) of subsection (2) of this section on, before or after the date of commencement of the Land Titles (Amendment) Act, 1973 may, if the circumstances so require, be qualified as to boundaries and dimensions, and the provisions of subsections (3) and (4) of section 144 of this Act shall, mutatis mutandis, apply thereto.”;

(c)

by deleting the definition of “assurance” appearing in subsection (8) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“ “assurance” has the same meaning as in the Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 281);”; and

(d)

by renumbering subsections (6), (7) and (8) thereof as subsections (7), (8) and (9) respectively.

Amendment of section 47

7. Subsection (2) of section 47 of the principal Act is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the word “or” appearing at the end of paragrah (d) thereof;

(b)

by inserting immediately after paragraph (d) thereof the following new paragraph: —

“(e)	the proprietor under his lawfully altered name where such name is different from that registered in the landregister; or”; and

(c)

by re-lettering paragraph (e) thereof as paragraph (f).

Amendment of section 50

8. Section 50 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after subsection (6) thereof the following new subsection: —

“(7) Where the certificate is signed by any party or by an officer of any corporation, divesting or acquiring title, the Registrar may in order to satisfy himself as to the identity and capacity of the signatory require such person to appear before him.”.

Amendment of section 51

9. Subsection (1) of section 51 of the principal Act is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “within” appearing in the fourth line thereof the words “Singapore and the States of”.

Amendment of section 103

10. Subsection (3) of section 103 of the principal Act is hereby deleted and the following substituted therefor: —

“(3) A caveat which is not in order for entry in the land-register at the date of lodgement of the caveat shall not take effect until —

(a)	in the case where the caveat is amended at the office of the Registrar, the caveat is rectified in accordance with the requirements specified by the Registrar pursuant to section 101 of this Act; or
(b)	in the case where the caveat is returned to the caveator or his solicitor for amendment, the caveat is received by the Registrar duly rectified in accordance with the requirements specified by the Registrar pursuant to section 101 of this Act.”.

Amendment of section 138

11. Subsection (1) of section 138 of the principal Act is hereby amended by deleting paragraph (a) thereof and substituting therefor the following: —

“(a)	correct any folio of the land-register which is erroneous because of the entry of a mis-spelt name, or of the inclusion of land already included in a prior folio, or of the wrong description of parcels or of boundaries;”.