The amendments on the Land Acquisition Act will benefit land owners whose land is acquired for development, according to Senior Minister of State for Law Indranee Rajah and reported in the media.
Passed in Parliament on Tuesday, the changes effectively removed the “betterment levy” or the fee imposed on landowners for the increase in value of the area around the acquired land due to the developments.
In outlining the amendments, Ms Indranee, said: “Previously, if after having acquired Part A, the value of Part B goes up, when you compensate the owner for Part A, what we would have done is deduct the increase in Part B.
“So effectively the owner gets less. In this instance, what we are saying is we will no longer deduct the increase to Part B, which may have risen as a result of whatever else developments take place around that land. And in this way, the land owner benefits,” she added.
Aside from this, the amendments will also minimise inconvenience to individual unit owners as well as speed up the acquisition process including the disbursement of compensation.
The Management Corporation of strata-titled developments, for instance, can act on behalf of individual unit owners when common property is subject for acquisition.
Presently, when common areas in strata-titled developments are acquired, all unit owners must go through the whole acquisition process, even if their units are not affected by the acquisition.
Muneerah Bee, Senior Journalist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact her about this or other stories email muneerah@propertyguru.com.sg
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