Pearls centre owners issued compensation and given additional assistance to relocate

1. The Government has issued the Collector’s Awards to owners and tenants at Pearls Centre on 27 March 2013.

Background

2. Pearls Centre was gazetted for compulsory acquisition on 29 August 2012 for the construction of the Thomson MRT line and comprehensive redevelopment. Pearls Centre is a 99-year leasehold strata-titled development comprising 243 strata retail, office and residential units. It has a remaining tenure of about 54 years. The Government will take possession of the units at Pearls Centre in August 2014.

3. Since the gazette of acquisition, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) officers have met with owners and tenants to address their questions, and assist them with submitting their compensation claims. Member of Parliament for Tanjong Pagar GRC, Ms Indranee Rajah, also held two dialogue sessions in November 2012 with owners and tenants to understand their concerns.

Government’s Compensation

4. The Collector’s Award comprises the statutory compensation, which takes into account the market value of the acquired property as assessed by private valuers appointed by SLA, and reasonable expenses such as removal costs incurred in the relocation, stamp duty and legal fees for the purchase of a comparable replacement property. In accordance with the Land Acquisition Act, the statutory compensation does not take into account speculative factors, such as the possibility of an en bloc sale.

5. Having considered the factors raised by affected owners and tenants, the Government has also offered an ex-gratia payment to mitigate the financial impact of the acquisition exercise. The ex-gratia payment is a goodwill payment that takes into account the individual circumstances of the affected owners and tenants.

6. Ms Indranee Rajah said, “The statutory compensation is based on the market value of the acquired property. Taking into account the concerns highlighted by the owners and tenants, the Government has also offered ex-gratia payments and put in place various measures to assist the owners and tenants of Pearls Centre.”

7. She added, “There were a few owners who submitted excessive claims, some of which were two to three times the market value. It was not possible to meet these claims, bearing in mind that the compensation is paid out of public funds, and no justification was provided for the excessive claims. However, the total compensation, including statutory compensation and ex-gratia payment, met or exceeded the majority of the other claims.”

Assistance Measures

8. All affected owners will receive an advance payment of the compensation before they hand over the acquired property to the Government.

9. Owners of residential properties at Pearls Centre will not be subject to the recently implemented loan-to-value and loan tenure limits when they purchase a replacement property. Those who are eligible to apply for a new HDB flat will not be subject to the usual 30-month debarment period imposed on former owners of private properties.

10. Owners who owned and occupied their units can continue to stay at their units at a concessionary rental rate after they have handed over the units to the Government and received the full compensation, if this can be accommodated by the timeline of re-development works.

11. The Government has also made a similar provision for commercial tenants to rent the units at a concessionary rental rate so that they can continue running their business for a while longer, after the owners have handed over the units to the Government.

12. SLA will continue to be in touch with affected owners and tenants and be helpful as the needs arise.

-End-

Issued by:
The Singapore Land Authority
27 March 2013

About SLA
Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resources for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system. For more details, visit www.sla.gov.sg.