Changes to Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act

Good news for buyers of private properties here in Singapore. A new set of rules to safeguard the interests of private home buyers in Singapore will kick in soon.

Big balcony with synthetic grass and furniture

Some of you may have had the rude shock of finding extra walls and lower ceilings when you collect the keys for your apartment upon T.O.P. Some showflats have had walls removed or the ceiling made higher to give a greater sense of space to buyers when they visit the show unit. Come July 20, 2015, property developers must adhere to a tighter set of rules to ensure that buyers can make more informed decisions based on what the unit actually looks like when built.

Some of the requirements are:

1. The floor area of the show unit must be the same as that of the actual unit to be sold.

2. Any external walls or structural walls must be shown in the show unit. If they need to be removed to provide access to the show unit, these walls must be clearly marked out on the floor.

3. All erected walls must be of the same thickness as that of the actual unit.

4. If any internal non-structural wall is not built inside the show unit, they must be clearly marked out on the floor.

5. All materials, finishes and appliances to be used in the actual unit must be displayed at the show unit.

These changes are definitely in the right direction of providing better information to buyers. In future, hopefully when we visit show units, it will be WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get). Good luck on hunting down your perfect apartment!