Property Herald: Hurdles to en bloc sales not addressed in government proposal

Background

On 4 August 2026, the Ministry of Law introduced the Land Titles (Strata) (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, proposing some of the biggest changes to Singapore's collective sale (en bloc) framework since 1999.

The proposal include changes to the owners’ minimum consent threshold for older developments to launch the en bloc sale. Previously, the threshold was a blanket 80% for all developments aged 10 years and older. Under than proposal, the owners’ consent threshold will vary depending on the age of the development. Developments aged 40 to 59 years old would require 70% owner consent, while condos aged 60 years and above require only 65%.

The Bill also extends the collective sale framework to certain non-strata-titled private residential developments where owners hold long leases but do not own the underlying land.

Table 1: Proposed changes to property owners’ minimum consent for en bloc sales

Age of development	Current consent threshold	Proposed consent threshold
< 10 years	90%	90%
10 to 39 years	80%	80%
40 to 59 years	80%	70%
≥ 60 years	80%	65%

Source: Mogul.sg Research, Ministry of Law

In addition to lowering the consent thresholds for older developments, the Bill introduces several safeguards to protect minority property owners while discouraging repeated en bloc attempts.

The minimum support required to form a Collective Sale Committee (CSC) will increase to 35% of the owners. The period for collecting signatures for a collective sale agreement will be shortened from 12 months to 6 months, while the waiting period before a fresh collective sale attempt can be launched after an unsuccessful bid will be extended from 2 years to 3 years. During which, any attempt to form a new CSC would be subject to the higher requisition threshold.

The Bill also enhances compensation for owners who object to a collective sale. The payment to successful objectors will be increased to 0.5% of the sale proceeds for each lot or flat, or S$2,000 per lot or flat, whichever is higher.

Four major hurdles to residential en bloc sales

Although the proposal could potentially open the door to more en bloc sales, the owners of older properties still face at least four major hurdles.

The first hurdle is the rising prices of replacement homes. Property owners who are contemplating an en bloc sale would have to consider the prices of the replacement homes that they must purchase before they move out of their current homes. Some owners, especially those with children or a multi-generational family, would want to buy a replacement home that is the same size or have the same number of bedrooms as their current home.

Hence, downgrading to a smaller dwelling unit is not an option, especially when the newer homes are smaller in size than the older ones. For example, a 3-bedroom condominium unit build in the 1990s are typically bigger than 1,200 sq ft in size. A newer 3-bedroom condominium unit that are launched in the past one year only measures about 850 to 950 sq ft.

As the prices of the new and resale homes continue to rise, these owners would be forced to raise the asking prices for their existing properties, which would pose a challenge to a successful en bloc sale.

The second hurdle is that the development plot ratios almost all the ageing residential non-landed properties have not increased for more than 27 years, even though the Master Plan has undergone five rounds of revision since 1998.

The Gross Plot Ratio (GPR) is a planning control set by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA). It determines the density of the property project by defining the maximum allowable Gross Floor Area (GFA) of a development relative to its total land area. The higher the plot ratio, the more GFA can be built on a piece of land.

An increase in the plot ratio would raise the value of the development land. This would be a win-win-win situation for the property owners, the real estate developer and the government. The property owners could sell their properties at higher prices through the en bloc sale. The developer could build a larger development on the land and enjoy greater economies of scale. The government could collect higher stamp duties, land betterment charges and other taxes from the increase in the property value.

Ultimately, an increase in the plot ratio of the residential land would also benefit the nation on the whole as more housing units can be built on our limited development land to house a growing population. There could also reduce the pressure to bulldoze our forests for property development if the plot ratios of ageing condominiums are raised.

If the plot ratio remains unchanged for decades, the growth in the land value would be significantly slower, which would not incentivize the property owners to support the en bloc sale.

The third hurdle is the steady supply of GLS residential land which is a competitor to en bloc sale projects. Developers may choose to acquire the development land from the government over en bloc sales because the Government Land Sale process is shorter and face lower risk of owners’ objections and litigation.

The fourth hurdle is the 60% ABSD imposed on foreign buyers of local residential properties.

Some of the older prime condo in the CCR have a significant number of units owned by foreigners. These foreigner owners would be reluctant to sell their properties because they must pay a 60% ABSD on the prices of the replacement homes after the successful en bloc sale.

The ABSD could more than wipe out all the en bloc sale gains and the net result is that these foreigners could be worse off if the en bloc sale succeed.

Conclusion

Before 1999, the owners’ consent threshold for en bloc sale was 100%. Even then en bloc sale still occurred especially when the plot ratios on the land parcel is increased. Therefore, among the four factors mentioned above, the absence of any increase in the plot ratios of the private residential land is the most formidable hurdle to successful en bloc sales.