Land ownership in Singapore – here is everything you need to know

Get The Property Insights Serious Buyers Read First: Join 50,000+ readers who rely on our weekly breakdowns of Singapore’s property market.

Stanley loves crunching numbers in excel and analysing them. Naturally, he helps Stacked Homes generate articles based on his analysis as much as he can. When he's not using Excel, he enjoys watching movies and eating chocolates.
It is no secret that Singapore is a very small country. In case you did not know, the total land area of Singapore is only 721.5 square kilometres (as of 2017) making it the 192nd-largest country in the world. In fact, Singapore is so small that you could walk from one end to the other in a day, all 46 km of it. So it goes without saying that land is a very valuable commodity, and the lack of it is a major reason to the high property prices (and constant clamouring over land ownership in Singapore).
Thus land reclamation has been an important project since we became an independent nation. Through this, Singapore has managed to grow in size from 581.5 square kilometres in 1960 to its current size today, an increase of 25%! If you would like to read more on Singapore’s land reclamation story, Biblioasia has a great account on it.
History of land ownership in Singapore
So after Singapore gained independence in 1965, there was an immediate need for the Government to make a stand on the land ownership in Singapore ruling as they needed land for their developmental projects. In June 1967 the land acquisition act came into effect and this gave the Government the power of compulsory land acquisition for the reason of public development. This also regulated the amount of compensation to landowners who had their properties acquired by the Government. Meaning that the compensation was on the basis of the land’s pre-development value, just imagine that! Not surprisingly, the land acquisition act allowed the Government to acquire land quickly and they were able to gain a total of 177 square kilometres of land, which was about one-third of the total land area of Singapore in 1984. By 1985, the Government had the biggest land ownership in Singapore at 76.2 percent.
More from Stacked
I’ve Been A Landlord For 18 Years: Here’s Why I Don’t Rent To Singles And Only Families
Co-living has been a roaring trend since last year, with many landlords adding rooms to get as many tenants as…

Homeowner StoriesA Tale of Two Properties: How My Leasehold Property is worth $300k More Than a Friend Who Bought a Freehold Property
by StanleyHow is land ownership in Singapore classified?
Now you know the history behind the land ownership in Singapore we will now delve into the different classifications of land ownership. Due to the origins of the land law in Singapore, all land ultimately belongs to the state and you can only own an estate or some lesser interest in the land. So under the State Lands Act 5 types of grants of land may be made by the state, namely:
- estates in fee simple
- estates in perpetuity
- leases
- temporary occupation licences
- tenancy agreements
Land ownership in Singapore is basically split into 2 categories: freehold and leasehold.
Freehold land
In simple terms, freehold land owners will own the land title forever. There is no expiration date to it. This is obviously the most valuable and sought after land status in Singapore.
Leasehold land
Leasehold land differs from freehold in that it has an expiry date. The two most common in Singapore would be the 999-year and 99-year. Although the former is getting increasingly rare in Singapore. Leasehold land can have different tenures depending on what was set, so it can be anything from 30 years to some that are 110-year leases.
As always, feel free to leave a comment below or you can always reach out to us at hello@stackedhomes.com!
Stanley
Stanley loves crunching numbers in excel and analysing them. Naturally, he helps Stacked Homes generate articles based on his analysis as much as he can. When he's not using Excel, he enjoys watching movies and eating chocolates.Read next from Property Market Commentary

Property Market Commentary Why More Young Families Are Moving to Pasir Ris (Hint: It’s Not Just About the New EC)

Property Market Commentary This Upcoming 710-Unit Executive Condo In Pasir Ris Will Be One To Watch For Families

Property Market Commentary Which Central Singapore Condos Still Offer Long-Term Value? Here Are My Picks

Property Market Commentary Springleaf Vs Faber Walk: Which Future GLS Residential Site Has More Potential?
Latest Posts

Pro We Compared New Vs Resale Condo Prices In District 10—Here’s Why New 2-Bedders Now Cost Over $600K More

Singapore Property News They Paid Rent On Time—And Still Got Evicted. Here’s The Messy Truth About Subletting In Singapore.

New Launch Condo Reviews LyndenWoods Condo Review: 343 Units, 3 Pools, And A Pickleball Court From $1.39m

Landed Home Tours We Tour Affordable Freehold Landed Homes In Balestier From $3.4m (From Jalan Ampas To Boon Teck Road)

Singapore Property News Is Our Housing Policy Secretly Singapore’s Most Effective Birth Control?

On The Market A 10,000 Sq Ft Freehold Landed Home In The East Is On The Market For $10.8M: Here’s A Closer Look

On The Market 5 Spacious Old But Freehold Condos Above 2,650 Sqft

Property Investment Insights We Compared New Launch And Resale Condo Prices Across Districts—Here’s Where The Price Gaps Are The Biggest

Pro Similar Layout, Same District—But Over $500K Cheaper? We Compare New Launch Vs Resale Condos In District 5

New Launch Condo Analysis The First New Condo In Science Park After 40 Years: Is LyndenWoods Worth A Look? (Priced From $2,173 Psf)

Editor's Pick Why The Johor-Singapore Economic Zone Isn’t Just “Iskandar 2.0”

Editor's Pick URA’s 2025 Draft Master Plan: 80,000 New Homes Across 10 Estates — Here’s What To Look Out For

Pro Analysing Forest Woods Condo at Serangoon: Did This 2016 Project Hold Up Over Time?

Property Advice We Ranked The Most Important Things To Consider Before Buying A Property In Singapore: This One Came Top

Editor's Pick Where To Find Freehold Terrace & Semi-D Landed Homes From $4.85 million In The East

Hi Stanley
for residential 99 years lease landed property, so far in Singapore, is there any example of a property that the lease expire. what actually happen when the lease expire? do we need to remove all movable items? what is the handover process like?
[…] Land Purchase Act went effect in June 1967, giving the government the authority to acquire land for public infrastructure development by forced acquisition. The compensation paid to landowners’ properties was […]