PART 1 | Citation and commencement |
| 1. These Regulations are the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental and Related Measures) Regulations 2020 and come into operation on 31 July 2020. |
2.—(1) In these Regulations —| “Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority” means the body established under section 3 of the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority Act 2004; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “Accounting Standards” means the accounting standards made or formulated by the Accounting Standards Committee under Part 3 of the Accounting Standards Act 2007; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] [S 151/2023 wef 01/04/2023] |
| “benefit” has the meaning given by regulation 2(1) of the PTR Regulations; |
| “business” includes a profession or trade or an occupation or undertaking, whether or not conducted on a regular, repetitive or continuous basis and whether or not engaged in or carried on for a fee or profit; |
| “committee of management” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Co-operative Societies Act 1979; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “co‑operative society” has the meaning given to “society” by section 2(1) of the Co‑operative Societies Act 1979; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “CorpPass” means the identity authentication service known as Singapore Corporate Access, by which an entity authenticates its identity in order to carry out an online transaction with the Government or a public body; |
| “CorpPass credential” means any username, password or 2‑factor authentication detail required to authenticate, using CorpPass, the identity of an entity; |
“designated email address”, in relation to a party, means —| (a) | in the case of a party who submitted to the Registrar an application for an assessor’s determination —| (i) | that party’s email address as specified in the application; or | | (ii) | if that party has submitted any form to the Registrar or a rental relief assessor in relation to an application for an assessor’s determination in which another email address is specified as that party’s email address — that other email address; or |
| | (b) | in the case of any other party — the email address designated by that party for the purpose of receiving documents or communications under Part 2A of the Act or these Regulations; |
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“designated postal address”, in relation to a party, means —| (a) | in the case of a party who submitted to the Registrar an application for an assessor’s determination —| (i) | that party’s postal address as specified in the application; or | | (ii) | if that party has submitted any form to the Registrar or a rental relief assessor in relation to an application for an assessor’s determination in which another postal address is specified as that party’s postal address — that other postal address; or |
| | (b) | in the case of any other party — the postal address designated by that party for the purpose of receiving documents or communications under Part 2A of the Act or these Regulations; |
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| “electronic system” means the electronic system established under regulation 18; |
“encroachment on a property” means —| (a) | any erection of a perimeter fence or boundary wall on the property; | | (b) | any enclosure of a part of the property as a part of another property; or | | (c) | any protrusion of a part of another property into the property; |
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“entity” means —| (a) | a specified person; or | | (b) | any of the following (including when acting as a trustee of a trust) that is not a specified person:| (i) | a corporation registered under section 19 or 368 of the Companies Act 1967; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] | | (ii) | a sole proprietorship; | | (iii) | a partnership; | | (iv) | a limited partnership; | | (v) | a limited liability partnership; | | (vi) | a co-operative society; |
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| “exempt charity” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Charities Act 1994; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
“financial statements” —| (a) | in relation to an entity (other than a sole proprietorship), means —| (i) | the audited financial statements of the entity for or covering the financial year concerned, prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards, or equivalent accounting standards of a country outside Singapore, applicable to that entity; or | | (ii) | in the absence of the statements mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) — the unaudited balance‑sheet, profit and loss statement and cash flow statement of the entity for or covering that financial year, supported by a statutory declaration by a relevant officer of the entity; or |
| | (b) | in relation to a sole proprietorship or an individual, means —| (i) | the audited statement of accounts of the sole proprietorship or individual for or covering the financial year concerned, prepared in accordance with the Accounting Standards, or equivalent accounting standards of a country outside Singapore, applicable to that entity; or | | (ii) | in the absence of the statement mentioned in sub‑paragraph (i) — the unaudited balance‑sheet, profit and loss statement and cash flow statement of the sole proprietorship or individual for or covering that financial year, supported by a statutory declaration by the sole proprietorship or individual; |
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| “financial year” means the period in respect of which the financial statements of a person who carries on a business are made up, whether the period is a year or not; |
| “first amendment regulations” means the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental and Related Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (G.N. No. S 835/2020); [S 193/2021 wef 01/04/2021] |
| “key employee” has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Co‑operative Societies Act 1979; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “National Arts Council” means the body established under section 3 of the National Arts Council Act 1991; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “National Council of Social Service” means the body established under section 3 of the National Council of Social Service Act 1992; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “national disability sports association” means a sports organisation in Singapore that is recognised by the Singapore Sports Council as the governing body for a particular sport for the disabled in Singapore; |
| “National Heritage Board” means the body established under section 3 of the National Heritage Board Act 1993; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “national sports association” means a sports organisation in Singapore that is recognised by the Singapore Sports Council as the governing body for a particular sport in Singapore; |
