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SINGAPORE — New laws will be introduced to make it mandatory for landlords to pass on property tax rebates to their tenants, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said in a statement on Thursday (April 2).

The new laws will be introduced at the next Parliamentary sitting, next week.

Should the new legislative provisions be approved, property owners would be obliged to pass on the full amount of the property tax rebate they receive for each of their properties, said MOF.

During his Budget speech last month, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat had announced that landlords of properties such as hotels and malls will receive a property tax rebate of up to 100 per cent for non-residential properties for the tax payable in 2020. 

For most of the properties which qualify, the rebate works out to more than one month of rent, said MOF.

In his speech, Mr Heng, who is also the Finance Minister, had strongly urged landlords to pass on the property tax rebate to their tenants by reducing rentals.

However, MOF said that it has received feedback from tenants that some landlords have yet to do so.

Apart from making it mandatory for landlords to pass on the tax rebates to their tenants, the new laws will also ensure that they do so in a timely manner.

It will also prohibit landlords from imposing conditions when passing on the rebate and allow a Valuation Review Panel — which comprises members from the Valuation Review Board constituted under the Property Tax Act — to mediate disputes that should arise between landlords and tenants.

In its statement, MOF said landlords who fail to fully and unconditionally pass on the property tax rebate to their tenants without reasonable excuse will be guilty of an offence.

It added that details of the conditions for the passing of the rebate to tenants will be made available via subsidiary legislation and the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore’s website.