Property Basics

Keeping this to the end of my studying, and now that I’ve done the content-intensive / new topics, here are the basics.

The URA classifies residential developments in three ways:

• registration instrument
  • landed (land title or strata title)
  • non-landed (strata title or strata lease)
• density
  • low, medium, high
• housing type
  • landed housing — low density
    • land title
      • detached (bungalow)
      • semi-detached
      • terrace
    • strata title
      • detached (bungalow)
      • semi-detached
      • terrace
      • mixed strata landed housing
      • (no condominium status allowed)
  • flats — medium to high density, land/strata title/lease
    • condominium
      • sites 0.4 ha or larger
        • 4,000 square metres
          (ha — hectare, 10,000 square metres, 100 x 100 metres)
    • non-condominium
      • sites smaller than 0.4 ha.
    • HDB flats

There are low density non-landed properties — 4-storey flats with a plot ratio of 1.4. (Those white, walk-up buildings?)

(talking to myself: does that mean land title i own the land, strata title i own the building but someone else owns the land? like a developer buys lots of lots, builds lots of bungalows, and i buy one bungalow, so i own the strata title? makes sense for mixed strata landed housing.)

Landed Property

• Good Class Bungalow
• Detached House / Bungalow
• Semi-Detached
• Terrace
• Strata Landed
  • (not a condo)

Land Dealings Approval Unit approval needed before foreigners can buy landed property. From the SLA.

Good Class Bungalow

• Minimum plot size
  • 1,400 square metres
  • 18.5 x 30 metres
• Maximum site coverage
  • 40%
• Maximum levels
  • two storeys
    • excludes basement, so just two above ground.

There are 39 Good Class Bungalow areas in Singapore, where the land cannot be developed for more intensive use. (lots of them are called “Park”, “Avenue” or “Estate”, with two “Hill”s.)

Only bungalows in these areas can be called “Good Class Bungalows”. Those outside the areas, even if meeting size requirements, are just called bungalows.

Strata bungalows are allowed.

Detached House / Bungalow

A free standing house with its own land, boundary, and no common wall.

• Minimum plot size:
  • 400 square metres
    • unless existing lot
  • 10 metres wide
• Maximum site coverage
  • 50%
• Maximum levels
  • by height control
    • one massive floor, two floors, or three shorter floors

Envelope control guidelines for landed housing is a 3D blend of height and plot boundaries, as well as road setbacks. Allows owners to control insides. (maximum use of space includes a sloped roof, which is why so many properties have one. also good physics/architecture.)

Strata bungalows allowed.

Semi-Detached House

A house that shares a common wall.

• Minimum plot size:
  • 200 square metres
  • 8 metres wide if side-by-side
  • 10 metres wide if back-to-back
• Maximum levels
  • by height control
    • one massive floor, two floors, or three shorter floors

(Strata) bungalows, and strata semi-detached allowed. (you can buy two lots and build a bungalow.)

Terrace House

A house, in a row of at least three, with a common boundary (not wall). Each house has their own side walls, boundary walls, and roof. And land.

Corner terraces have only one party wall, and have a larger garden area. Intermediate two party walls.

There are two types of terrace houses, and
a difference between corner and intermediate units:

• terrace type/house I
  • corner (= semi-detached house)
    • 200 square metres
    • 8 metres wide if side-by-side
    • 10 metres wide if back-to-back
  • intermediate
    • 150 square metres
    • 6 metres wide

• terrace type/house II
  • corner
    • 80 metres square
    • 8 metres wide
  • intermediate
    • 80 metres square
    • 6 metres wide

• Maximum levels
  • by height control
    • one massive floor, two floors, or three shorter floors.

(Strata) bungalows and strata semi-detached allowed. (again, buy more lots and build bigger.)

Strata Landed Housing

Landed houses sharing a communal open space and facilities,
no condominium status allowed.

• Minimum plot size:
  • 1,000 square metres
• Minimum building footprint — ground contact
  • 100 square metres
• Maximum site coverage
  • 40% in Good Class Bungalow areas
  • 50% outside
• Minimum Communal Open Space and communal facilities
  • 45%
    • 25% of that for greenery.

Strata bungalows, strata semi-detached, strata terrace allowed.

(ah so i’m right. a developer has bought and developed the land. i just own one unit in it.)

Management Corporation Strata Title is formed to maintain the common areas.

Townhouse — a landed property in a row of at least three, with a car park accessory lot (must be sold together), sharing common property (access roads, gardens…).

Cluster house — “similar to a condominium but… landed instead of apartments”. (what. shared carpark?)

Both strata-titled restricted property — foreigners need permission to buy (?).

// somebody said townhouses are strata landed in condo, while cluster houses are landed houses with common facilities.

// someone else said townhouses can be part of condo or standalone, sharing pools and gyms, while cluster homes are a hybrid of landed properties with condo-style facilities…

// best answer: townhouses have a common party wall that links all neighbours, while cluster homes are structured to each have a piece of land. Ah. Thank you Colebuild!

Non-Landed Properties

Apartments:

• High-rise apartment
  • Minimum site area
    • 1,000 square metres
  • six storeys and higher
• Low-rise apartment
  • Minimum site area
    • 1,000 square metres — stand-alone flat
    • 600 square metres — party-wall flat
  • less than six stories
• may come with or without facilities like a gym or pool.

Walk-up flat — (usually) four storeys or less, accessible by staircase.

Condominium:

• Minimum site area
  • 0.4 hectares
  • 4,000 square metres
• Maximum site coverage:
  • 50%
    • includes covered car parks
• comes with facilities like pool, gym, landscaping

Remember how Strata Landed Housing above is not a condo?
URA: Mixed strata landed and apartments will no longer be granted condominium status from 2012.

Management Corporation Strata Title is formed to maintain the common areas.

Duplex — an apartment with two floors connected by an inner staircase.

Commercial/Industrial Properties

Office — business and admin work.

Shop — sale of goods and foodstuff

Retail shop — (think shop. and takeaway food/drink places)

Industrial property:

• Minimum 60% total floor area for industrial activities
• Maximum 40% total floor area for ancillary activities (office, communal…)
• No commercial offices or retail allowed

Light industrial building — the machinery generates no pollution, noise, vibration, smell… (B1)

General industrial building — pollutes. (B2)

Warehouse — storage. only.

Shophouse — hybrid. Strata subdivision generally allowed unless conservation property.

Commercial developments can be:

• Commercial
  • a free-standing development or strata subdivided
• Mixed commercial & residential
  • Maximum 40% of total Gross Floor Area for commercial
• Residential with commercial

strata subdivision allowed.

Square Metres to Square Feet

I do hope this doesn’t come up, because I’m going in without a calculator, but

• 1 square meter = 10.764 square feet

Whee.

❤️🌧️

Image of stone slabs by andreas160578 from Pixabay.

P.s. If you started here, now go to Land Law because that’s where it begins.