Master Plan & Planning: RES exam practice questions

The strategic land use and transportation plan that guides Singapore’s development over the next 50 years and beyond, formerly known as the Concept Plan, is now called the __________.

1. ALong-Term Plan
2. BMaster Plan
3. CBuilding Height Plan
4. DStreet Block Plan

To find out what a zoning on the Master Plan allows, a salesperson should refer to the __________.

1. AMaster Plan Written Statement
2. BLong-Term Plan
3. CLanded Housing Areas Plan
4. DCertificate of Title

Site coverage refers to __________.

1. Athe percentage of the net site area occupied by buildings and structures
2. Bthe total gross floor area that may be built on a site
3. Cthe percentage of a building’s floor area that may be let to tenants
4. Dthe proportion of a site set aside for road widening and drainage reserves

Planning permission granted by URA under the Planning Act is known as __________.

1. Aa Written Permission (WP)
2. Ba Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP)
3. Ca Certificate of Statutory Completion (CSC)
4. Da Qualifying Certificate (QC)

The minimum plot size for a new Good Class Bungalow is __________.

1. A1,000 m²
2. B1,400 m²
3. C1,800 m²
4. D2,400 m²

A cluster housing development of strata terrace and semi-detached houses sharing a swimming pool and a gym is __________.

1. Anot accorded condominium status
2. Baccorded condominium status because it has shared facilities
3. Cnot accorded condominium status unless its land area is at least 1 hectare
4. Daccorded condominium status once its MCST is formed

Mr Rajendran Pillay, 58, a retired marine engineer, owns a freehold two-storey terrace house in an estate in the east, where he has lived with his wife and their two adult daughters since 1998. Over the weekend he read a newspaper feature on the Long-Term Plan Review, which showed his neighbourhood within a broad area marked for residential use and a future rail line about 800 m from his gate. He tells his salesperson, Ms Tan Hui Min, “The Long-Term Plan fixes the permitted use and plot ratio of my own plot, so I don’t need to check anything else before pricing my house.” A neighbour who sold his house last year told him the same thing.

Which of the following BEST describes what Ms Tan should tell Mr Pillay?

1. AThe permitted use and gross plot ratio of his plot are shown in the Master Plan, the statutory plan that URA follows in granting Written Permission.
2. BHe is right, as the Long-Term Plan is the statutory plan that URA follows in deciding applications, while the Master Plan sets broad 50-year strategies.
3. CHe is right in principle, but the plot ratio shown for his estate takes effect only after the Long-Term Plan’s next review, held about every 10 years.
4. DThe permitted use and gross plot ratio of his plot are shown in the Building Height Plan, which turns the Long-Term Plan’s strategies into site controls.

Ms Nurul Aisyah binte Hamid, 29, a graphic designer who recently left a large advertising agency, wants to buy a 48 m² unit in a mixed-use project near Lavender MRT station. The developer’s brochure markets the unit as a “SOHO” (small office, home office). She plans to live in the unit and also run her new design firm from it with two full-time staff, and her bank has already given her an approval in principle for the loan. Her elder brother, who bought a unit in the same project last year, tells her that SOHO units come with approval for both uses, so she can switch between them whenever she likes.

What should her salesperson explain?

1. A“SOHO” is a marketing term rather than a planning category, and the unit has planning permission for either residential use or office use, but not for both.
2. BSOHO units are approved for both residential and office use, so she may live in the unit and run her firm from it, provided her two staff are Singapore residents.
3. CSOHO units are approved as homes, but office use is also allowed in them as long as she lives in the unit herself and keeps her staff to no more than two.
4. D“SOHO” is not a planning category at all, so there is no restriction on use, and she may live in the unit and run her firm from it in whatever mix she likes.

Madam Lee Siew Lan, 67, and her three siblings have inherited a freehold residential site in Upper Thomson, outside the Central Area, and a developer has offered to buy it. The developer’s letter states that the allowable residential GFA is 8,500 m². The site is not in Joo Chiat–Mountbatten, Pasir Panjang or any other estate where the 100 m² divisor applies. Their nephew, a property analyst, expects the developer to build as many small units as it can, while another agent has told them that URA controls only the GFA and not the number of units. Madam Lee wants to know how many units the developer could build, as she believes this will affect the price.

Under URA’s dwelling unit control, what is the maximum number of dwelling units allowed on the site?

1. A100 units, as the allowable residential GFA of 8,500 m² is divided by 85 m² for a site outside the Central Area
2. B85 units, as the allowable residential GFA of 8,500 m² is divided by 100 m² for a site outside the Central Area
3. C242 units, as the allowable residential GFA of 8,500 m² is divided by the minimum dwelling unit size of 35 m²
4. DThere is no fixed maximum, as URA controls only the gross floor area and not the number of units on such a site

Mr Seah Kok Leong, 74, owns a 2,500 m² freehold plot with a 1970s bungalow in a Good Class Bungalow Area off Holland Road. The plot is 40 m wide and 62.5 m deep. He wants to subdivide it into two equal plots side by side, each 20 m wide, and build a new 2-storey bungalow on each for his son and daughter, who are both married with young children. His son has found a builder who says that any bungalow plot of 400 m² or more is acceptable, and Mr Seah has told his salesperson that he is prepared to pay whatever charges the authorities impose.

What should his salesperson advise?

1. AHe cannot do so, as each new plot of 1,250 m² would fall below the minimum plot size of 1,400 m² required for a Good Class Bungalow.
2. BHe can do so, as each new plot of 1,250 m² would still be well above the minimum plot size of 400 m² that is required for a bungalow.
3. CHe can do so, provided each new bungalow is kept to 2 storeys and each plot is at least 18.5 m wide, which both new plots would be.
4. DHe cannot do so, as only one house is allowed on each Good Class Bungalow title, so an existing plot there can never be subdivided.