ABSTRACT
Inherent in any public housing system which seeks to provide subsidised housing for sale is the need to impose restrictions on ownership and alienation in order to prevent abuse by those who would seek to exploit those subsidies for profit. In Singapore, section 51(10) of the Housing and Development Act restricts the operation of resulting and constructive trusts over property sold by the Housing and Development Board (‘HDB’). It has been accepted since the 2009 decision of Tan Chui Lian v Neo Liew Eng that under this provision, a person ‘ineligible’ to acquire an interest in a HDB flat may not become entitled to a flat under a resulting or constructive trust. However, recent cases have questioned the focus on eligibility and cast doubt on the effect of section 51(10) on the underlying trust. This article examines these developments and proposes a framework for the reconciliation of common law equitable doctrines with the provisions of the Housing and Development Act.
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Chan, Wei Xuan Timothy, Resulting and Constructive Trusts Over Public Housing – Recent Developments and the Way Forward (March 2022). Singapore Journal of Legal Studies, Mar 2022, pp 1-25.
First posted 2022-07-22 13:45:42
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