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Articles 1 - 30 of 37
Full-Text Articles in Law
Assessing Impact Of Urban Densification On Outdoor Microclimate And Thermal Comfort Using Envi-Met Simulations For Combined Spatial-Climatic Design (Cscd) Approach, Shreya Banerjee, Rachel X.Y. Pek, Sin Kang Yik, Graces N. Ching, Xiang Tian Ho, Dzyuban Yuliya, Peter J. Crank, Juan A. Acero, Winston T. L. Chow
Assessing Impact Of Urban Densification On Outdoor Microclimate And Thermal Comfort Using Envi-Met Simulations For Combined Spatial-Climatic Design (Cscd) Approach, Shreya Banerjee, Rachel X.Y. Pek, Sin Kang Yik, Graces N. Ching, Xiang Tian Ho, Dzyuban Yuliya, Peter J. Crank, Juan A. Acero, Winston T. L. Chow
Research Collection College of Integrative Studies
Future urban planning requires context-specific integration of spatial design and microclimate especially for tropical cities with extreme weather conditions. Thus, we propose a Combined Spatial-Climatic Design approach to assess impact of urban densification on annual outdoor thermal comfort performance employing ENVI-met simulations for Singapore. We first consider building bylaws and residential site guidelines to develop eight urban-density site options for a target population range. We further classify annual weather data into seven weather-types and use them as boundary conditions for the simulations. Comparing such fifty-six combined spatial-climatic simulation outputs by analyzing Outdoor Thermal Comfort Autonomy, we report the influence of …
Guest Editorial: Comparative Perspectives In Multi-Owned Developments Across City-States, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Guest Editorial: Comparative Perspectives In Multi-Owned Developments Across City-States, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
I am delighted to have had the opportunity to be the guest editor of this special issue titled “Comparative perspectives in multi-owned developments across City-States”. The theme of the special issue seeks to explore the worldwide phenomenon of urbanisation across all major cities, which has inevitably led to the proportion of apartment or flat dwellers increasing significantly. Issues relating to creating multi-owned schemes, resolving disputes between neighbours and management corporations and eventually the termination of the development to facilitate urban renewal are thus shared commonalities for owners, tenants, landlords and developers across jurisdictions. The aim of the special issue is …
"Takings" And "Givings" In Singapore: Land Law And Policy In The Search For Justice, Rachel Phang
"Takings" And "Givings" In Singapore: Land Law And Policy In The Search For Justice, Rachel Phang
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In the United States and globally, cities are increasingly plagued by deepening housing crisis and widening economic inequality. In the face of these crises, this Article focuses on the potentially powerful role for land law and policy in the search for justice. Specifically, it does so by reference to two unusual yet illuminating choices of theory and application: the case study of Singapore, and the school of thought of Georgism, both of which accord inordinate and paramount importance to land. Singapore’s land law and policy have been characterized by extensive takings and givings of land. In consequence, the State owns …
Conceptualizing Condominium Law And Children: Comparing The State Of Strata Titles Law In New South Wales And Singapore, Hang Wu Tang
Conceptualizing Condominium Law And Children: Comparing The State Of Strata Titles Law In New South Wales And Singapore, Hang Wu Tang
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Purpose: This article conceptualises the legal relations embedded within condominium housing and the various theories of property ownership to ascertain how children’s interest fit within this framework. The laws of two jurisdictions, New South Wales and Singapore are examined to determine how their strata law responds when children’s safety is at stake. Design/methodology/approach: A comparative method using case law, statutes and secondary literature across both jurisdictions is adopted. This article also draws on various theories of property ownership. Findings: Drawing on pluralist moral theories of property law, the thesis advanced is that children’s issues within condominiums should not be subject …
'99-To-1’ Property Deals: Stamp Duty Avoidance Or Honest Mistake, Vincent Ooi
'99-To-1’ Property Deals: Stamp Duty Avoidance Or Honest Mistake, Vincent Ooi
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article explains in detail the legal issues surrounding the recent ABSD audit and how exactly the general anti-avoidance rule and the stamp duty avoidance surcharge in the Stamp Duties Act 1929 can be invoked by the IRAS.The article highlights the fact that it may not be enough for a property buyer to show that the '99-to-1' holding was intended to enable the buyer to qualify for a home loan and not 'for stamp duty avoidance'. The property buyer must be able to answer the additional question of why the transfer of the property is 'staggered' in two stages and …
The Doctrine Of Unilateral Severance And Its Potential Development In Singapore, Zhi Jia Koh
The Doctrine Of Unilateral Severance And Its Potential Development In Singapore, Zhi Jia Koh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Co-ownership of land is commonplace in Singapore, and the manner of holding among co-owners has important practical implications. Joint tenants are subject to the rule of survivorship, but what if a joint tenant does not wish to be locked into the survivorship wheel of fortune? A joint tenant may unilaterally sever the joint tenancy by an act operating upon his or her share of the land, but questions remain as to when that occurs and the consequent duration of severance. This article attempts to address these questions with the current alienation-based approach and suggest the possibility of an intention-based approach.
