Waiver of Seller’s Stamp Duty for Collective Sale if Seller Does Not Agree to Sale

The following question stood in the name of Mr Lim Biow Chuan –

To ask the Minister for Finance whether seller's stamp duty may be waived for a collective sale if the seller does not agree to the sale and did not sign the collective sale agreement.

Mr Deputy Speaker, the Seller's Stamp Duty (SSD) seeks to discourage short-term holding of residential properties and is part of the Government's measures to ensure a stable and sustainable property market. SSD is applicable so long as the property is sold within the holding period.

In a collective sale of private residential properties, the collective sale committee can enter into a sale and purchase agreement on behalf of all owners, if the requisite statutory majority consent has been obtained. The sale and purchase agreement entered into by the collective sale committee will then be binding on all owners.

If the sale occurs within the holding period, SSD is applied, regardless of whether an individual owner consented to or opposed the sale.

There are safeguards in the Land Titles (Strata) Act to protect the interests of owners, and to ensure that collective sales are conducted in a fair manner. In particular, non-consenting minority owners to a collective sale can file objections to the Strata Titles Board against the sale and the Board will then consider the objections raised before deciding on the outcome of the application of the collective sale.