Renewal of Existing Leases for Places of Worship Land under Revised Land and Pricing Allocation Framework

Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law whether religious organisations applying to renew existing leases for places of worship (PW) land without being subject to the ballot system under the revised land and pricing allocation framework announced in May 2023 should nonetheless be required to satisfy the same qualification criteria as religious organisations applying to be allocated PW land through the ballot system so as to ensure that existing religious organisations continue to run programmes that benefit the community they are located at.

The intent of the prequalification criteria for the balloting of Place of Worship (PW) land is to prioritise the allocation of new PW sites to religious organisations (ROs) that contribute to the community and demonstrate a need for the land.

While the same does not apply to ROs which are renewing their leases, lease renewal applications for PW land are assessed by agencies taking into consideration whether the use of the land is in line with planning intention and whether the RO continues to serve the needs of the community.