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LAND betterment charge (LBC) rates for non-landed residential use have been cut by 5.4 per cent on average for the period Sep 1, 2024, to Feb 28, 2025.

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

LBC rates on average have been raised for the landed residential, commercial and the hotel/hospital use groups.

For landed residential use, LBC rates have increased by 2.8 per cent on average.

For the commercial use group, LBC rates are going up by an average of 1.5 per cent.

For the use that covers hotels and hospitals, the increase is 0.6 per cent on average.

LBC rates for the industrial use group remain unchanged. Also left untouched are the rates for the other use groups – place of worship/civic and community institution, open space/nature reserve, agriculture, and drains/roads/railways.

The rates are announced twice a year, on Mar 1 and Sep 1, following a review by the Singapore Land Authority, in consultation with the taxman’s chief valuer (CV).

The LBC rates are based on the CV’s assessment of land values and take into consideration recent land sales. They are stated according to use groups across 118 geographical sectors in Singapore.

Under the Land Betterment Charge Act, which took effect on Aug 1, 2022, charges for the enhancement of land value were consolidated under the SLA.

The LBC regime replaced the development charge (DC), temporary development levy, and differential premium regimes. The DC Table of Rates was correspondingly replaced with the LBC Table of Rates, which continues to be revised on a half-yearly basis.