RENOVATION OR RECONSTRUCTION OF SINGLE-STOREY TERRACE HOUSE (Consent of neighbours)

Dr Lau Teik Soon asked the Acting Minister for National Development whether the renovation or reconstruction of a single-storey terrace house into a two- or two-and-a-half-storey building will be disallowed if the neighbours do not consent to it.

The Acting Minister for National Development (Mr Lim Hng Kiang): Mr Speaker Sir, land for landed properties is scarce in Singapore. With high land prices, many owners in single-storey conventional houses in the older housing estates wish to redevelop their houses to two or more storeys, in order to have more intensive use of their land.

There is no single-storey height control for landed properties in Singapore. Even the strictest landed housing control, ie, in a good class bungalow area, allows bungalows to be built up to two storeys.

We have considered the possible impact of such redevelopments in existing single-storey estates, and have concluded that they will not cause unacceptable amenity problems to the surrounding residence. It may look odd initially to have double-storey houses amidst single-storey ones. However, over time, this policy will allow the entire estate to be redeveloped into a two-storey estate.

Dr Lau Teik Soon: Sir, in view of the fact that at the time the residents bought those houses, they recognised that that area was designated for single-storey terrace houses and the fact that they have lived there for over 40 years, will the Ministry consider seeking their views if the area is to be restructured drastically?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, indeed the views of the home owners are incorporated. Whenever the Development Guide Plans for the respective areas are released, my Ministry makes it a point to exhibit these plans and owners can file objections under the Planning Act if they are not happy with the proposed plans. They will then be given the opportunity to present their views at a formal hearing. If the hearings conclude that the appellants have a case, then the single-storey terrace houses can be safeguarded. But I must qualify here that we are looking at the interest of the community at large, and we are looking at the housing estate in its entirety. So if a small group of owners want to keep their estate single-storey, in fact, they can do so by coming together and agreeing among themselves and have a mutual agreement that every one of them will lodge a deed of covenant with the Registry of Land Titles and Deeds. This deed of covenant can be drafted in such a way as to restrict all of them who agree as well as future owners who buy the property from rebuilding their properties beyond one storey. So they do not have to look towards Government to exercise the control of one-storey houses. If these 50 or 100 home owners want to have single-storey, they can come to an agreement among themselves, put a covenant in their deed and they can preserve their estate as one-storey houses.