Registration of Deeds Rules - Singapore Statutes Online

Registration of Deeds Act

(Chapter 269, Section 29)

Registration of Deeds Rules

R 1

G.N. No. S 380/1988

REVISED EDITION 2000

(30th April 2000)

[17th December 1988]

Citation

1. These Rules may be cited as the Registration of Deeds Rules.

Definition

2. In these Rules, any reference to a register, index, book or other record kept or maintained under the Act shall include a reference to a register, index, book or other record which was kept or maintained under the repealed Registration of Deeds Ordinance 1886 (XIII, 1886) or the repealed Registration of Deeds Act (Cap. 269, 1985 Ed.).

Inspection of register by public

3. During the hours prescribed for searches, any person may search the copy of the register which is kept on microfilm and other books required to be kept at the Registry upon payment of the prescribed fees and upon observance of the rules prescribed for such inspection.

Use of microfilm reader

4.—(1) No person making a search may use a microfilm reader provided by the Registrar for the use of members of the public for a period exceeding 30 minutes at any one time except when the microfilm reader is not required by another person who is also making a search.

(2) Priority shall be accorded by the Registrar to users of a microfilm reader on a first come, first served basis.

Hours of search and registration

5.—(1) The hours for inspection and search of the records kept at the Registry shall be from —

(a)	8.30 a.m. to 12 noon and from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Mondays to Fridays; and
(b)	9.30 a.m. to 11.30 a.m. on Saturdays.

(2) The hours for manually lodging instruments for registration shall be from 8.30 a.m. to 12 noon on every working day except Saturday.

(3) No inspection of records kept at the Registry shall be permitted and no instruments shall be lodged at the Registry on public holidays.

Use of lead pencil

6.—(1) No person shall use in the Registry any ink or other writing fluid or indelible pencil.

(2) Copies of, or extracts from, any document shall be made with lead pencil only.

(3) Any person who fails to comply with paragraph (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000.

Forms

7.—(1) Any person desiring to register an instrument or any dealing affecting any land shall use one of the forms set out in the Second Schedule for the registration of the instrument or dealing.

(2) Any form set out in the Second Schedule may be used with such variations, not being a matter of substance, as the character of the parties or the circumstances of the case may render necessary.

(3) The Registrar may, in his discretion, adopt new forms when the circumstances of the case render it necessary.

Address in Singapore

8. Every instrument shall contain an address in Singapore of the person or body corporate, as the case may be, acquiring any estate or interest in land under the instrument to whom or on which any notice authorised or required by the Act or these Rules may be served.

Quality and dimensions of forms

9.—(1) All instruments presented for enrolment in the Registry and requisitions for official searches shall be clearly legible for the purpose of microfilming under rule 10.

(2) Requisitions for official searches and all instruments presented for registration shall be typed, printed or photographically produced.

(3) All instruments and the plans (if any) annexed thereto presented for registration shall be made on wide-ruled durable quality paper and shall —

(a)	measure 30 centimetres in length by 21 centimetres in breadth (A4 size); and
(b)	allow an inner margin of approximately 5 centimetres in width and an outer margin of about 2 centimetres in width.

Preservation of records

10.—(1) For the purposes of preserving the Registry’s records, every instrument and its accompanying form in the Second Schedule presented for enrolment in the Registry shall on final registration be microfilmed under the Registrar’s direction.

(2) The Registrar shall retain or direct the relevant Government authority to retain a copy of the microfilm made under paragraph (1) for safe custody.

Copies of plans to be furnished

11.—(1) Rule 9 shall apply to any plan annexed to any instrument presented for registration and, in addition, the land or part thereof comprised in the instrument shall be clearly delineated and hatched and the plan shall be in a form suitable for microfilming.

(2) Where part of a demarcation lot is required to be surveyed under any written law to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor, a plan of that part of the demarcation lot shall be lodged with the Chief Surveyor who shall, upon approving the plan, allot a F.S. lot number (for example, Lot 6209FS Mukim 17).

(3) Where an instrument (including a caveat) affects the whole of a F.S. lot, there shall be shown in its schedule of description of land and in its memorial the F.S. lot number and such instrument when presented for registration shall not have any plan attached or annexed thereto to show the F.S. lot.

(4) Where the Chief Surveyor has already approved the areas and boundaries of any demarcation lot described in an instrument, the instrument when presented for registration shall not have any plan attached or annexed thereto to show that demarcation lot.

(5) Where the Registrar has accepted an instrument affecting a demarcation lot or the whole of a F.S. lot as described in paragraphs (3) and (4) for registration and it is subsequently discovered that a plan of that demarcation lot or F.S. lot has been attached to that instrument, the Registrar may require the plan to be detached and the deletion of all references to the plan appearing in the instrument and its memorial.

