Rise in land betterment charge rates for non-landed residential use

Increases come after renewed interest in recent state land tenders

- Grace Leong

Renewed interest in recent state land tenders has driven up land betterment charge (LBC) rates for non-landed residential use in the next half year.

Developers pay an LBC for the right to enhance the use of some sites or to build bigger projects on them.

The latest LBC rates for the period from Sept 1, 2025, to Feb 28, 2026, were announced on Aug 29, following a review by the Singapore Land Authority in consultation with the taxman's chief valuer.

The LBC rates are based on the chief valuer's assessment of land values and take into consideration recent land sales.

For non-landed residential use, LBC rates will rise by a further 0.7 per cent on average after gaining an average of 0.3 per cent in the previous revision period of March 1 to Aug 31.

ERA Singapore key executive officer Eugene Lim noted that the increase in LBC rates was most significant in areas such as Bayshore, Siglap, East Coast Park and Serangoon, where several Government Land Sales (GLS) sites have been sold in recent months.

"The tweaks in LBC rates are aimed at catching up with recent land price increases. Specifically, the Bayshore area recorded the highest increase of 15.4 per cent, reflecting a benchmark GLS price of $1,388 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr) for the Bayshore Road site," he said.

Located next to Bayshore MRT station, the plum site was awarded at $658.9 million or $1,388 psf ppr to a tie-up between SingHaiyi Group and Haiyi Holdings in March.