No. S 215
Housing and Development Act
(Chapter 129)
Housing and Development (Penalties for Late Payment) (Amendment) Rules 2008
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 27(2) of the Housing and Development Act, the Housing and Development Board, with the approval of the Minister for National Development, hereby makes the following Rules:
Citation and commencement
1.  These Rules may be cited as the Housing and Development (Penalties for Late Payment) (Amendment) Rules 2008 and shall come into operation on 1st May 2008.
Amendment of rule 2
2.  Rule 2 of the Housing and Development (Penalties for Late Payment) Rules (R 5) (referred to in these Rules as the principal Rules) is amended by inserting, immediately after the definition of “agreement”, the following definitions:
“ “amount” means any instalment, rent, licence fee or maintenance fee under an agreement;
“grace period”, in relation to any instalment, rent, licence fee or maintenance fee in arrears, means the period —
(a)starting on the date the amount first falls in arrears; and
(b)ending on the last day of the month in which that date falls;”.
Deletion and substitution of rule 3
3.  Rule 3 of the principal Rules is deleted and the following rule substituted therefor:
Calculation of penalties for rent or fee in arrears
3.—(1)  No penalty under this rule shall be payable by any lessee, owner, licensee or tenant during the grace period in respect of any amount or part thereof, due from the lessee, owner, licensee or tenant, as the case may be, and in arrears.
(2)  Subject to paragraph (1), any lessee, owner, licensee or tenant who fails to pay to the Board any amount or part thereof due under any agreement on the day the amount falls due shall be liable to pay to the Board, in respect of the amount or any part thereof in arrears, for every month in which the amount or any part thereof is in arrears, a penalty until all of the amount or part thereof in arrears is paid.
(3)  The penalty referred to in paragraph (2) shall be as follows:
(a)in relation to any flat that is not a commercial property, a sum that is calculated at a rate that is 2% above such rate as may be determined by the Minister for Finance for the financial year in which the amount or any part thereof is in arrears, being a determination that takes into account the average prime lending rate for the last quarter of the year immediately preceding that financial year; and
(b)in relation to a flat that is a commercial property —
(i)8% per annum; or
(ii)a sum that is calculated at such rate as may be determined by the Minister for Finance for the financial year in which the amount or any part thereof is in arrears.”.
Deletion of Schedule
4.  The Schedule to the principal Rules is deleted.
[G.N. No. S 186/2007]

Made this 15th day of April 2008.

JAMES KOH CHER SIANG
Chairman,
Housing and Development Board,
Singapore.
[440-12-01-0044; AG/LEG/SL/129/2005/7 Vol. 1]
(To be presented to Parliament under section 27(3) of the Housing and Development Act).