Area of land stated in any instrument or plan to be expressed in square metres

12.—(1) The area of land stated in any instrument and the plan (if any) annexed thereto which are presented for registration shall be expressed in square metres.

(2) The calculation of any such area shall be rounded off to the nearest one-tenth of a square metre.

Mode of conducting registration

13.—(1) Where the Registrar has accepted any instrument for provisional registration, the Registrar shall cause entries to be made forthwith in the margin of the instrument of —

(a)	the date and time when the instrument was presented at the Registry; and
(b)	the volume and number allotted to the instrument in accordance with rule 22.

(2) Every instrument which has been accepted by the Registrar for provisional registration shall not be regarded as having been registered under the Act until section 13(1) of the Act has been complied with.

(3) Every instrument which is provisionally registered and any document required to be produced to the Registrar for the purposes of registering the instrument shall as soon as possible be examined in order to ascertain whether section 13 of the Act has been complied with.

(4) The Registrar may retain the instrument together with the related documents (if any) until such time when the instrument is finally registered and microfilms of the relevant documents have been made under the Act.

(5) If the Registrar is not satisfied that all the requirements of the Act and the rules made thereunder and of any other written law have been complied with, the Registrar may, without refunding any fee paid in respect of the registration or provisional registration of the instrument, refuse to accept the instrument for provisional registration and in that case he shall forthwith give notice of such objection and of the grounds thereof to the person by whom the instrument was presented for registration.

(6) Where the Registrar has accepted any instrument for provisional registration and subsequently discovers that any requirement of the Act and the rules made thereunder and of any other written law has not been complied with, the Registrar shall as soon as possible give —

(a)	notice of his refusal to finalise the registration of the instrument; and
(b)	his grounds of objection to the person who presented the instrument for registration.

(7) Immediately after an instrument has been accepted for provisional registration, the Registrar shall cause the proper entries to be made in the index of lands.

(8) The Registrar may —

(a)	require any person presenting any instrument for registration to supply him with such information as may be necessary for the correct indexing of the instrument; and
(b)	retain any document produced to him for the registration of that instrument until such time when the information required in sub-paragraph (a) is duly supplied.

Unreasonable delay in complying with requisition stating grounds of objection

14.—(1) Where, in the opinion of the Registrar, there has been unreasonable delay in complying with any requisition made by him in connection with the registration of an instrument, the Registrar may forfeit the registration fee paid in respect of the instrument after giving to the person having conduct of the instrument 2 weeks’ notice in writing of his intention to do so.

(2) An instrument in respect of which the registration fee has been forfeited shall be deemed to have been withdrawn, and the Registrar shall —

(a)	proceed to cancel the particulars entered thereon and those in the Registry’s records; and
(b)	return the instrument to the person who presented it for registration.

(3) As and when the Registrar’s requisitions are complied with, the same instrument may be accepted for registration upon payment of a new lodgment fee.

(4) For the purposes of this rule, a delay shall not be considered unreasonable unless —

(a)	it has continued for more than 30 days from the date of the requisition of the Registrar; and
(b)	no satisfactory explanation of the delay has been furnished to the Registrar.

Memorials may be prepared in Registry

15. The Registrar may, upon a request being made and payment of the prescribed fee, prepare or cause to be prepared the memorial required under section 5 of the Act.

Registrar may dispense with compliance with certain provisions of Act

16.—(1) The Registrar may, in his discretion, dispense with compliance with any of the requirements of section 13(1)(c) of the Act in the following cases:

(a)

in every case where the land comprised in the instrument or memorial is situated within an area the map of which has neither been prepared under section 14 of the repealed Boundaries and Survey Maps Act (Cap. 25, 1985 Ed.) or under any written law made prior to 21st November 1884¹ nor published for a period of 6 months or, in the case of any land the boundaries of which are in dispute, until the dispute has been finally determined under the provisions of that Act;

¹Date of commencement of the Boundaries and Survey Maps Ordinance (Ord 8 of 1884).

