CHANGE IN GROSS FLOOR AREA COMPUTATION

CHANGE IN GROSS FLOOR AREA COMPUTATION

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(Consultation with industry): **

18.

Er Lee Bee Wah asked the Minister for National Development with the change in computation of gross floor area (such as bay windows and planter boxes) for housing projects, whether the Ministry has carried out any consultation with the building/construction industry before implementing the change in policy.

Mr Mah Bow Tan: URA has earlier exempted bay window from the gross floor area (GFA) of a development as they were treated as small elements of a building design and do not form part of the floor. URA also exempted planter boxes within residential units from GFA computation to facilitate greening for high-rise living.

However, bay window designs have since evolved to become a predominant feature for newer residential buildings and contributed significantly to the building bulk. Based on URA's review, more than half of proposals received have the entire external façades of the building wrapped around by bay windows or planters. The extensive use of bay windows leads to higher heat transfer into buildings and increases the need for air-conditioning. This is energy inefficient and environmentally unfriendly.

The GFA exemption of planter boxes also did not achieve the objective of promoting high-rise greenery. URA noticed that only a small percentage of the approved planter boxes were being used for planting, leaving the rest either unplanted or illegally converted to other uses. Over the years, URA has received many complaints from Management Corporations of Strata Titled Development and the public on the illegal conversion of planter boxes to other uses. Home owners had provided feedback that they were not keen to provide planting and preferred to have the flexibility to convert the planter box space to other uses.

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In addition, while the government had exempted bay windows and planter boxes from GFA computation, buyers of residential units were made to pay for them as internal spaces of a residential unit. In fact, some designers reflected that they were told to maximise these features in order to maximise the saleable space.

As the policy objectives of the GFA exemption were not met, these incentives were removed. In doing so, we took into account the interests of various stakeholders, including homeowners and the public. With the removal of GFA exemption for bay windows and planter boxes, developers can still incorporate these building features that are computed as GFA, into their designs if there is a demand for it.

Since the announcement of the changes in Jul 2008, URA has met with industry professionals to explain the rationale for the changes. In response to industry feedback, URA has extended the grace period from 7th October 2008 to 31st December 2008 providing the industry adequate time to adjust to the changes.

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