Lowering en bloc consent threshold a 'logical step' for continued urban renewal: Edwin Tong

Singapore's land scarcity makes urban renewal not merely desirable, but imperative, said Minister for Law Edwin Tong on Tuesday (Sept 8).

"The consent threshold should reflect the age and circumstances of the development — because older developments are more likely to need renewal," he said at the Second Reading of the Land Titles (Strata)(Amendment) Bill in Parliament.

The law minister noted that approximately one in 20 non-landed private residential units are now aged 40 years or older, or about 20,000 dwelling units in close to 250 developments.

And this number will continue to grow due to rapid urbanisation that took place here from the 1970s to the 1990s, he said.

This, in turn, presents more owners with the issue of whether it remains feasible and sustainable to invest in the maintenance and upkeep of their property, as beyond a certain point, a building begins to require more than routine maintenance, Tong added.

'Real and growing burden' in ageing developments

"Cracking and spalling of concrete become more frequent. Structural repairs become more extensive. The building continues to stand but the cost and complexity of keeping it in genuinely good condition rise significantly, and the returns on continued investment in upkeep begin to diminish.

"It is this trajectory of rising cost and diminishing returns that frames the challenge this Bill addresses," he said.

Illustrating this, Tong cited the Building and Construction Authority's (BCA) guideline for building owners to set aside $120,000 for the modernisation of each lift in their developments.

But, full replacement cost can run up to between $200,000 and $300,000 per lift, thereby running up significant capital outlay for building owners.

And it is one that recurs, the minister pointed out, because even a modernised lift has a finite service life.

Then, there are other demands such as repainting, concrete repairs, waterproofing, and structural inspections.

In some instances, this has led to maintenance fees and sinking fund contributions being raised significantly — by as much as 50 per cent in some cases.

"For the owners, this is a real and growing burden. At some stage, continued investment in upkeep yields diminishing returns, and owners who wish to pursue renewal may nonetheless find themselves unable to do so under the existing framework," Tong said.

Supporting renewal while strengthening safeguards

Following the Bill's introduction in Parliament on Aug 4, the Ministry of Law had stated that the existing 90 per cent and 80 per cent consent thresholds will continue to apply to newer developments — those below 10 years old, and those from 10 to 39 years.

But it also introduces two new tiers — a new threshold of 70 per cent for developments aged 40 to 59 years, and 65 per cent for those aged 60 years and older.

The two new tiers are intended to facilitate the renewal of older developments, the ministry said.

Explaining the thinking behind the age bands, Tong said it abides by the principle endorsed by Parliament in 1999, when the Bill was first passed — that the consent threshold should reflect the age and circumstances of the development.

"Collective sale remains a majority choice. The framework respects the right of owners who choose not to sell," the law minister highlighted.

Three additional safeguards

Meanwhile, three additional safeguards are being introduced as part of the proposed amendment.

These pertain to the ease with which collective sales attempts can be initiated, duration of the process, and the potential for repeated attempts in developments where no genuine majority support exists.

To deal with these concerns, the threshold to initiate a collective sale attempt will be raised to 35 per cent of owners by share value or number of units.

In addition, the time period that Collective Sale Committees have to obtain signatures to the Collective Sale Agreement, will be reduced from 12 months to six.

It addresses the pressure that non-consenting owners may face.

The third safeguard proposed is the extension of the restriction period after a failed collective sale attempt from two to three years.

During this period, any attempt to convene a general meeting to form a new Collective Sale Committee will be subject to heightened requisition thresholds: 50 per cent for the first attempt, and 70 per cent for developments aged 40 to 59 years, or 65 per cent for those aged 60 years and above for any second and subsequent attempt.

Objectors will also see court-ordered increases to the sale proceeds paid out — from 0.25 per cent to 0.50 per cent of the sale proceeds for each unit; or $2,000 for each unit, whichever is higher.

Rounding up his speech, Tong said: "These amendments recalibrate the framework accordingly — making renewal more accessible where there is genuine majority support, while ensuring that owners are protected from repeated and disruptive attempts where there is not."