(b)

in the case of any lease for a period not exceeding 7 years and any assignment thereof where the property demised by the lease forms a portion of a demarcation lot and a plan sufficient for its identification is endorsed upon or annexed to the instrument presented for registration;

(c)

where the instrument or memorial affects a portion of any demarcation lot and transfers the legal or equitable estate in such portion to the person by whom the instrument or memorial is presented for registration or forms a link in the title of that person, and that person is also the owner of the legal or equitable estate in the remainder of the demarcation lot;

(d)

in the case where any instrument or memorial comprises land or part thereof which has been brought under the provisions of the Land Titles Act (Cap. 157) and all survey fees due have been paid in respect of the land or part thereof except that survey has not been completed, or after completion, has not yet been approved by the Chief Surveyor, the Registrar when exercising his discretion shall endorse a statement on the instrument or memorial to the effect that the boundaries and dimensions of the land or part thereof described in the instrument or memorial are inconclusive and are subject to final survey to be approved by the Chief Surveyor;

(e)

in the case where the land or part thereof described in any caveat presented for registration forms part of any demarcation lot, and one or more plans sufficient for its identification and acceptable to the Registrar are annexed to the caveat, and where the survey is required to be approved by the Chief Surveyor, the Registrar when exercising his discretion shall endorse a statement on the instrument or memorial to the effect that the boundaries and dimensions of the land or part thereof described in the instrument or memorial are inconclusive and are subject to final survey to be approved by the Chief Surveyor;

(f)

in the case where the instrument grants any easement over land which forms part of any demarcation lot, and one or more plans sufficient for identification of the land affected by the easement and acceptable to the Registrar are annexed to the instrument presented for registration;

(g)

in the case where an instrument to register any charge or mortgage over land which forms part of any demarcation lot is presented for registration under the Act and is made in favour of the Central Provident Fund Board constituted under the Central Provident Fund Act (Cap. 36), and one or more plans sufficient for identification of the land comprised in the instrument and acceptable to the Registrar are annexed to the instrument, and where the survey is required to be approved by the Chief Surveyor, the Registrar when exercising his discretion shall endorse a statement on the instrument or memorial to the effect that the boundaries and dimensions of the land described in the instrument or memorial are inconclusive and are subject to final survey to be approved by the Chief Surveyor;

(h)

where parts of a demarcation lot are vested in the State at different stages and they ultimately constitute the whole demarcation lot, such parts of the demarcation lot need be identified only by plans approved by the Chief Surveyor or his duly authorised officer as if they were assurance plans within the meaning of the Land Surveyors Act (Cap. 156), subject to conclusiveness of their boundaries and areas;

(i)

where any part or parts of a demarcation lot is vested in the State and can be clearly identified by a plan approved by the Chief Surveyor or his duly authorised officer or any duly authorised registered surveyor appointed by the relevant Collector of Land Revenue to carry out the survey of the land affected, the Registrar when exercising his discretion shall endorse a statement on the relevant instrument or memorial to the effect that the boundaries and dimensions of the balance of the land which is not vested in the State are inconclusive and are subject to final survey to be approved by the Chief Surveyor; and

(j)

in the case of leases and assignments thereof where the property demised by the lease is a building occupying part of a demarcation lot and the house number of the building allotted by the relevant Government authority is given in the lease or instrument and in the memorial, or where the property demised by the lease is a portion of the building occupying the whole or a part of a demarcation lot and a description or plan of the portion of the building is given in the lease or instrument and in the memorial, sufficient to identify clearly the premises affected.

(2) In every such case, a note shall be made on the instrument or memorial and signed by the Registrar to the effect that, in the exercise of the discretion conferred by this rule, the Registrar has dispensed with compliance with the requirements of section 13(1)(c) of the Act.

Requisition for official searches

17.—(1) Every requisition for an official search of any instrument registered or enrolled under the Act or under any written law in force prior to 30th November 1988 shall be signed by or on behalf of the person requiring the search to be made.

(2) The Registrar shall cause a certificate of the result of the search signed by him and sealed with the seal of the Registry to be given to the person requiring the certificate.

(3) A duplicate of the certificate referred to in paragraph (2) shall be maintained in the record of official searches in the form of a microfilm or in a file.

Probate and letters of administration

18.—(1) In the case of a probate, the memorial shall be in Form 4 set out in the Second Schedule and signed by —

(a)	one of the trustees or executors of the will;
(b)	the person or persons claiming an interest thereunder in respect of the whole or part of the affected land comprised in one or more demarcation lots; or
(c)	the solicitor presenting the memorial for registration.

(2) In the case of letters of administration, the memorial shall be in Form 5 set out in the Second Schedule and signed by —

(a)	the administrator;
(b)	the person or persons claiming an interest in the estate of the intestate in respect of the whole or part of the affected land comprised in one or more demarcation lots; or
(c)	the solicitor presenting the memorial for registration.

Memorandum of lien or charge

19. Every memorandum of lien or charge shall be in Form 6 set out in the Second Schedule and signed by the person on whose behalf the memorandum of lien or charge is to be registered or by his agent duly authorised in that behalf.

