How to Apply for (Temporary) Change of Use for HDB and Private Shophouse and Other Commercial Properties

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Let’s say you’re an entrepreneur who has found the perfect spot to set up a trade school or fast-food restaurant. Your next step would be to ask the landlord if they would be willing to rent it out or even sell it and let you renovate to suit your needs.

On the other hand, maybe you’re a landlord who wants to lease out a vacant office space to someone with plans for opening a hair salon and beauty spa. 

Either way, before you do anything it’s important that you have a clear understanding of what is allowed on the premises because each place has its own designated and permitted uses. The premises where you’re hoping to open your business already has specific allowable uses. If those differ from what you plan on using it for, you may be required to apply for what’s called a “change of use of property.” 

 

What Does a Change of Use of Property Entail?

Every premises in Singapore has already been approved for a specific type of use. These uses each fit into a category of business use based on how they operate and what impact that type of business could have on the amenities that already exist in the neighbourhood. Businesses with similar ways of operating and/or would impact the neighbourhood in a similar way fall under the very same Use Class.

Changing the already approved use of a particular premises has the potential of leading to amenity issues in nearby premises in the community. For example, if you wanted to convert a fitness centre into a nightclub there would likely be complaints about late night activities, not to mention the noise. Furthermore, it seems likely that a nightclub would not be designated the same Use Class that the premises already holds.

Should you find yourself in a situation like this, you would likely have to get prior planning permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) or planning authorisation from the Housing Development Board (HDB). Anyone in Singapore who wants to undertake any type of development or construction works that involves changing the use of premises must first get official permission. 

Whether the premises is governed by URA or HDB, the relevant authority must evaluate whether the use being applied for is compatible as well as acceptable, before you can be allowed to change the use of the property. You will not be permitted to lease the space or start renovating the premises until you have been given planning permission or authorisation to change the use of the premises.

 

How to Determine Whether You Have to Apply for a Change of Use

As a first step, you must determine whether the property you intend to use is an HDB shophouse or not.

If the property is an HDB shophouse or commercial space, there is no question that applying for change of use is a requirement. This would be the case even if your plans for using the property are permitted under the relevant authorities. Therefore, prior to submitting your application, first find out whether you are allowed to use the property as you intend.

Examples of the types of uses that HDB shophouses and commercial spaces allow can be found on this list of allowable trades, which is posted on HDB’s website. Also, if the HDB commercial space has attached residential living quarters, the applied for use of the living quarters would be permitted if it’s not on the List of Non-Allowable Uses put out by the URA.

Non-allowable uses are the types of businesses that would affect the peace and tranquillity of the neighbourhood, disrupting residents. Examples of these would be places of worship, warehouses, funeral homes, and restaurants. 

Examples of permitted uses of HDB living quarters would be retail shops, childcare centres, healthcare clinics, tuition centres, offices, and fitness centres or gyms.

If the premises is non-HDB, but instead a private shophouse space, you can get information on what uses are approved for the premises by checking URA SPACE. If your proposed use of the premises has already been approved it will be listed there. On occasion a property may be pre-approved for a number of uses, so there may be no need for you to apply to URA for a change of use. You can proceed to apply for uses marked as Submit Application for Assessment. You should not eve try to apply if it is marked as Not Allowed.

In addition, you might also want to check at the URA website to find out if you need to get planning permission to operate your type of business at a particular premises. Let’s say that you were hoping to use a certain premises for your real estate agency, but if the business currently occupying the space is a sports arena, you would need to seek planning permission to change the use. However, planning permission would not be needed if the space that you’re considering is an HDB Commercial Premises. Even so, you may need to get consent from HDB to use it as a real estate agency.

Otherwise, you can make a direct enquiry to URA to find out what the approved uses are of a particular property. The fee for such a search would be $53.50 an enquiry.

If an application for a change of use is required of you, but you neglect to apply, you could be found guilty of a Planning Act offence under Section 12 for an unauthorised development. The fine for a first-time offender who renovates a premises without first getting planning permission could be as much as $200,000. Additional fines of up to $10,000 a day could be levied as long as the offender keeps breaking the law after being convicted.

 

Who is Supposed to Apply for the Change of Use?

A number of people can apply. It could be the owner, the prospective tenant, or the agents representing either of them.

If the prospective tenant or his/her agent is applying, they must first get written consent from the property owner and a statement attesting to this must be included with the application.

