Further Information on Application for Assessment
Further Information on Application for Assessment
Additional Resources
A. Introduction↩
Landlords and tenants are strongly encouraged to work out mutually agreeable arrangements based on their specific circumstances.
Nonetheless, if a landlord and tenant-occupier are unable to reach a compromise, the COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) Act and COVID-19 (Temporary Measures) (Rental Waiver Due To COVID-19 Event In 2021) Regulations 2021 provide for parties to make an application for assessment by a rental waiver assessor.
The rental waiver assessment process is managed by the Registry of Rental Waiver Assessors, under the control and supervision of the Registrar.
B. Scope for Assessments↩
Tenants and landlords may seek an assessment on the following areas.
For Tenants
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Issuance of Notice for Unstamped/ Late Stamped Leases
- Whether it is just and equitable in the circumstances of the case for a Notice of Rental Waiver to be issued to the tenant-occupier even though the lease agreement was not stamped on or before 2 August 2021.
- The actual amount of rent under the lease agreement.
- The actual amount of any component of the formula used to compute the prescribed amount of rent that is to be waived. The formulas will be prescribed in the subsidiary legislation.
Computation of Rental Waiver
For Property Owners and/or Intermediary Landlords
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Tenant’s Eligibility
- Whether the tenant-occupier is eligible for the rental waiver
- Whether their tenant-occupier or intermediary landlord served the Notice of Rental Waiver and supporting documents in accordance with the requirements under the Act and if not, whether this non-compliance was material
- Whether the property owner meets the eligibility criteria to be exempted from providing the rental waiver, on the grounds of financial hardship (see subsection on Eligibility for Financial Hardship for Landlords
- Whether it is just and equitable in the circumstances of the case for the rental waiver to be reversed or reduced (see subsection on Just and Equitable Reversal or Reduction of Rental Waiver)
- The actual amount of rent under the lease agreement.
- The actual amount of any component of the formula used to compute the prescribed amount of rent that is to be waived. The formulas will be prescribed in the subsidiary legislation.
Landlord’s Financial Hardship & Exceptional Circumstances
Computation of Rental Waiver
Eligibility for Financial Hardship for Landlords
The Government recognises that there are landlords who may face genuine financial hardship. Landlords who meet all the following criteria may apply to a rental waiver assessor to be fully exempt from their rental waiver obligations.
- The applicant should be the property owner, who is an individual or sole proprietor landlord, or a corporation whose operations consist wholly or mainly of the holding of investment properties (“holding company”), and is owned by one or more individuals and/or sole proprietors (who are individuals) who each meet the other two criteria below;
- The Annual Value of all investment properties owned by the applicant, or each shareholder of the holding company (whether solely or together with another person or by an investment holding company) is less than $60,000 as at 22 July 2021;
- The average monthly rental or dividend income from all properties owned by the applicant, or each shareholder of the holding company (whether directly, or indirectly from investment holding companies) constitutes 75% or more of his/her average monthly gross income.
Just and Equitable Reversal or Reduction of Rental Waiver
Landlords who require assistance due to exceptional circumstances, but do not meet the eligibility criteria for financial hardship may apply to a rental waiver assessor to represent their circumstances. Assessors will consider if it is just and equitable to exempt or reduce the rental waiver based on each landlord’s circumstances. This includes cases where landlords had provided significant rental waivers or reductions prior to 16 May 2021.
C. Application Process↩
Assessment of the tenant’s eligibility and/or landlord’s financial hardship or exceptional circumstances (Excluding rental waiver calculations)
Landlords seeking assessment on matters related to tenants’ eligibility for rental waiver or landlord’s financial hardship or exceptional circumstances, and tenants with unstamped or late stamped leases seeking assessment on their eligibility to receive a Notice of Rental Waiver may submit an application under Form 1W.
For landlords, applications must be made within 14 calendar days after receiving the copies of the Notice of Rental Waiver and supporting documents from their tenant.
For tenants whose lease agreements were not stamped on or before 2 August 2021,but require assistance under the RWF and meet all other eligibility criteria, applications must be made by 6 December 2021.
Form 1W
Applications for assessment must be accompanied by the relevant documents as specified in the Registrar’s Directives:
- If applying on behalf of an entity, please use this link (CorpPass)
- If applying as an individual, please use this link (SingPass)
Assessment of rental waiver amount
Landlords or tenants who require an assessment on matters related to the computation of the rental waiver may submit applications for a rental waiver assessor’s determination under Form 1AW.
For landlords, applications must be made within 14 calendar days after receiving the copies of the Notice of Rental Waiver and supporting documents from their tenant.
For tenants, applications must be made within 14 calendar days after complete service of the copy of the Notice of Rental Waiver and supporting documents to their landlord.
Form 1AW
Applications for assessment must be accompanied by the relevant documents as specified in the Registrar’s Directives:
- If applying on behalf of an entity, please use this link (CorpPass)
- If applying as an individual, please use this link (SingPass)
Acknowledgement by Registry
Applicants can expect to receive an acknowledgement of receipt of the application from the Registry after it is submitted.
Service of Application and Acknowledgement
After submitting the application and receiving the Registry’s acknowledgement, the applicant must serve a copy of the application, together with the acknowledgement, on all landlords (including the property owner, if the applicant is not the property owner), and tenants in the property within 5 calendar days after receipt of the acknowledgement. This can be done via email, registered post or internet-based messaging service. Within 1 working day after serving a copy of the application and Registry’s acknowledgement as described on the related parties, the applicant must submit a declaration to the Registry. (The Registry’s acknowledgement email will set out the instructions on how such a declaration can be made.)
Next Steps after Submitting Application
If needed, the Registry will send further instructions for the applicant, such as submitting additional documents and information (where applicable). The Registry may also contact the applicant (and other relevant parties) to arrange a hearing, if it is necessary to help the rental waiver assessor make a determination on the case.
The rental waiver assessor’s determination will be binding on all landlords (including the property owner) and the tenant-occupier, and will not be appealable.
Response by Tenant-occupier/Landlord
The tenant-occupier/landlord may, no later than 5 working days after being served with a copy of the application for a rental waiver assessor’s determination and the Registry’s acknowledgement, submit to the Registry a response to the application. The respondent must also serve the applicant a copy of the response via email, registered post or internet-based messaging service.
D. Registry Information↩
If you require assistance on application matters, you may call the Registry during office hours at 1800-2255-793 (1800-CALL-RWF).
The office hours of the Registry are —
- between 8.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Thursday (except public holidays);
- between 8.30 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on Friday (except public holidays); but
- between 8.30 a.m. and 12 noon on the eves of the New Year, Lunar New Year and Christmas.