Government rolls out temporary relief measures for property developers

It extended the completion period of residential, commercial and industrial projects.

Singapore has introduced a number of temporary relief measures for property developers and individuals affected by disruptions to construction timelines and sales of housing units resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, an announcement revealed.

The government has extended the project completion period (PCP) by six months for residential, commercial and industrial development projects, as well as the commencement and completion of residential development and the sale of housing units in residential development projects, in relation to the remission of the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) for housing developers.

The PCP and/or disposal period for residential development projects under the Qualifying Certificate (QC) regime for foreign housing developers, as well as the sale of the first residential property in relation to the remission of ABSD for the second residential property purchased by a Singaporean married couple, were each also granted six-month extension.

“Qualifying individual buyers now have more time to dispose of their existing properties and apply for remission. This lifts the time pressure on buyers. For developers, it offers some breathing space as they will get an extension of 6 months,” commented Sze Teck Lee, head of research at Huttons.

Further, the government clarified that these measures do not alter the other existing residential property market cooling measures, as they aim to ensure that prices for private homes remain broadly consistent with economic fundamentals.

All housing developers, as well as Singaporean married couples who wish to seek ABSD remission for their second residential properties, will continue to be subject to the prevailing ABSD regime, albeit with an increase in the remission condition timelines for qualifying developers and Singaporean married couples.

“We feel that the extension should be 12 months taking into consideration that the pandemic could last till the end of the year. We hope that the Government can look into extension of this relief should the pandemic be extended,” Lee added.