Khaw urges URA to review policy on selling off free spaces

"Have it fixed," he said.

According to a blog post by Minister for National Development Khaw Boon Wan, it's high time for URA to review its policy allowing developers to sell off spaces that were accorded to them for free to make more profit.

"In some recent EC launches, super-sized ECs units were offered and snapped up by buyers who did not appear to be from the “sandwiched” households. Understandably, there was public indignation at such deviations (both by some developers and some buyers) from what we had intended ECs to serve," he wrote.

He probed deeper into the matter and found out that URA allows developers to sell free spaces (e.g., outdoor roof terraces). "Developers can use this free space to develop private OR communal roof terraces, and they are NOT counted as GFA (gross floor area)," Khaw added.

Here's more from his blog:

Developers’ selling off free spaces to make additional profit for themselves is not improper under current URA rules. But as more developers do so, with larger private roof terraces and PES, communal space in the development that benefits all residents will correspondingly shrink. There is a further downstream problem as some buyers may be disappointed later on, when they find out that these outdoor spaces that they have paid for are not allowed to be covered up or enclosed.

I have directed URA to review this policy and have it fixed.

Read the entire blog post here.

If you've been wondering whether SBR could work for your company — yes, probably.

A lot of the companies we partner with started as readers. They'd been following our coverage for a while, saw their own customers and competitors in it, and eventually asked the obvious question: could we do something with you? The answer is usually yes. The shape of it depends on what you're trying to do.

The options are broader than most people assume — thought leadership articles, sponsored content, industry summits across Southeast Asia, regional awards programmes, podcasts, and media placements in print and digital. Some partners use one channel; most use a mix. We figure out the right combination by starting with your brief, not with our rate card.

So if the question has been on your mind, here's the easy way to ask it.

We'll tell you honestly whether we can help, and how. It's a better use of everyone's time.

Book a meeting

| Or download the media kit (PDF)

240,000 senior readers quarterly in print Top 1,700 Singapore companies reached

7 markets across Southeast Asia