“ordinary address” means —| (a) | in the case of a body corporate (including a limited liability partnership) or unincorporated association —| (i) | the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s registered office, or principal office, in Singapore; or | | (ii) | in the absence of a registered office, or principal office, in Singapore, the body corporate’s or unincorporated association’s last known place of business in Singapore; |
| | (b) | in the case of an individual, the individual’s usual or last known place of residence or business in Singapore; or | | (c) | in the case of a partnership (other than a limited liability partnership), the partnership’s principal or last known place of business in Singapore; |
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“party”, in relation to an assessor’s determination, means —| (a) | an applicant who makes an application for an assessor’s determination under section 19M(2) of the Act in relation to a prescribed property; or | | (b) | the respondent to the application, |
| and includes a person authorised by that party to represent that party in the proceedings of the assessor’s determination; |
[S 835/2020 wef 30/09/2020] |
| “prescribed mode of service” has the meaning given by regulation 16; |
| “PTR Regulations” means the COVID‑19 (Temporary Measures) (Transfer of Benefit of Property Tax Remission) Regulations 2020 (G.N. No. S 375/2020); |
| “registered charity” means a charity that is registered under section 7 of the Charities Act 1994; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “Registrar’s directives” means directives issued by the Registrar under regulation 36; |
| “Registry” means the Registry of Rental Relief Assessors established under regulation 34; |
“relevant officer”, in relation to an entity, means —| (a) | if the entity is a corporation registered under section 19 or 368 of the Companies Act 1967 — a director or secretary of the corporation or a person employed in an executive capacity by the corporation; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] | | (b) | if the entity is a sole proprietorship — the sole proprietor; | | (c) | if the entity is a partnership — a partner of the partnership; | | (d) | if the entity is a limited partnership — a general partner of the limited partnership; | | (e) | if the entity is a limited liability partnership —| (i) | a manager of the limited liability partnership; or | | (ii) | a partner of the limited liability partnership; |
| | (f) | if the entity is a co-operative society —| (i) | a member of the committee of management of the co-operative society; or | | (ii) | a key employee of the co-operative society; or |
| | (g) | in any other case — any person who is involved in the general control and management of the administration of the entity; |
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“respondent”, for a determination in relation to a prescribed property, means —| (a) | in the case of a determination mentioned in section 19M(3)(a), (b) or (c) of the Act — a tenant that is a PTO, or purportedly a PTO, of that property; or | | (b) | in the case of a determination mentioned in section 19M(4)(a) or (b) of the Act —| (i) | where the applicant for the determination is a landlord of that property in the PTO chain — the tenant of the applicant in the PTO chain; or | | (ii) | where the applicant for the determination is a tenant of that property in the PTO chain — the landlord of the applicant in the PTO chain; [S 835/2020 wef 30/09/2020] |
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| “second amendment regulations” means the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental and Related Measures) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (G.N. No. S 193/2021); [S 193/2021 wef 01/04/2021] |
| “Singapore Sports Council” means the body established under section 3 of the Singapore Sports Council Act 1973; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “SingPass” means the identity authentication service, known as Singapore Personal Access, by which an individual authenticates the individual’s identity in order to carry out an online transaction with the Government or a public body; |
| “SingPass credential” means any username, password or 2‑factor authentication detail required to authenticate, using SingPass, the identity of an individual; |
| “society” has the meaning given by section 2 of the Societies Act 1966; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
“specified person” means —| (a) | a registered charity or an exempt charity; or | | (b) | any of the following that is not a registered charity or an exempt charity:| (i) | a member of the National Council of Social Service; | | (ii) | a national sports association; | | (iii) | a national disability sports association; | | (iv) | an arts and culture society; | | (v) | a trade association; |
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| [Deleted by S 193/2021 wef 01/04/2021] |
| “SSIC classification” means the Singapore Standard Industrial Classification 2015 (Version 2018) that is established by the Department of Statistics of the Ministry of Trade and Industry; |
| “Type A property” means any property set out in Part 2 of the First Schedule, and includes a part of the property; |
| “Type B property” means any property set out in Part 3 of the First Schedule, and includes a part of the property; |
| “voting share” has the meaning given by section 4(1) of the Companies Act 1967; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
| “working day” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday. |
(2) For the purposes of the paragraph (b)(iv) of the definition of “specified person” in paragraph (1), “arts and culture society” means a society —| (a) | that is classified under an SSIC classification code set out in the Second Schedule; | | (b) | that is registered under section 4 or 4A of the Societies Act 1966; and [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] | | (c) | that satisfies one or more of the following conditions:| (i) | the society is a participant in any project, activity, programme or festival that is funded (whether wholly or partially), commissioned or organised by the National Arts Council or the National Heritage Board in the period from 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2020 (both dates inclusive); | | (ii) | the society operates a museum that became a member of a group established by the National Heritage Board known as the Museum Roundtable on or before 31 March 2020; | | (iii) | the society is listed as an accredited Arts Education Programme provider in the 2019‑2021 National Arts Council‑Arts Education Programme Directory on the National Arts Council Internet website at https://aep.nac.gov.sg. |