 

How to Apply

To change the use of an HDB shophouse or commercial space:

You can go online to the GoBusiness Licensing website and submit your “Application for Changes (HDB Commercial Properties).” You would essentially be asking to change the type of trade being provided at that location. For example, changing it from a leather goods store to a dance studio.

Make sure you read the Terms Conditions for Application for Changes, plus you’ll need to know what the required documents are. For a list of those, take a look at the GoBusiness Licensing page, which will likely list a copy of your NRIC, but if you are doing this for a company, you’ll need a copy of the Company’s or the Director’s Resolution.

The time it takes to process these applications is usually 14 business days or sooner from the date HDB receives the documents and verifies the information provided in the online application. If the type of business you’re proposing is on their list of allowable trades they may even approve your change of trade in just one day.

You will be asked to pay an administrative fee of $107 or $214 with GST, depending on which application you’re submitting. The exact amount will be shown on your application and this fee is non-refundable.

 

For HDB commercial spaces with living quarters attached:

To change the use of the living quarters attached to an HDB commercial space you can go online to the GoBusiness Licensing website where you would submit an “Application for Changes (HDB Commercial Properties).” The processing fee for this is a non-refundable $214 with GST.

 

For a premise located in an HDB shopping or office complex:

Applications for spaces located in HDB shopping and office complexes should be submitted by the Managing Agent of the property.

 

For non-HDB properties:

You should submit your application for a “Change of Use Approval” online for a space in a non-HDB property by going to GoBusiness Licensing portal.

This application comes with a non-refundable processing fee of $535 with GST.

You can plan for them to take about 10 business days to evaluate your application. Make sure your application is filled out completely, otherwise it could take even longer. If URA needs to confer with other agencies to make sure that what you’re proposing to use the premises for meets their requirements, that could stretch out the processing time as well.

The following documents are required to be submitted when applying for a change of use authorisation:

• Location Plan: For a multi-unit development like an entertainment centre or a manufacturing plant, a location plan must be attached that shows exactly where the premises is located.
• Proposed Floor Plan: The floor plan you submit must show the layout that you are proposing and how you plan on using the premises.
• Property Owner’s Consent: If you would be leasing the premises from the Singapore Land Authority, Housing Development Board (HDB) of Jurong Town Corporation, their letter of consent must be attached as they are the landowner.
• Other applicable supporting documents: You would need to attach a cover letter along with appropriate clearances from the governmental agencies (e.g. LTA, NEA, SCDF, PUB) required to approve your proposed use.

These documents can be submitted online when you submit your change of use application, or you can email your documents to URA_DCD@ura.gov.sg.

 

Change of Use Lodgment 

You might also want to consider using the Change of Use Lodgment scheme, which allows specific types of uses in certain buildings to be filed or lodged with URA and be immediately approved.

You can only apply for a Change of Use Lodgment for certain types of uses within specific commercial buildings, and on the ground floor of shophouses located on properties zoned in the Master Plan for Commercial use, Commercial Residential use, or White. In addition, the use being applied for must comply with all conditions for lodgment.

The change of use being proposed will be approved if it complies with the lodgment criteria and the application is successfully lodged. But if the use you’re proposing does not meet the requirements of the Lodgment scheme, you will need to revert back to the process previously discussed by submitting a planning application for a change of use authorisation.

There is a $160.50 with GST processing fee to apply for a change of use lodgment. If your submission qualifies, you will receive immediate approval, and this will be documented with an email sent to you with an acknowledgement slip.

 

After Receiving Approval

Once your change of use application has been approved, read it carefully because if URA only granted you Temporary Permission you will need to apply to renew your approval within two months, which is when the Temporary Permission expires. To submit a renewal application online go to the GoBusiness Licensing portal. You will need to pay a processing fee of $535 with GST, which is non-refundable.

The change of use authorisation is attached to that specific premises, and not the property owner or tenant. This means that if at some time in the future you decide to vacate the premises, it is not up to you to apply for another change of use, reverting it back to its original use. It is up to the new tenant to apply for a change the use if they wish.

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We hope that the information in this article has adequately informed you about when a change of use should be applied for, the application process for both HDB as well as non-HDB properties, and what may be required of you once your application is approved.

If you need help with your change of use application, or any other type of business service, it would be wise to engage an experienced corporate services provider.

A good corporate services provider can save you a lot of time and effort by handling all the required change of use applications. Please reach out to us if you would like a referral to a reputable corporate services provider.

 

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At Pinnacle Estate Agency, we strongly believe in sharing our real estate knowledge to the public.⁠ For more content like this article, check out our Singapore Property Guides.