HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read. 3.49 p.m.

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Dr Tan Eng Liang): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Under the Housing and Development Act, the Board's officers can only act for a person buying a flat direct from the Board. In all other transactions including resales, the parties engage their own solicitors who will charge them for work done in accordance with the Solicitors' Remuneration Order, 1974.

The Bill seeks to enable the Board to act for parties in resales and in other transactions. To date, the Board has sold 137,093 flats under the "Home Ownership For The People Scheme". As more flats are being sold by the Board, the number of resale cases and all other transactions has increased accordingly and the number of transfer instruments registered increased from 678 in 1974 to 1,606 in 1976. If the Board is permitted to handle resale cases and all other transactions, it will help a large number of flat owners to minimise legal costs.

Amendments to sections 42 and 49 of the Housing and Development Act will empower -

(a) the Board by authorised officers to act for the parties in resales and in all other transactions in respect of the flats where these parties do not engage solicitors; and

(b) the Minister to make regulations prescribing fees payable to the Board for legal services rendered in such transactions.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Dr Tan Eng Liang].

Bill considered in committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Clause 1 -

The Chairman: The citation year will be altered from "1977" to "1978".

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clauses 2 and 3 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.