A property’s title deed is a legal document with a complete record of all transactions involving that parcel of registered property in Singapore. This important document provides the following information:

• Property description;
• Type of estate (leasehold or freehold);
• Details regarding ownership interests and/or encumbrances like mortgages on the property; and
• Name(s) of property’s owner(s), which proves who owns the property

This information is accessible to both potential buyers and property owners – before entering into any transactions involving the property.

Before a sale and purchase agreement can take place, there must be proof of good title, which a valid title deed can provide. The title deed would prove who the correct owner is and that the property has no encumbrances, etc.

Therefore, it is vital that a property’s title deed be kept up to date, which involves a detailed process that we discuss below.

Table of Contents

Types of Title Deeds in Singapore

Where are Title Deeds Stored?

How to View Your Title Deed?

What Happens if You Lose Your Title Deed?

How to Amend Your Title Deed?

Types of Title Deeds in Singapore

• Certificate of Title: Applies to landed properties like bungalows and terrace houses;
• Subsidiary Strata Certificate of Title: Applies to condominiums and other types of apartment units; and
• Subsidiary Certificate of Title: Applies to Housing Development Board (HDB) flats.

Where are Title Deeds Stored?

If you have a mortgage on your property or you’ve used monies from your Central Provident Fund (CPF) to buy your property, for safekeeping your title deed will be at the Singapore Land Authority’s (SLA) Land Titles Registry under the Paperless Title Scheme. This is due to an agreement among participating statutory boards and financial institutions with the SLA.

When you pay your mortgage off and also repay the CPF monies you used to buy your property, your title deed will be printed out and given to you for safekeeping.

If you bought your property without using any CPF monies and with no mortgage, your title deed would have been printed out and given to you for safekeeping.

How to View Your Title Deed?

If you do not have possession of your title deed, you may want to have a look at it before considering any transactions.

If you own an HDB flat or private property whose title deeds are now digitised, you can go online to MyProperty by SLA and look at your title deed for free. To see a list of digitised HDB properties, click here.

You can access this service 24/7 by logging in using your SingPass. But, you will only be allowed to search for title deeds of properties in which you are the registered owner, or those for which you are a proposed buyer and have lodged a caveat.

If you cannot find your property listed in MyProperty, it may be for one or more of these reasons:

• You have not lodged a caveat as the buyer of an HDB flat or private property that you’ve purchased.
• The ID number used when logging in is different from what the SLA has on record.
• The property was purchased on trust and you are the beneficiary, not the trustee.

If you want to keep a soft copy of your title deed, you can download it to your computer by clicking on the pdf icon displayed on your screen.

What Happens if You Lose Your Title Deed?

If you have been given your title deed and now find that it’s misplaced, you are not allowed to enter into any transactions involving your property.

If this is the situation you find yourself in, you can apply for a new title deed from the Registrar of Titles. You must first convince the Registrar of Titles that your title deed is either destroyed, lost, or being wrongfully withheld from you. It may take up to two months before you are issued a replacement.

If you need to replace your title deed, you can apply by completing Form 13A, which you can access here. Look for the form that matches your type of property (landed property, HDB flat or condominium unit) as each type requires its own form.

You must lodge your form online at the Singapore Titles Automated Registration System eLodgement (STARS eLodgement) portal. Do this during lodgement hours, which are weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. You will be asked to pay a fee of $78.30 for your replacement title deed.

How to Amend Your Title Deed?

If for some reason you want to amend your title deed, either by adding, removing, or changing the names that are currently on the title deed, this is how to do it:

Changing Your Name

If you have legally changed your name through a deed poll and want to make sure your new name is on your title deed, an Application to Note Change of Name must be lodge along with a lodgement form. Do not complete this form in handwriting, as it must be clearly legible. You can either type it, print it, or have it photographically produced.

You can find both forms here.

Furthermore, you must lodge your application along with your original deed poll, or a true copy certified by an attorney.

If your property has a mortgage or was bought with funds from your CPF account, you may be required to get permission from your bank or the CPF board to briefly release your title deed from SLA so you can lodge your application. You may want to get a conveyancing lawyer to help you with this.

Submit your application to SLA, 55 Newton Road, #12-01, Revenue House, Singapore 307987 on a weekday from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., which are lodgement hours. We recommend lodging your documents before 11:00 a.m.

Removing the Name of a Deceased Person from a Title Deed

If one of the owners of a property held in joint tenancy has died, the surviving joint tenant should lodge a Notice of Death form along with a lodgement form.

A witness, who must be at least 21 years old, is required to witness the Notice of Death being executed for it to be valid. This witness must clearly write his/her name, provide their ID number, and sign the Notice of Death’s execution clause.

At the time you lodge the Notice of Death, you are required to provide your original NRIC, so that it can be verified, along with the title deed.

As above, if your property has a mortgage or was bought with funds from your CPF account, you may be required to get your bank or the CPF board to briefly release the title deed to you, so that you can lodge the Notice of Death.

Furthermore, you must also attach either a certified extract of the deceased’s Death Certificate, the original, or a certified true copy or the original of the Grant of Letters of Administration or Grant of Probate of the deceased owner’s will.

If the deceased co-owner was a tenant-in-common with some other co-owner, the deceased’s representative should lodge a Transmission Application on Death of Proprietor.

Either a certified true copy or the original of the Grant of Letters of Administration or Grant of Probate of the deceased owner’s will must be produced for inspection.

Once the application has been approved, the individual inheriting the deceased co-owner’s share of the property will now be the new co-owner and his/her name will replace the deceased person’s name on the title deed.

You can find the Notice of Death, lodgement, and Transmission Application on Death of Proprietor forms here.

Adding a Co-Owner’s Name

If you want to add another person’s name, like your spouse, as an owner of a property, you can do this by means of a gift through a Deed of Gift, which is a legal document stating that you are giving this person the property without consideration. You can also sell a portion of your share of the property to this other person.

These transactions must be registered with the SLA, plus the title deed will have to be amended.

If you plan on amending or replacing your title deed, engaging a conveyancing lawyer would make sense.

An experienced conveyancing lawyer can help to ensure that your application and required documents are correctly submitted, so that you can expeditiously get your title either amended or replaced.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article does not constitute legal advice. We recommend that you get the specific legal advice you need from an experienced attorney prior to taking any legal action. While we try our best to make sure that the information provided on our website is accurate, you take a risk by relying on it.

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.