Compensating And Taxing Land Regulations, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Compensating And Taxing Land Regulations, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In this article, I synthesise the literature regarding the law and economics approach dealing with compulsory acquisition. Contrary to the status quo, I reason that regulations not amounting to an acquisition, but which adversely affect economic value, should also be compensable from an efficiency lens. This can be accommodated within the existing jurisprudence by recognising that acquisition ‘gains’ can also include environmental amenities, rather than only limiting these to land or property in specie by the acquiring authority. Similarly, where landowners enjoy an uplift in value from regulations, some part of this windfall profit should be taxable. The article takes …
The Value Of Fiduciary Duties: Evidence From En Bloc Sales In Singapore, Jianfeng Hu, Kelvin F. K. Low, Wei Zhang
The Value Of Fiduciary Duties: Evidence From En Bloc Sales In Singapore, Jianfeng Hu, Kelvin F. K. Low, Wei Zhang
Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business
This paper examines the impact of fiduciary duties on collective asset sales in the case of owners acting as delegates for other owners, thereby potentially inducing conflicts of interests. Our identification strategy exploits a unique legal shock in Singapore, which established fiduciary duties in those transactions in the real estate market known colloquially as en bloc sales. The imposition of fiduciary duties caused the price premium of units sold via en bloc sales to increase over units ineligible for en bloc sale, as well as over units that, although eligible for en bloc sale, are sold individually. In addition, this …
Resulting And Constructive Trusts In The Contemporary Singaporean Family Context, Man Yip
Resulting And Constructive Trusts In The Contemporary Singaporean Family Context, Man Yip
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The legal rules that emerge in a society are shaped by the conditions of that society. In the area of trusts law, this chapter argues that the English principles of the presumed resulting trust and the common intention constructive trust have been adapted to suit the Singaporean family context. At first sight, given that Singapore law has declined to follow the Stack v Dowden line of developments that have taken place in English law concerning beneficial ownership of family property, it may appear that Singapore trusts law is more conservative and that pre-Stack English law is better preserved on Singapore …
Of Landlords And Tenants: Property In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Of Landlords And Tenants: Property In The Midst Of A Pandemic, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Described as the crisis of our generation, the coronavirus pandemic has had a profound effect on consumption behaviour, in turn devastating businesses globally. Marking a departure from the sanctity of contract and causing perceived incursions to accrued legal rights, the Coronavirus Act 2020 and related legislation provide business tenancies protection, among others, against forfeiture for non-payment of rent. While this regulation of commercial tenancies appears to be justified on the basis of pragmatic utility, I suggest that Honoré’s incident of ownership prohibiting harmful use also allows for these emergency laws to be vindicated from a property perspective. This provides an …
Strata Plan Cancellations In Australasia: A Comparative Analysis Of Nine Jurisdictions, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Strata Plan Cancellations In Australasia: A Comparative Analysis Of Nine Jurisdictions, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
A growing number of Australasian jurisdictions now permit a supermajority of owners to terminate a co-owned building scheme allowing proprietors to redevelop, or more commonly, sell the underlying land. This planning tool aids municipal rejuvenation, prevents urban sprawl and provides new housing. In this paper, I examine the provisions pertaining to cancellation of unit plans under nine jurisdictions – New Zealand and all eight jurisdictions in Australia. This comparative analysis highlights several unique aspects of the Unit Title Act 2010 (NZ) such as the way its voting thresholds are calculated and the idiosyncratic application of the ‘just and equitable’ standard …
Blockchain Land Transfers: Technology, Promises, And Perils, Vincent Ooi, Kian Peng Soh, Jerrold Soh
Blockchain Land Transfers: Technology, Promises, And Perils, Vincent Ooi, Kian Peng Soh, Jerrold Soh
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The blockchain’s apparent immutability has attracted significant interest on whether it may be relied on for registering and transferring land. Proponents of blockchain-based land systems point toward data security, automated transacting, and improved accessibility as key benefits; critics raise concerns over structural vulnerabilities, such as majority attacks, and inconsistencies with existing legal frameworks. The literature, however, tends to conceptualise blockchain as one monolithic data structure invariably built on the same mechanisms powering Bitcoin. This paper seeks to situate the debate on a closer understanding of the range of blockchain implementations possible. To this end, we provide a detailed technological survey …