Memorandum of discharge of lien or charge

20. Where any document enrolled in the register has reference to the creation or assignment of any lien or charge affecting any land and such lien or charge is thereafter satisfied or discharged, the following provisions shall have effect:

(a)

any person entitled to or claiming to be entitled to any interest in the land may present a memorandum of the discharge of any lien or charge on the land for registration;

(b)

every such memorandum of discharge of lien or charge shall —

(i)	be in Form 7 or 8 set out in the Second Schedule;
(ii)	be signed by the person who immediately before the satisfaction or discharge of the lien or charge was entitled to the benefit thereof or by his agent duly authorised by a power of attorney executed and authenticated in the manner specified by section 10 of the Act; and
(iii)	comply with section 11 of the Act;

(c)

every such memorandum of discharge of lien or charge which is endorsed by the chargee on the memorandum of the lien or charge shall be in Form 8 set out in the Second Schedule and the memorandum of the lien or charge so endorsed shall be presented for registration;

(d)

if the memorandum of discharge of lien or charge is in Form 7 set out in the Second Schedule, it shall refer to the registration volume and number of the memorandum of the lien or charge which is to be discharged and the memorandum of discharge of lien or charge may be accepted for registration without being accompanied by the memorandum of the lien or charge; and

(e)

the Registrar shall, immediately after acceptance of the memorandum of discharge of lien or charge for provisional registration, cause an appropriate entry to be made in the index of lands on the pages relating to the demarcation lots affected by the discharge of lien or charge but will not make an entry on the copy of the memorandum of lien or charge enrolled in the register.

Records to be kept at Registry

21. The following records shall be maintained by the Registrar:

(a)	the register;
(b)	the index of lands;
(c)	the index of caveats; and
(d)	the record of official searches.

22. The register shall consist of all instruments enrolled after final registration and the instruments shall be filed in the order in which they are received for the purposes of registration.

Index of lands

23.—(1) The Registrar shall cause proper entries to be made in the index of lands in respect of every instrument which has been provisionally registered.

(2) Such entries shall include the following:

(a)	in the case of a deed, the name of every party thereto;
(b)	in the case of a probate or letters of administration, the probate number, the name of the testator or intestate, and the name of the executor or administrator who has been granted probate or letters of administration;
(c)	in the case of an order of court, or certificate of appointment of trustee in bankruptcy, the title of the cause or matter wherein the same purports to be made, and the name of every party thereto;
(d)	in the case of a private Ordinance or Act, the title of the Ordinance or Act; and
(e)	in the case of a memorandum of the lien or charge or of discharge thereof, the names of the chargor and chargee.

Index of caveats

24.—(1) The Registrar shall cause proper entries to be made in the index of caveats in respect of every caveat, withdrawal, removal or cancellation of caveat which has been provisionally registered.

(2) Such entries shall include the following:

(a)	the names of the caveator and the caveatee;
(b)	the extent of the estate or interest in land claimed in the caveat;
(c)	where a caveat is cancelled by an order of court, the title of the cause or matter wherein the order of court was made and the name of every party thereto, and the name of the party in whose favour the order was granted; and
(d)	in the case of a removal or withdrawal of a caveat, the name of the party or parties withdrawing or removing the caveat.

Record of official searches

25.—(1) The record of official searches shall consist of the duplicate certificates of the result of official searches which are retained at the Registry.

(2) Such certificates of official searches shall be —

(a)	filed in the order in which they are made; and
(b)	duly paged and numbered and, as soon as conveniently may be, permanently bound together in volumes.

(3) The record of official searches shall not be open to inspection by the public.

Books or documents filed not to be removed

26. Where any register or index under the control or custody of the Registrar has been microfilmed —

(a)	only a certificate of official search or a certified true copy of any part of such register or index may be applied for; and
(b)	no document enrolled therein shall be removed from the Registry or any other lace where it is kept without the authority of the Registrar.

Copies of documents

27.—(1) Where any document filed in a register or index has not yet been microfilmed, an application may be made to the Registrar for a copy or certified true copy of the document.

(2) A certified true copy of any instrument or document may be issued by the Registrar in any form approved by the Registrar.

Withdrawal, removal or cancellation of caveats

28.—(1) A caveat may be —

(a)	withdrawn by the person who lodged the caveat under section 8(1)(b) of the Act or by his solicitor or his agent authorised under a power of attorney;
(b)	withdrawn by the person named in the caveat in whose favour the caveat is given by the proprietor of the land under section 8(1)(a) of the Act or by his solicitor or his agent authorised under a power of attorney; or
(c)	removed by agreement between the caveator and the caveatee.

