Former HUDC estates hopeful about hitting en bloc thresholds under proposed collective sale measures

For large estates, to reduce the timeline by half and give them 10 percentage points fewer signatures to collect is not proportionate, she added. 

“So, I just feel the six months is going to be a challenge unless the CSC is very, very well prepared and owners are very decisive … No room for wait-and-see at all. People have to be decisive and sign, don’t sign, close the story.” 

Ivory Heights ended its third official attempt in June with a reserve price of S$1.68 billion, and about 60 per cent of signatures.

Mr Sambanthan Thavarajah, a member of that collective sale committee, cited mismatched pricing expectations as a main challenge in garnering the necessary signatures. 

But he is optimistic about future efforts, should a collective sale attempt be relaunched. He added that the shorter timeline is not an issue, since most of the signatures were gathered in the first six months. 

“All major roadblocks I see have been removed. Only the psychological part that can’t do anything,” he said, pointing to some residents’ emotional attachment to their homes. 

Meanwhile, Pine Grove has gathered 64 per cent of signatures at its reserve price of S$1.78 billion, and Mrs Liew said the estate needs “less than a hundred” signatures to meet the current 80 per cent threshold by Sep 20, pending the passing of the law. 

The Bill will be debated by Members of Parliament (MPs) at the next available sitting, before they vote on it at the third reading. If passed and then assented to by the president, the amendments will take effect at a later date.

If passed, most of the amendments would apply to ongoing en bloc exercises where the first signature to the collective sale agreement has not been obtained before the law comes into force.

However, committees that are still collecting signatures will be allowed to convene general meetings to decide whether to terminate the agreement, and if so, to approve terms for a new agreement that will be subject to the new rules.

Such collective sale committees will be given seven months from the start date to meet the required consent threshold for the new agreement.

Mrs Liew said: “We have to decide come end of this month whether are we going for the 70 per cent or are we going to soldier on with this 80 per cent … it should be doable, it’s just that we need the residents to be more forthcoming and realise what are the other challenges ahead should this en bloc fail.”