En Bloc Consent Thresholds Lowered for Ageing Properties Under Proposed Reforms

The amendments, unveiled by the Ministry of Law (MinLaw), centre on lowering the consent threshold that owners must meet to proceed with a collective sale. Currently, 80 per cent consent by share value and strata area is required for developments between 10 and 39 years old, while 90 per cent is needed for those under 10 years.

Under the proposed changes, the thresholds for newer developments will remain unchanged. However, projects aged 40 to 59 years would only need 70 per cent consent, while those 60 years and older would require just 65 per cent. This tiered approach acknowledges that older estates face mounting maintenance costs, depleting sinking funds, and increasingly difficult upkeep challenges that make collective sales a more pressing option.

The Bill also extends the collective sale regime to certain non-strata-titled private residential developments where flat owners hold long leases but do not own the underlying land. Currently, such developments are not covered by the regime, meaning a sale is only possible if there is unanimous agreement. Examples include Neptune Court, One Tree Hill Mansions, Paterson Court, Orchard Court, and Townhouse Apartments. Under the enhanced regime, these developments can undergo a collective sale by majority consent if the flat owners own leases of at least 850 years. Those with leases of less than 850 years will also have the same rights.

While making en bloc sales more achievable for ageing estates, the Bill simultaneously introduces stronger protections for owners who do not support a collective sale. The threshold to initiate a collective sale attempt would be raised, requiring at least 35 per cent of owners by share value or number of units to sign the requisition to convene a general meeting to form a collective sale committee (CSC). This is up from the current 20 to 25 per cent.

The time period for CSCs to gather signatures for the collective sale agreement would be cut to six months, down from 12 months, reducing the period of uncertainty for all owners. After a failed collective sale attempt, stricter rules would apply for subsequent attempts within the next three years, up from the current two-year restriction period. Any attempts to reconvene and form a CSC during this period would face heightened requisition thresholds, aimed at preventing repeated attempts where support remains insufficient.

Under the proposed changes, the first retry threshold remains at 50 per cent. However, subsequent retries during the same restriction period would require 70 per cent for properties aged 40 to 59 years, and 65 per cent for developments 60 years and older. If the Bill is passed, these changes will apply to ongoing collective sale exercises where the first signature has not been obtained as of the date the amendments come into force.

Among the more compelling remaining candidates for collective sale are older, larger residential developments built in the 1970s and early 1980s. These estates typically occupy sizeable land parcels and possess significant redevelopment potential under current planning parameters. Three notable examples include the 918-unit Braddell View, which could yield 2,600 new homes if redeveloped; the 516-unit Laguna Park, which could offer 1,700 new homes; and the 660-unit Pine Grove, which could house over 2,000 new units. All three were completed between 1978 and 1984, are now more than 40 years old, and have each undergone unsuccessful collective sale attempts.

Lee Sze Teck, Huttons Asia’s senior director of data analytics, estimates there are around 150 private non-landed projects aged between 40 and 59 years old, and fewer than 10 that are 60 years and older. About 40 per cent of these older developments are located in District 9, 10, and 11, including freehold Pandan Valley, the 999-year Ridgewood condominium in Holland, and the 99-year leasehold Hillcrest Arcadia in Bukit Timah.

SRI capital markets managing partner Low Choon Sin noted that the changes appear targeted at facilitating the renewal of genuinely ageing developments, rather than simply making the en bloc process easier across the board. Savills Singapore executive director Alan Cheong observed that much of the “low-hanging fruit” had already been redeveloped in earlier collective sale cycles, leaving a smaller pool of viable options today. Taken together with recent changes to the ABSD remission framework for larger en bloc redevelopment projects, industry players expect the proposed amendments to encourage older and larger projects to restart collective sale attempts.