(2) The Registrar shall, after accepting an application in Form 11 set out in the Second Schedule to withdraw or to remove the caveat, register the withdrawal or the removal of the caveat, as the case may be, in a similar manner as provided in rule 13.

(3) The entry of the particulars of the withdrawal or removal of the caveat referred to in paragraph (2) shall be made in the index of caveats.

(4) Any person presenting an order of court cancelling a caveat for registration shall present to the Registrar the original order or an office copy issued by the relevant court together with an application for cancellation of the caveat in Form 11 set out in the Second Schedule.

(5) Where the Registrar has accepted the application to register an order of court cancelling a caveat, the Registrar shall register the application for cancellation of the caveat in accordance with rule 13.

(6) The entry of the particulars of the cancellation of the caveat referred to in paragraph (5) shall be made in the index of caveats.

Particulars of acquiring party to be disclosed in instruments

29.—(1) For the purpose of complying with the requirements of section 19 of the Residential Property Act (Cap. 274), every instrument under which a person acquires an estate or interest in land shall disclose —

(a)

in the case of a natural person, the following particulars:

(i)	where the person is a citizen of Singapore, his citizenship status and the number of his identity card;
(ii)	where the person is a citizen of Singapore but has yet to be issued with an identity card, his citizenship status, the number and date of issue of his birth certificate, and the number of his passport or citizenship certificate;
(iii)	where the person is not a citizen but a permanent resident of Singapore, his citizenship, the number of his identity card, if any, his permanent resident status, his unique identification number relating to his permanent resident status issued to him by the relevant Government department or statutory authority in Singapore and the number and place of issue of his passport; or
(iv)	where the person is neither a citizen nor a permanent resident of Singapore but holds a pass, assigned with a foreigner identification number, issued to him by the relevant Government department or statutory authority in Singapore, his citizenship, the foreigner identification number and the number and place of issue of his passport;

(b)

in the case of a body corporate, the following particulars:

(i)	where the body corporate is incorporated in Singapore and registered under the Companies Act (Cap. 50), its place of incorporation, the registration number of the company assigned to it by the Registrar of Companies and its registered address in Singapore;
(ii)	where the body corporate is incorporated outside Singapore and has a registered office or place of business in Singapore, its place of incorporation, the registration number of the company, if any, assigned to it by the Registrar of Companies and its address for service of notice in Singapore; or
(iii)	where the body corporate is incorporated outside Singapore and has no registered office or place of business in Singapore, its place of incorporation and its address for service of notice within Singapore; or

(c)

in the case of an unincorporated body, its place of formation, and where formed in Singapore, its registration number as assigned by the relevant Government department or statutory authority in Singapore.

(2) Where the person or body corporate has obtained —

(a)	a clearance certificate from the Controller of Residential Property; or
(b)	the approval of the Minister for the acquisition of an estate or interest in land under the Residential Property Act (Cap. 274),

the instrument shall be lodged together with a copy of the clearance certificate or letter of approval and such other documents as the Registrar may require.

(3) The family name, surname or the first name of a person (where applicable) acquiring any estate or interest in land under an instrument shall be underlined and shall be shown in the instrument in the same order as that shown in his identity card, birth certificate, passport or other document of identity, as the case may be.

(4) In this rule, “identity card” means an identity card issued under the provisions of the National Registration Act (Cap. 201).

Memorandum of mortgages

30. The Registrar may refuse to accept for registration any instrument of mortgage which —

(a)	exceeds 10 sheets; and
(b)	sets out in full the terms and conditions which, in the opinion of the Registrar, are or could be set out in a Memorandum of Mortgage filed with the Registrar of Titles.

Severance of joint tenancy

31. Every deed of declaration by a joint tenant for the severance of a joint tenancy shall be lodged together with a statutory declaration as to the service of the deed on the other joint tenants.

Fees

32.—(1) The fees specified in the First Schedule shall be paid to the Registrar in advance.

(2) The Registrar has the power to refuse to accept any instrument for registration unless the exact amount of fees are paid at the time of lodgment of the instrument.

(3) The Registrar may, if he considers it just and with the approval of the Minister, remit any of the fees payable under these Rules.

Refund of fees by Registrar

33.—(1) The Registrar may, in his discretion, refund the fees paid for examination of records prior to the issue of a certificate of official search to the applicant if he so informs the Registrar in writing that he no longer requires the certificate of official search.

(2) No refund shall be made if the work of examining the records has commenced before the Registrar is informed that the official search is no longer required.

(3) No refund shall be made in respect of the fees paid for other items provided under the First Schedule.

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