Earlier this year in April, a new law known as the Covid-19 (Temporary Measures) Act was introduced to help individuals and companies in Singapore who find themselves unable to fulfil contractual obligations because of restrictions imposed in the Covid-19 crisis.

As of Sep. 1, 7,046 notices for rental relief have since been served through the Ministry of Law's electronic system, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong stated in Parliament on Sep. 4.

In addition, out of these slightly more than 7,000 notices, 1,272 of them involved determinations by rental relief assessors.

Tong added that the lower number of applications for relief assessment compared to notice for relief was due to the Act's framework which provides for parties "to assess for themselves what might work for them."

Assessors' role has been expanded

Subsequently, several amendments to the Act that expanded the role of assessors were passed in Parliament on Sep. 4.

Under the amendments, landlords are now allowed to seek assessors on a tenant's waiver eligibility.

A part of the Act, which is not yet in force, on seeking relief over construction delays, was also enhanced.

The amendments also extended the Minister for Law's capacity to order alternative virtual arrangements for meetings that require personal attendance.

A press release by the Ministry of Law stated that the details were still being worked out and will be announced at a later date, with the aim of implementing the amendments by the end of September.

Under what circumstances can a landlord look for an independent assessor?

Tong pointed out that currently, assessors may determine:

1. Whether the tenant satisfies the prescribed criteria to qualify for rental relief,
2. Whether the tenant satisfies the prescribed additional criteria for additional relief, and
3. Whether the landlord satisfies the criteria for the reduction of the additional rental relief.

As such, under the amendments, a landlord can search for an independent assessor if he is unable to reach an agreement with his tenant.

The assessor can then ascertain the following:

• The tenant’s eligibility for rental waivers (either the portion supported by government assistance, and/or the portion borne by the landlord), or;
• The landlord’s eligibility to provide a reduced amount of rental waivers, on the basis of financial hardship.

In addition, an assessor's powers will also be expanded so that they are able to make determinations on unresolved disputes regarding the rental amount to be waived under the Act's framework, in the event the amount is affected by the following factors:

• The amount of maintenance and service charges (given that these are excluded from rental waivers), especially where such charges are not explicitly listed in the lease or licence agreement,
• The amount that can be offset by assistance provided by the landlord earlier,
• Tenants occupying the property for only a part of the relief period, or
• Subdividing the property

And what part of the Act is not yet in force?

According to the Ministry of Law, this is Part 8 of the Act which provides a relief mechanism for parties to certain types of contracts, should they have been affected by breaches or delays in construction, supply or related contracts.

As such, the amendments to the Act seek to ensure that this mechanism is able to function with no issues once it is brought into force.

Extending the capacity to order alternative virtual arrangements for meetings

Here, the Ministry of Law pointed out that currently, the capacity of the Minister for Law to prescribe alternative virtual arrangements for meetings, under Part 4 of the Act, is set to expire on Sep. 30, 2020.

As such, the Ministry will soon announce the extension of such a measure, in response to feedback from certain entities that prefer greater certainty over the duration of the alternative meeting arrangements as they must plan for their meetings months in advance.

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