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(3) For the purposes of paragraph (b)(v) of the definition of “specified person” in paragraph (1), “trade association” means a society —| (a) | that is registered under section 4 or 4A of the Societies Act 1966; [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] | | (b) | that supports its members in developing their respective businesses by conducting activities that relate to trade, commerce, investment or industry development; and | | (c) | where one or more members of the society are regulated by the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority under any written law. |
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3.—(1) For the purposes of Part 2A of the Act, “prescribed property” is any immovable property that comprises or includes one or both of the following:| (a) | a Type A property; | | (b) | a Type B property, |
| whether or not it includes any other immovable property, and whether owned by the Government or a statutory board or otherwise, but excludes any of the properties in paragraph (2). |
(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the properties excluded are —| (a) | any property the annual value of which has been assessed as if it were vacant land under section 2(6)(b) of the Property Tax Act 1960; and [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] | | (b) | any property that is exempt from payment of property tax under section 6(6), (7) and (8) of the Property Tax Act 1960. [S 151/2023 wef 31/12/2021] |
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| Prescribed criteria of PTO |
4. For the purposes of Part 2A of the Act, the criteria that a tenant of a prescribed property must satisfy to be a PTO are —| (a) | the tenant is an individual or entity; | | (b) | the tenant occupies the whole or part of the prescribed property under a lease agreement that is in writing or evidenced in writing, for the sole purpose of carrying on a business, or a purpose incidental to that business; and | | (c) | one of the following is satisfied:| (i) | where the tenant has carried on the business (at the prescribed property or any other place in Singapore) for 12 months or longer as at the last day of the tenant’s financial year ending on a date in the year 2018 — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore for that financial year is not more than $100 million; [S 954/2020 wef 31/07/2020] | | (ii) | where sub-paragraph (i) does not apply but the tenant has carried on the business (at the prescribed property or any other place in Singapore) for 12 months or longer as at the last day of the tenant’s financial year ending on a date in the year 2019 — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore for that financial year is not more than $100 million; [S 954/2020 wef 31/07/2020] | | (iii) | where sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) do not apply but the tenant has carried on the business (at the prescribed property or any other place in Singapore) for 12 months or longer as at the last day of the tenant’s financial year ending on a date in the year 2020 that is on or before 31 March 2020 — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore for that financial year is not more than $100 million; [S 954/2020 wef 31/07/2020] | | (iv) | where sub-paragraphs (i), (ii) and (iii) do not apply but the tenant commenced carrying on the business (at the prescribed property or any other place in Singapore) before 31 March 2020 — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore, calculated using the formula 12 × A, is not more than $100 million, where A is the average monthly revenue from the tenant’s business carried on in Singapore for the period from the date of commencement of the tenant’s business to 31 March 2020 (both dates inclusive); [S 835/2020 wef 30/09/2020] [S 954/2020 wef 30/09/2020] | | (v) | where sub-paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) do not apply but —| (A) | the tenant commenced carrying on the business (at the prescribed property (being a Type A property) or any other place in Singapore) during the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 July 2020 (both dates inclusive) — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore, calculated using the formula 12 × B1, is not more than $100 million, where B1 is the average monthly revenue from the tenant’s business carried on in Singapore for the period from the date of commencement of the tenant’s business to 31 July 2020 (both dates inclusive); or [S 954/2020 wef 30/09/2020] | | (B) | the tenant commenced carrying on the business (at the prescribed property (being a Type B property) or any other place in Singapore) during the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 May 2020 (both dates inclusive) — the tenant’s revenue from the business carried on in Singapore, calculated using the formula 12 × B2, is not more than $100 million, where B2 is the average monthly revenue from the tenant’s business carried on in Singapore for the period from the date of commencement of the tenant’s business to 31 May 2020 (both dates inclusive); [S 835/2020 wef 30/09/2020] [S 954/2020 wef 30/09/2020] |
| | (vi) | where sub-paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v) do not apply — the tenant was unable to commence business (at the prescribed property or any other place in Singapore) before 31 July 2020 (where the prescribed property is a Type A property) or before 31 May 2020 (where the prescribed property is a Type B property) due to any legal restriction imposed under the Act or any other written law arising from a COVID-19 event. [S 835/2020 wef 30/09/2020] [S 954/2020 wef 30/09/2020] |
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5. For the purposes of Part 2A of the Act, “rent” (as defined in section 19B(1) of the Act) includes —| (a) | any amount payable by a tenant to a landlord that is determined by the gross turnover of any business carried on by the tenant at a property or part of a property; and | | (b) | any amount payable by the tenant to the landlord as property tax for the property. |
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| Persons prescribed as not being tenants |
6. For the purposes of Part 2A of the Act, “tenant”, for any property, does not include —| (a) | a tenant who enters into a lease agreement for the purposes of accommodation at the property or part of the property; | | (b) | a tenant who enters into a lease agreement for the purposes of providing accommodation to employees employed by the tenant; and | | (c) | a person who enters into a lease agreement for an encroachment on a property. |
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| 6A. For the purposes of sections 19B(1) (definition of “relevant period”), 19P(2)(a), (3) and (5) and 19S(2) and (4) (definition of “specified period”) of the Act, the prescribed date is 19 November 2020. [S 954/2020 wef 18/11/2020] |
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