Average development charges cut 3% for non-landed residential use, but raised 2% for commercial use

Kalpana Rashiwala

Published Fri, Feb 27, 2015 · 10:09 AM

DEVELOPMENT charge (DC) rates - payable for enhancing the use of some sites or to build bigger projects on them - have been reduced by 3 per cent on average for non-landed residential use for the period March 1 to Aug 31. For commercial use, DC rates have been raised by 2 per cent on average.

DC rates were left completely unchanged for landed residential use, industrial use, as well as for the use group that covers hotels and hospitals. Likewise there was no change in DC rates for the use group for places of worship and civic and community institutions.

The Ministry of National Development, in consultation with the Chief Valuer, revises DC rates twice a year - on March 1 and Sept 1. The rates are stated according to use groups across 118 geographical sectors in Singapore.

DC rates for the major use groups are expressed as per square metre of gross floor area.

For non-landed residential use, DC rates were trimmed by 2 per cent to 13 per cent for 73 out of the 118 sectors. No change was posted for the balance 45 sectors. The largest drop, of 13 per cent, was seen for sector 100 only, which covers Tampines Road, Hougang, Punggol and the Sengkang area.

For commercial use, DC rates were raised by 4 to 9 per cent in 31 sectors and left unchanged for the other 87 sectors.

The sectors that saw the biggest rise of 9 per cent included sectors 8 and 10 (Maxwell Road,Telok Ayer Street, Hoe Chiang Road and Keppel Road) and sectors 13 and 14 (Marina Gardens Drive, Marina Mall, Sheares Avenue and Marina Link).

Sector 16, which includes the Chinatown area, Amoy Street and Peck Seah Street area, also saw a 9 per cent rate hike, as did sectors 15, 17 and 18 (which include Eu Tong Sen Street, Upper Pickering Street, Upper Cross Street, Outram Park and Chin Swee Road).

The same rate hike was seen in sectors 19, 20 and 21 (which include the Kim Seng Road, Robertson Quay, Havelock Road, the Clarke Quay and Boat Quay areas and North Canal Road), as well as sectors 61 and 62 (Bukit Timah Road, Dunearn Road, Newton Road, Keng Lee Road and Thomson Road area).