Property Transaction 

Developer's projects comprise the sale of property to the public. The broad category of the developer's projects includes the sale of land and property with title and without title whether for residential or commercial purpose and may include an agreement for the construction for the building on the land concerned.

The relevant acts which apply to the sale & purchase of residential property is the Housing Development (Control & Licensing) Act 1966 (hereinafter referred to as the "HDA").

When a purchaser wishes to purchase property from the developer he will be required to execute a Sale & Purchase Agreement with the developer. If the property is one with land and building, Schedule G of the HDA is applicable and for buildings that are intended for subdivision, Schedule H of the HDA will apply. The HDA sets outs the rights and responsibilities of the developer and the purchasers and as long as the property involved is for housing purposes, the Sale and Purchase Agreement must be in the format of either of the schedules. In addition, for properties that are to be subdivided e.g. condominiums and apartments, the developer will usually require the purchaser to execute a Deed of Mutual Covenants as well.

The Deed of Mutual Covenants will set out the developer's duties and services in respect of property and also other communal areas and facilities within the said development and in return the purchaser has agreed to be bound by the provisions set out in the said Deed. The contents of the Deed of Mutual Covenants are not governed by the HDA.

Increasingly, there is a trend for developers for to require the purchasers to execute the Deed of Mutual Covenants even for projects which do not involve condominiums and apartments e.g. for purchase of bungalows.

The wide usage of IT is a boon for both developer and purchasers. For developers, with the records being kept online, they have quick and ready access to the data concerning the progress of said and purchase agreement right up to the stage when the property is transferred to the purchasers. The Developer need not wait for their solicitors to send them periodic progress reports as they can themselves just log on and view the status of the documents. The purchasers too can be updated online or via their e-mail. As such, it is a means of efficient sharing of information.