Boundaries and Survey Maps Act 1998

Boundaries and Survey
Maps Act 1998

2020 REVISED EDITION

This revised edition incorporates all amendments up to and including 1 December 2021 and comes into operation on 31 December 2021

An Act to provide for the demarcation of land, the establishment and maintenance of boundary marks and the publication of certain survey maps.

[16 October 1998]

PART 1

PRELIMINARY

Short title

1.  This Act is the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act 1998.

Interpretation

2.—(1)  In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“approved coordinates” means coordinates approved by the Chief Surveyor, or approved under section 7(c), which are capable of describing and ascertaining the boundaries of any land in relation to survey control marks;

“assurance plan” means any plan showing approximate boundaries or dimensions and areas for the purpose of identifying land which has not been surveyed to the Chief Surveyor’s satisfaction but is required to be surveyed under the provisions of any written law;

“authorised surveyor” means a land surveyor who is employed by the Authority, whether or not registered under section 12 of the Land Surveyors Act 1991;

[Act 25 of 2024 wef 01/10/2025]

“Authority” means the Singapore Land Authority established under the Singapore Land Authority Act 2001;

“bench mark” means any survey control mark in Singapore that is used as vertical control to determine the vertical distance between the Singapore Height Datum and a survey point above or below;

“boundary mark” includes any survey stone, iron pipe, spike, or other survey mark authorised by law for the purpose of marking boundaries;

“cadastral survey” means any survey relating to the recording of land boundaries, subdivision lines, buildings and related details;

“certified plan” means a survey plan which has been approved by, and filed in the office of, the Chief Surveyor under section 4(1)(e);

“Chief Surveyor” means the Chief Surveyor appointed under section 3(1), and includes an acting Chief Surveyor appointed under section 3(2);

“land” includes —

(a) a parcel of land which is in the actual possession of the owner or other person holding by, through or under the owner;

(b) land covered by water;

(c) a building or a structure erected on land;

(d) any parcel of airspace or any subterranean space, whether or not held apart from the surface of the earth; and

(e) any estate or interest in land;

“licence” means a licence to supply survey services in Singapore granted under section 17 of the Land Surveyors Act 1991;

“limited liability partnership” has the meaning given to it by section 4(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;

“manager”  —

(a) in relation to a corporation or partnership, means the principal executive officer of the corporation or partnership for the time being by whatever name called and whether or not the officer is a director or partner of the corporation or partnership; and

(b) in relation to a limited liability partnership, has the meaning given by section 2(1) of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005;

“owner”, in relation to any parcel of land, means the person for the time being receiving the rent of the land, whether on the person’s own account or as agent or trustee or who would receive the rent if the land were let to a tenant;

“practising certificate” means an annual practising certificate issued under section 15 of the Land Surveyors Act 1991 authorising the holder of the certificate to engage in survey work in Singapore;

“registered surveyor” means a registered surveyor within the meaning given by the Land Surveyors Act 1991;

[Act 25 of 2024 wef 01/10/2025]

“repealed Act” means the Boundaries and Survey Maps Act (Cap. 25, 1985 Revised Edition) in force immediately before 16 October 1998;

“Singapore Height Datum” means the fixed datum surface set at 0.000 metres of Singapore’s historical mean sea level;

“strata title plan” has the meaning given by the Land Titles (Strata) Act 1967;

“survey control mark” means any survey mark placed under the supervision of the Chief Surveyor the horizontal position or vertical distance from the Singapore Height Datum which is determined, and includes a bench mark;

“survey officer” means any person authorised by the Chief Surveyor to carry out a cadastral survey for any parcel of land;

“survey plan” includes a strata title plan;

“survey work” has the meaning given by the Land Surveyors Act 1991.

[2/2007; 30/2008; 11/2015]

(2)  In this Act, any reference to a plan, unless the context otherwise requires, includes a reference to a plan in electronic form.

Appointment of Chief Surveyor

3.—(1)  The Minister may appoint a Chief Surveyor who must administer this Act and act in accordance with any directions that may be given by the Minister.

(2)  If the Chief Surveyor is temporarily absent from Singapore or temporarily incapacitated by reason of illness or for any reason temporarily unable to perform his or her duties, the Minister may appoint a person to act in the place of the Chief Surveyor during any such period of absence from duty.

(3)  The functions, duties and powers of the Chief Surveyor under this Act may be carried out, discharged, performed or exercised by any person who is duly authorised by the Chief Surveyor to act on the Chief Surveyor’s behalf.

PART 2

SURVEY

Survey requirements for land

4.—(1)  A cadastral survey for any parcel of land must not be taken to have been completed until —

(a) the boundaries of the land have been determined by straight lines;

(b) the physical boundaries of the land have been demarcated —

(i) by boundary marks or defined by approved coordinates; or

(ii) if it is impossible or impracticable to do so, by reference to floors and walls so as to enable the boundary lines of the land to be ascertained;

(c) the area of the land has been determined;

(d) a lot number has been assigned to the land by the Chief Surveyor; and

(e) a survey plan, showing the location of the land and its boundaries, area, lot number and the boundary marks placed on the land or the approved coordinates, has been approved by, and is filed in the office of, the Chief Surveyor.