Comparative Lessons In Sectional Title Laws: Mitigating Urban Inequality In South Africa, Edward S. W. Ti
Comparative Lessons In Sectional Title Laws: Mitigating Urban Inequality In South Africa, Edward S. W. Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Urban inequality in South Africa is a formidable problem that is linked to the injustices of its historical apartheid past. This paper identifies sectional titles, a form of property ownership where proprietors wholly own their apartment unit while co-owning the land and common property, as critical to providing more affordable housing. Sectional title schemes mitigate urban inequality by giving a greater proportion of the country the opportunity to own legally secure, well-located dwellings while serving as a platform where communal living could take place. Two suggestions how sectional title legislation can further alleviate aspects of urban inequality are made (1) …
The Torrens System In Singapore: 75 Years From Conception To Commencement, Alvin W. L. See
The Torrens System In Singapore: 75 Years From Conception To Commencement, Alvin W. L. See
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article tells the story of how the Torrens system of land titles registration came to be adopted in Singapore. From conception to commencement, the entire process took over 75 years, far longer than any other law reform the country has experienced. Particular attention is paid to why the Australian model was preferred despite the significant influence of English law in colonial Singapore. Although as with anything, much of what happened could be attributed to chance, a great deal can be learned from this story, which details the socio-economic and political forces that have shaped the law into what it …
Fixtures, Mortgages And Retention Of Title Clauses, Alvin W-L See
Fixtures, Mortgages And Retention Of Title Clauses, Alvin W-L See
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article examines the impact of the doctrine of fixtures on the supply of goods on retention of title terms, particularly where the goods have been affixed to a land that is encumbered by a pre-existing mortgage. As the law now stands, the mortgagee invariably prevails in a priority contest, leaving the supplier with no effective way of protecting its interest. It is argued that the currently broad definition of a fixture requires rethinking to achieve a more balanced treatment of the two parties.
Towards Fairly Apportioning Sale Proceeds In A Collective Sale Of Strata Property, Edward S. W. Ti
Towards Fairly Apportioning Sale Proceeds In A Collective Sale Of Strata Property, Edward S. W. Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Cake-cutting is a longstanding metaphor for a wide range of real-world problems that involve the division of anything of value. Unsurprisingly, where owners of a strata scheme wish to end the strata scheme and collectively sell their development, one of the most contentious issues may be the apportionment of sale proceeds. In Singapore, this problem is compounded in mixed developments which have both commercial and residential elements as well as in developments with different sized units, often with disproportionate strata share values; even differing facings and the state of one’s unit may attract disenchantment when trying to apportion proceeds. This …
Revisiting The Presumptions Of Resulting Trust And Advancement In The Context Of Joint Tenanted Matrimonial Property: Two Innovations By The Singapore Court Of Appeal, Ian Hao Ran Mah
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In Singapore, the Court of Appeal’s decision in Lau Siew Kim v Yeo Guan Chye Terence remains the most authoritative pronouncement on the operation of the presumptions of resulting trust and advancement, particularly in the context of joint tenanted matrimonial property. One notable, albeit often overlooked, aspect of the decision is the modification of the presumption of advancement to operate like a rule of survivorship. On one view, the effect of this is to retransform the equitable tenancy in common into an equitable joint tenancy. This article identifies the doctrinal difficulties with this approach but ultimately recommends that the same …
What Is The Value Of Built Heritage? Assessing Spillover Effects Of Conserving Historic Sites In Singapore, Shin Bin Tan, Edward S. W. Ti
What Is The Value Of Built Heritage? Assessing Spillover Effects Of Conserving Historic Sites In Singapore, Shin Bin Tan, Edward S. W. Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Quantifying the economic benefits of built heritage facilitates the formulation and assessment of conservation policies and programs. There is however a lack of empirical research about the economic value of built heritage in Asian cities. This lack is problematic, given the rapid pace of demolition and redevelopment of historic landscapes in Asian cities. This study seeks to reduce the current gap in built heritage research by examining whether real estate premiums are generated by the designation of buildings as ‘conserved’ in Singapore, a city-state in South East Asia. Using 20 years of housing transaction data, and controlling for building, neighborhood …
