LEASEHOLD RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

Mr S Iswaran asked the Minister for Law whether owners of leasehold residential property may extend their lease in order to undertake collective upgrading or redevelopment of their property.

Prof. S. Jayakumar: I believe the Member is referring to residential properties on 99-year leases from the State. Such properties, as a matter of principle, will revert to the State upon expiry of the lease.

This is not to say that extensions of such leases cannot be considered upon their expiry. However, a decision on this cannot be taken in abstract. As most residential leases have more than 70 years left, it is not possible now to give a general decision applicable to all such properties where there are many years, before such leases expire. We will have to consider each case on its merits, depending on the Government's long-term plans for land uses closer to the time of expiry of the leases.

In view of the changing needs, our economic and social development, Government must retain its flexibility in land-scarce Singapore to plan for the longer term. Indeed this is one reason why we have 99-year leases.