新加坡律政部长唐振辉周二（9月8日）表示，新加坡土地稀缺，因此城市更新不仅是可取的，而且是势在必行的。

“同意门槛应该反映开发项目的年代和情况——因为较老的开发项目更有可能需要更新，”他在议会二读《土地所有权（分层）（修正）法案》时说。

律政部长指出，目前大约每 20 套非有地私人住宅中就有一套房龄在 40 年或以上，相当于近 250 个开发项目中约 20,000 套住宅。

他说，由于上世纪70年代到90年代这里经历了快速的城市化进程，这个数字还将继续增长。

Tong补充说，这反过来又给更多业主带来了一个问题，即投资维护和保养其房产是否仍然可行和可持续，因为超过一定程度后，建筑物需要的就不仅仅是日常维护了。

老龄化发展带来的“真实且日益沉重的负担”

混凝土开裂和剥落的现象越来越频繁。结构维修的范围越来越广。建筑物虽然依然屹立，但保持其真正良好状态的成本和复杂性显著增加，持续维护投资的回报开始下降。

“正是成本上升和收益递减的这种趋势，构成了本法案所要应对的挑战，”他说。

为了说明这一点，Tong 引用了新加坡建设局 (BCA) 的指导方针，该方针要求建筑物业主预留 120,000 新元用于其开发项目中每部电梯的现代化改造。

但是，每部电梯的完全更换成本可能高达 20 万至 30 万美元，从而给建筑物业主带来巨大的资金支出。

部长指出，这是一个反复出现的问题，因为即使是现代化电梯也有使用寿命。

此外，还有其他一些需求，例如重新粉刷、混凝土修补、防水和结构检查。

在某些情况下，这导致维护费和维修基金缴款大幅增加——有些情况下甚至增加了 50%。

“对业主来说，这确实是一个日益沉重的负担。在某个阶段，持续的维护投入带来的回报会递减，而那些希望进行翻新的业主可能会发现，在现有的框架下，他们根本无法做到这一点，”童先生说。

支持更新换代，同时加强保障措施

该法案于 8 月 4 日提交议会后，律政部表示，现有的 90% 和 80% 的同意门槛将继续适用于较新的开发项目——10 年以下的开发项目和 10 至 39 年的开发项目。

但它也引入了两个新的等级——对于房龄 40 至 59 年的开发项目，新的门槛为 70%；对于房龄 60 年及以上的开发项目，新的门槛为 65%。

该部表示，新增的两级旨在促进老旧建筑的更新。

唐先生解释划分年龄段的用意时表示，这符合1999年议会首次通过该法案时所认可的原则——即同意门槛应反映开发项目的年龄和情况。

“集体出售仍然是大多数人的选择。该框架尊重选择不出售的业主的权利，”法律部长强调说。

三项额外保障措施

与此同时，作为拟议修正案的一部分，还引入了三项额外的保障措施。

这些都与发起集体出售尝试的难易程度、过程持续时间以及在没有真正多数支持的情况下反复尝试的可能性有关。

为了解决这些担忧，发起集体出售的门槛将提高到股东总价值或单位数量占股东总数的 35%。

此外，集体出售委员会获得集体出售协议签署的期限将从 12 个月缩短至 6 个月。

它旨在解决不同意的业主可能面临的压力。

第三项保障措施是将集体出售尝试失败后的限制期从两年延长至三年。

在此期间，任何召开大会组建新的集体出售委员会的尝试都将受到更高的征召门槛的限制：第一次尝试为 50%，对于房龄 40 至 59 年的开发项目，第二次及以后的尝试为 70%，对于房龄 60 年及以上的开发项目，第二次及以后的尝试为 65%。

反对者还将看到法院命令增加的销售收益支付——每套单元销售收益的 0.25% 至 0.50%；或每套单元 2,000 美元，以较高者为准。

唐在总结发言时说：“这些修正案相应地调整了框架——在真正获得多数支持的情况下，使续约更容易实现，同时确保在没有多数支持的情况下，业主免受反复和破坏性的尝试。”