Politics And Policy: Chinese Money And Its Impact On The Regulation Of Residential Property In The West, Edward Seng Wei Ti
Politics And Policy: Chinese Money And Its Impact On The Regulation Of Residential Property In The West, Edward Seng Wei Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The narrative of Chinese real estate investors in some western jurisdictions reads like this: China has in recent decades, enjoyed burgeoning wealth creation across all strata in society. Chinese buyers are attracted to a ‘westernised’ education for their children, an agreeable and law-abiding civic society all whilst living in a clean and pleasant environment. Western real estate markets are seen as safe havens and bringing about portfolio diversification. This flood of Chinese wealth has impacted residential housing markets resulting in locals being outpriced. To combat unaffordability and housing shortages, governments have had no choice but to impose regulatory measures preventing …
An Overlooked Overriding Interest In Singapore's Torrens System?, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
An Overlooked Overriding Interest In Singapore's Torrens System?, Seng Wei, Edward Ti
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
"A landowner free to develop his land as he wishes before the imposition of public controls, finds himself prohibited fromdoing so as a consequence of the controls. The title to his ownership of an estate or interest in the land is not disturbed orcalled into question in any fundamental way—he owns what he had previously … Nevertheless, the powers of ownershipare not what they were in all their fullness. He cannot legally do now what before he was at law and at liberty to do. Hisrights have been curtailed. He has lost something. What is it?"
Bitcoins And Other Cryptocurrencies As Property?, Kelvin F. K. Low, Ernie G. S. Teo
Bitcoins And Other Cryptocurrencies As Property?, Kelvin F. K. Low, Ernie G. S. Teo
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The hype over bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies has been compared to the tulip mania in seventeenth-century Netherlands. As they have gained popularity, the law has approached the subject warily, mostly from a regulatory perspective. However, there has been no comprehensive consideration of the fundamental nature of a cryptocurrency owner’s private law relation to his cryptocurrencies. Whether or not cryptocurrencies achieve mainstream adoption, this question will inevitably have to be addressed. This paper considers if bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies might be recognised as the subject of property rights by Commonwealth courts and if so, what such rights ought to entail. It …
Unauthorised Fiduciary Gains And The Constructive Trust, Alvin W. L. See
Unauthorised Fiduciary Gains And The Constructive Trust, Alvin W. L. See
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This article challenges the traditional assumption that all cases of unauthorised fiduciary gain warrant the same legal treatment, in particular the imposition of a constructive trust as a disgorgement remedy. It proposes a method of categorising the cases and ranking them based on the strength of the principal’s interest. It is suggested that in cases where the principal’s interest is not particularly strong, there is room for taking into account the interests of innocent third parties and affording them the necessary protection. For this purpose, the remedial constructive trust supplies the needed flexibility.
Restitution For The Mistaken Improver Of Land, Alvin W. L. See
Restitution For The Mistaken Improver Of Land, Alvin W. L. See
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
The recent Malaysian case of Dream Property Sdn Bhd v Atlas Housing Sdn Bhd marks a rare occasion where an improver of another’s land is allowed to claim from the latter for the improvement. In a landmark judgment, the Federal Court of Malaysia recognised the right of recovery as based on the law of unjust enrichment, but curiously departed from certain well-established principles under common law which are less generous to the improver. The significance of this decision clearly lies in its contribution to the continuing endeavour to achieve an appropriate balance between the interests of the landowner and the …
Hot Property In New Zealand: Empirical Evidence Of Housing Bubbles In The Metropolitan Centres, Ryan Greenaway-Mcgrevy, Peter C. B. Phillips
Hot Property In New Zealand: Empirical Evidence Of Housing Bubbles In The Metropolitan Centres, Ryan Greenaway-Mcgrevy, Peter C. B. Phillips
Research Collection School Of Economics
Using recently developed statistical methods for testing and dating exuberant behaviour in asset prices we document evidence of episodic bubbles in the New Zealand property market over the past two decades. The results show clear evidence of a broad-based New Zealand housing bubble that began in 2003 and collapsed over mid-2007 to early 2008 with the onset of the worldwide recession and the financial crisis. New methods of analysing market contagion are also developed and are used to examine spillovers from the Auckland property market to the other metropolitan centres. Evidence from the latest data reveals that the greater Auckland …
