PUBLISHED ONNovember 13, 2025 12:45 PMBYBhavya RawatNew regulations for private housing developers are set to come into effect early next year.
These changes will require developers to be more transparent with homeowners regarding the property being sold and the former's track record, said Minister of National Development Chee Hong Tat on Thursday (Nov 13).
In a speech during the Real Estate Developers' Association of Singapore's (Redas) 66th anniversary dinner at Shangri-la Hotel, Chee said that the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) and Building and Construction Authority (BCA) wish to better safeguard homeowners' interests by supporting them in making informed decisions.
According to a factsheet provided by the authorities, developers are currently required to provide scaled unit floor plans, with rooms and spaces clearly marked, alongside site plans showing communal facilities.
They also have to share the date of completion and descriptions of previous projects.
The changes proposed by the URA and BCA will require developers to provide additional information to potential homeowners at the point of sale.
Some of the new information needed includes where structural walls, distribution boards, lifts and car park ventilation shafts are located.
Moreover, developers will have to share the Construction Quality Assessment System (Conqas) banding of their previous projects.
The system is used nationwide to assess the construction workmanship quality for new buildings and has a six-band scale which takes into account project performance over the past six years and valid feedback on major defects.
These changes in regulations — made in consultation with Redas — will also level the playing field for developers and raise industry standards, Chee said.
Additionally, the defects liability period (DLP) and home buyers' liability to pay maintenance charges will start from the day the keys are delivered to the property or 35 days after the notice of payment is issued by the developer during the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) stage.
The DLP and liability to pay maintenance charges previously started on they day of key delivery or 15 days after the notice of payment was issued.
This is to better align the DLP to when home buyers take possession of their units as developers currently have 21 days to deliver possession after collecting the progress payment, said Chee.
The Government is also looking to cut red tape, support innovative proposals and help businesses to reduce costs and save time, the minister said, referring to the built environment sector.
For instance, there has been feedback from developers pointing out the difficult and time-consuming nature of leasing sites for showflats, he said.
To simplify the process, URA and the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) have pre-identified a list of vacant sites supported for showflat use, which will be available on SLA's portal for Temporary Occupation Licences.
This will enable developers to enjoy significant time savings of about six weeks and halve the time it currently takes to obtain agencies' approvals, added Chee.
"At the same time, we hope that developers will also continue to adopt innovative and land-efficient approaches, such as virtual showflats, given our limited supply of land," he said.
[[nid:719503]]
bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com
