Private apartment owners who rent out their apartments
or rooms on a short-term basis on websites like Airbnb may soon be
flouting the law.
Parliament passed a new law on Monday which makes it
illegal for such home owners to rent out entire apartments and
rooms for less than six months, unless they have permission from
the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) to do so.
But the URA is studying the option of creating a new
category of private homes that will be allowed for short-term
rentals, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Monday
at the debate on the Planning (Amendment) Bill in Parliament.
If created, the new category can apply to existing
properties, as well as new residential sites that may be designated
specifically for the building of short-term rental properties.
The new law will also limit the number of unrelated
tenants in private apartments to six, down from the currently
allowed eight. Apartments that are rented to more than six
unrelated tenants will be treated as dormitories and would require
URA's approval.
"Private residential properties should not be used for
other purposes without planning approval, as there is a need to
safeguard the living environment of residents in the
neighbourhood," said Mr Wong.
The changes to the law come on the back of growing
complaints regarding short-term rentals last year. The URA received
608 complaints in 2016, 61 per cent more than the 377 complaints in
2015.
The new law will allow the URA to "make sure that the
issue does not worsen further", Mr Wong said.
Still, the minister noted that the government is not
shutting its doors on short-term home rentals. Besides the new
category of private homes that can be rented out like service
apartments, the URA is considering allowing shorter rental periods.
Currently, the minimum rental period is set at six months.
Besides tightening the law on private residential
properties, the new law also grants URA powers to impose conditions
on developers aimed at making new buildings more livable and
friendlier to pedestrians through the provision of public spaces
and covered walkways.
These features account for only a small component of
development costs and will not reduce the development potential of
sites because they are excluded from overall floor area, said Mr
Wong.
URA officers will also get more powers to investigate
breaches of planning regulations, including summoning witnesses for
interviews and entering premises for inspections.
The punishment for those who set up unauthorised
dormitories was also enhanced to include a jail term, while the
maximum fine for those who tear down conserved buildings, both
partially or fully, was increased from $200,000 to $500,000.
The new law also holds property owners responsible for
unauthorised works by their tenants or contractors, unless they can
show that they have taken precautions to prevent them.
ST