Dividing The Single Indivisible Transaction: Balancing The Interests Of Mortgagees And Innocent Occupants, Vincent Ooi
Dividing The Single Indivisible Transaction: Balancing The Interests Of Mortgagees And Innocent Occupants, Vincent Ooi
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
When a mortgagee provides the funds necessary to purchase a property, the law protects the priority of the mortgagee’s security interest from any other interests in the property created after that property was purchased (unless consented to by the mortgagee). The House of Lords affirmed this principle in Abbey National Building Society v Cann (‘Cann’), and rejected the technical argument based on a scintilla temporis in favour of the policy argument concerning the need to ensure that housing loans are available and affordable. The effect of this principle is to allow the mortgagee to enforce the security interest in the …
Landlord’S Liability For Tenant’S Nuisance: Uksc Clarifies The Law In Lawrence V Fen Tigers (No. 2), Kee Yang Low
Landlord’S Liability For Tenant’S Nuisance: Uksc Clarifies The Law In Lawrence V Fen Tigers (No. 2), Kee Yang Low
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Where an occupier of premises creates or causes a nuisance and affects his neighbour’s enjoyment of land, the neighbour may sue him under the tort of nuisance. Where the occupier is a tenant, the neighbour may also have recourse to the landlord. This area of law, however, has not been the subject of rigorous judicial analysis and appears to be still lacking in clarity, precision and sophistication. The position prior to the UKSC decision in Lawrence and another v Fen Tigers Ltd and others (No. 2),1 (“Lawrence”) as discerned by the authors of Markesinis & Deakin’s Tort Law2 is that, …
A Principled And Structured Approach For Ascertaining Beneficial Interests In Property Disputes: Chan Yuen Lan V See Fong Mun [2014] Sgca 36, Alvin W. L. See
A Principled And Structured Approach For Ascertaining Beneficial Interests In Property Disputes: Chan Yuen Lan V See Fong Mun [2014] Sgca 36, Alvin W. L. See
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
In Chan Yuen Lan v See Fong Mun [2014] SGCA 36, the Court of Appeal provided important clarifications about the relationship between a resulting trust and a common intention constructive trust for the purpose of ascertaining beneficial interests in cases of property dispute. This issue, which has attracted much speculations, was left open in Lau Siew Kim v Yeo Guan Chye Terence [2007] SGCA 54 where the same court merely confirmed the continued relevance of the twin presumptions of resulting trust and advancement.
The Fiduciary Doctrine As A New Pathway: An Alternative Approach To Analysing Native Customary Rights In Sarawak, Hang Wu Tang
The Fiduciary Doctrine As A New Pathway: An Alternative Approach To Analysing Native Customary Rights In Sarawak, Hang Wu Tang
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
This paper explores the use of the fiduciary doctrine whereby the state is conceived as a fiduciary vis-à-vis her native peoples and attendant equitable remedies are made available for the native customary rights over land in Sarawak. Thus far, most challenges to extinguishment of native customary rights in Sarawak have proceeded on constitutional grounds, with little success. This article draws on the jurisprudence of fiduciary law in other parts of the Commonwealth and argues that this is a viable alternative cause of action against the state.
From Coercion To Politics To Law: The Evolution Of Property Rights Protection, Fali Huang
From Coercion To Politics To Law: The Evolution Of Property Rights Protection, Fali Huang
Research Collection School Of Economics
This paper shows how property rights security improves over time as a result of increasing legal quality and political democratization in a political economy context, where political and legal institutions adapt to evolving factor composition of land and capital in the dynamic economic development process. There seems to exist a clear sequence of di⁄erent forms of protection in that it is unlikely to have a strong rule of law with an exploitative political regime, or to have a democratic political system when the distribution of potential coercive power is too skewed. The routine form of protection thus shifts from coercion …
A Presence Of The Past: The Legal Protection Of Singapore’S Archaeological Heritage, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee
A Presence Of The Past: The Legal Protection Of Singapore’S Archaeological Heritage, Jack Tsen-Ta Lee
Research Collection Yong Pung How School Of Law
Singapore is not well known for its archaeological heritage. In fact, chance finds in the early 20th century and systematic archaeological excavations since the 1980s conducted at sites around the Singapore River have unearthed artefacts shedding light on the island’s early history. In addition, the value of archaeology for a deeper knowledge of Singapore’s British colonial past is increasingly being recognized. Nonetheless, Singapore law provides only a rudimentary framework to facilitate archaeological investigations and protect cultural artefacts. This article considers how the National Heritage Board Act (Cap 196A, 1994 Rev Ed), the Planning Act (Cap 232, 1998 Rev Ed), and …