Govt rolls out additional Covid-19 relief measures for property sector

ELIGIBLE property developers hit by disruptions to construction timelines due to Covid-19 can take up additional temporary relief measures with immediate effect, the government said on Thursday night.

The additional relief measures are:

• A further six-month extension of the project completion period (PCP) for residential, commercial and industrial development projects;

• A further six-month extension for the completion of residential development projects in relation to the remission of the Additional Buyer's Stamp Duty (ABSD) for housing developers; and

• An extension of the PCP by up to six months for residential development projects under the Qualifying Certificate (QC) regime for foreign housing developers.

These measures do not affect other existing residential property market cooling measures there to ensure that "private residential property prices are broadly consistent with economic fundamentals", said the Ministry of National Development, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Law and the Ministry of Trade and Industry in a joint statement.

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Flash estimates for the third quarter of this year showed that the overall price index for private homes in Singapore edged up 0.8 per cent over the preceding three months; this followed a 0.3 per cent increase in Q2 this year. Anlaysts said such "gravity defying" figures have reflected both pent-up demand and record-low interest rates.

The ministries said on Thursday that while almost all construction projects have resumed, there remain challenges on-site.

Workers have to be placed under quarantine if they have come in close contact with a positive Covid-19 case. Adjustments have also had to be made to work-site practices to implement safe-distancing measures.

The ministries said: "These public health measures are necessary to prevent the industry from going into lockdown again, but they continue to affect construction timelines."

They added that contractors and developers have raised concerns regarding the additional costs and financial penalties that may be incurred as a result of delays due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the additional support measures, the government expects developers to continue to similarly provide relief and support to their main contractors. It will also continue to monitor the impact of the pandemic on the progress of work within the construction industry, and on the property sector.

Additional relief measures to support the stakeholders will be implemented if necessary and the government will ensure that "no stakeholder bears an undue share of the burden imposed by the Covid-19", said the ministries.

The latest measures are on top of those announced on May 6.

All qualifying housing developers will continue to be subject to the prevailing ABSD regime, although with a further six-month extension of the remission condition timelines for commencement and completion of the residential development projects.

There is no further extension of the remission condition timeline for the sale of all housing units in the residential development project.

The conditions to be met to qualify for the additional measures are unchanged from the temporary relief measures announced on May 6, 2020.

This means for developers to qualify for the PCP extension, the land must have been awarded on or before June 1, 2020, or have been directly alienated or had their lease renewed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) on or before June 1, 2020; and the original timeline for completion of the residential development must expire on or after Feb 1, 2020.

Similarly, for developers to qualify for the ABSD extension, the land must have been purchased on or before June 1, 2020; and the original timeline for starting residential development must expire on or after Feb 1, 2020.

Under the QC regime, developers subject to the QC rules are to complete construction of all housing units in a residential development project within five years from the date of issue of the QC or the collective sale order, and dispose of all housing units within two years from the issue of temporary occupation permit or certificate of statutory completion.

Under the additional temporary relief measures, developers applying to extend their existing completion deadline will be granted a further waiver of extension charges of up to a total of six months.

This will also apply to other SLA approvals requiring the completion of all units in the residential development. But there is no further waiver of extension charges to extend the existing deadline to sell all housing units in the residential development project.

To qualify, the QC or SLA approval requiring the completion of all units in the residential development must have been issued on or before June 1, 2020, with the original timeline for completion of the residential development expiring on or after Feb 1, 2020, too.