Parliament passed the Statutes (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill on May 7, 2026, to explicitly legislate fees charged by the Housing Board, Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Parks Board, and Building and Construction Authority for various services [1, 2, 3, 4].
These fees cover services such as towing illegally parked vehicles, expediting building inspections, processing resale flat applications, animal permits, and certification of species [1, 2, 3, 4]. Despite not being set out in legislation before, the fees were legal and proper, the government said [1, 2, 3, 4].
Minister for National Development Chee Hong Tat said, "The fees were collected to recover the cost of services rendered, and were legal" [1]. The Ministry of National Development added that the new law "puts the legal position beyond doubt and provides greater clarity, transparency and certainty for future transactions" [2].
The Workers’ Party questioned the legality of past collections, calling them unauthorized and describing the amendments as validating "administrative errors" [1, 2, 3, 4]. They said, "The Workers’ Party cannot support a provision that retrospectively validates money collections not provided for by legislation, (and) removes legal rights from citizens without providing Parliament with the full facts" [1]. All 11 Workers’ Party MPs present voted against the bill [1, 2, 3, 4].
Following the bill's passage, the Workers’ Party posted on social media on May 11 opposing the amendments for removing legal rights without full parliamentary disclosure, while the Ministry of National Development responded with posts on May 12 affirming that past fee collection was legal and the law clarifies the position for future transactions [1, 2, 3, 4].
