I. Land Registration System

There is actually a dual-registration systems for land in Singapore. One is under the Registration of Deeds Act while the other is under the Land Titles Act.

Under the Registration of Deeds Act, registration of land ownership under the common law approach is cumbersome and hardly used in Singapore these days.

The pre-dominant system of land registration is under the Land Titles Act which in turn adopted the Torrens System which confer indefeasibility of title. Essentially, the property ownership is as per recorded in the land registry.

II. Applicable Laws

The applicable laws governing property transaction are statutory law and the common law. Depending the specific transaction, the relevant Acts applicable include:

Building Control Act
Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act
Conveyancing and Law of Property Act
Estate Agents Act
Housing Developers (Control and Licensing) Act
Land Acquisition Act
Land Titles Act
Land Titles (Strata) Act
Residential Property Act
Sale of Commercial Properties Act
Stamp Duties Act.

III. Land Titles

Land titles are issued by the Singapore Land Authorities. The types of titles issued are: Certificates of Title for Land sold by the Government, New Certificates of Title, Subsidiary Strata Certificates of Title for strata properties, and Replacement Certificates of Titles.

IV. Foreigner Buying Properties in Singapore

Generally, foreigners are able to buy properties in Singapore except for landed properties. A foreign person means any person who is not a: Singapore citizen, Singapore company, Singapore limited liability partnership, or Singapore society. However, as an exception to this rule, landed properties in Sentosa Cove can be sold to foreigners.

V. The Conveyancing Process

Step 1:     Sign a legally binding contract known as the Option to Purchase (OTP) that gives the buyer the exclusive right to buy the property at an agreed purchase price. The buyer usually pays 1% of the purchase price as option fees in exchange for a 14-day cooling period in which the buyer can call off the deal.

Step 2: Engage a lawyer once the OTP is signed or even before it is signed, as the case may be. It is a usual practice to engage a lawyer for the purchase of a property as it is a sizeable investment.

Step 3: The lawyer so engaged will follow-up with due diligence work and the many requisitions to be done. This includes requisitions to:

Building Control Authority
Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS)
LTA (Survey and Lands Department)
National Environment Agency (Environmental Health Department)
National Environment Agency (Central Building Planning Unit)
PUB (Water Reclamation Network) Department,
Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

Overall, the entire conveyancing process from OTP to completion (including handing over the keys) can take three to four months.