Infringements of Planning Act 1998 Relating to Letting Out of Short-term Accommodation
Ministry of National DevelopmentSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the number of Planning Act 1998 infringements regarding short-term accommodation and whether hosting platforms are penalized, as raised by Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis. Minister Desmond Lee reported that since 2019, the Urban Redevelopment Authority has issued 64 composition fines and prosecuted 15 persons for the misuse of private residential properties. Penalties range from composition fines of up to $5,000 for first-time offenders to court-imposed fines of up to $200,000 per charge for repeat or large-scale violations. Notable examples include individuals fined $1.16 million in 2022 and $1.4 million in 2023 for misusing 14 and 19 private properties, respectively. While enforcement action targets directly responsible parties like property owners rather than platforms, the government regularly engages online platforms to ensure listings comply with Singapore’s laws.
Transcript
30 Mr Chua Kheng Wee Louis asked the Minister for National Development (a) over the last five years, what is the number of infringements of the Planning Act 1998 relating to the letting out of short-term accommodation; (b) what is the total number and amount of fines that have been meted out; and (c) whether platforms where such listings are located are also fined in these cases.
Mr Desmond Lee: Since 2019, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has imposed 64 composition fines and prosecuted 15 persons for the misuse of private residential properties for short-term accommodation, as such infringements compromise the living environment of neighbouring residents due to the frequent turnover of transient occupants.
First-time offenders are subject to a composition fine of up to $5,000. Repeat offenders, or those found to have committed such offences involving multiple properties, will be prosecuted and liable to a fine of up to $200,000 per charge. For example, in 2022, an individual was fined $1.16 million for the misuse of 14 private residential properties. In 2023, another individual was fined $1.4 million for the misuse of 19 private residential properties.
URA has taken enforcement action against the parties directly responsible for the misuse of the property, such as the property owners, and not the online platforms that host short-term accommodation listings. Nonetheless, URA regularly engages key online platforms to ensure that listings on their platforms do not perpetuate rental arrangements that run afoul of Singapore’s laws.
URA will continue to monitor the situation and review our measures as necessary.