(2)  A certified plan is prima facie evidence of —

(a) the boundaries and boundary marks of the parcel of land referred to in the certified plan; and

(b) the area and the lot number of that land.

(3)  Any plan for a cadastral survey of a parcel of land approved by, and filed in the office of, the Chief Surveyor under the repealed Act is deemed to have been approved by, and filed in the office of, the Chief Surveyor under subsection (1)(e).

Powers of Chief Surveyor

5.—(1)  The Chief Surveyor has and may exercise the following powers:

(a) to carry out a cadastral survey of any parcel of land for the purposes of this Act or any other written law and do anything reasonably necessary for the carrying out of the survey, including all or any of the following:

(i) to carry out any preparatory work on the land and any adjacent land;

(ii) to mark out the boundaries of the land;

(iii) to place boundary marks on the land and any adjacent land;

(iv) to alter, repair or remove any boundary mark placed on the land;

(v) to remove or destroy trees, crops, fences and other property on the land and any adjacent land;

(b) to establish a survey control mark on any parcel of land and to enter on the land and any adjacent land to do all things reasonably necessary for the establishment, protection, maintenance, repair, alteration or removal of the mark;

(c) in respect of a cadastral survey of any parcel of land carried out and submitted by a registered surveyor —

(i) to undertake field checks at any time;

(ii) to make any computations, from the field books, calculation sheets and survey data deposited, that are necessary to prove the accuracy of the survey, the dimensions, areas, geographical position and the emplacement of boundary marks on the parcel of land; and

(iii) to give any direction to the registered surveyor of the survey made by the registered surveyor.

(2)  In the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1), the Chief Surveyor and survey officer have the right of access to and entry upon any land, foreshore or seabed.

(3)  The powers conferred on the Chief Surveyor and survey officer by subsections (1) and (2) may be exercised at all reasonable times and with any number of assistants that the Chief Surveyor or survey officer (as the case may be) thinks appropriate.

Duties of Chief Surveyor

6.—(1)  It is the duty of the Chief Surveyor —

(a) to assign a lot number, strata lot number and accessory lot number which would enable a parcel of land to be identified for the purposes of any written law;

(b) to maintain all survey records;

(c) to make available copies of survey records and plans on payment of the prescribed fees; and

(d) to perform such other functions specified in this Act or any other written law.

(2)  For the purposes of subsection (1), the Chief Surveyor may inspect all records submitted and deposited by any registered surveyor, and request for any information from any registered surveyor that the Chief Surveyor requires.

(3)  The survey records and plans for any land may be maintained by the Chief Surveyor in any electronic media or other means.

Coordinated cadastre

7.  The Chief Surveyor is responsible for establishing a coordinated cadastre and may, for that purpose —

(a) establish and maintain a network of survey control marks with recorded coordinates for use in surveying, mapping and related practice;

(b) declare, by notice in the Gazette, specified areas to be designated survey areas, being areas of land in respect of which cadastral surveys must be carried out by reference to survey control marks in accordance with survey instructions under this Act, and for which coordinates must be determined in accordance with those instructions;

(c) approve and record the coordinates of the boundaries of land within each designated area as determined by surveys carried out in the area (whether before or after the declaration of the area as a designated survey area), convert the coordinates recorded in relation to those parcels of land within the area and make any necessary adjustments to the recorded coordinates;

(d) where the coordinates for all parcels of land within a designated survey area have been so approved, recorded, converted and adjusted, declare, by notice in the Gazette, that area to be within the coordinated cadastre;

(e) generate, from the coordinated cadastre, maps for any area of land within the coordinated cadastre; and

(f) where the coordinates for all parcels of land in Singapore have been declared to be within the coordinated cadastre under paragraph (d), declare, by notice in the Gazette, that the maps generated from the coordinated cadastre supersede all maps published under the repealed Act.

Bench marks deemed conclusive evidence of height, etc.

8.  Every bench mark placed under the supervision of the Chief Surveyor in accordance with this Act is conclusive evidence for the purposes of determining the vertical distance between the Singapore Height Datum and any survey point above or below.

[11/2015]

Notice to clear boundary line

9.—(1)  A survey officer may cause a notice to be served on any person who is the owner of or has an interest in any land which is the subject of a cadastral survey calling upon that person to clear any boundary line of the land.

(2)  Where a person fails to carry out work which the person is required to carry out by a notice served on the person by a survey officer under subsection (1) —

(a) the survey officer may himself or herself cause the work to be carried out; and

(b) the cost of carrying out the work is recoverable from that person as a debt due to the Authority.

Replacement or repair of boundary mark or survey control mark

10.—(1)  Every owner of any land must preserve the boundary marks erected on the boundaries of the land.

(2)  Where the Chief Surveyor becomes aware that any boundary mark or survey control mark erected on any land has been injured, destroyed or removed, or requires repairs, the Chief Surveyor may —

(a) cause the mark to be replaced or repaired; and

(b) recover the costs of the replacement or repair from the owners of the lands for which the boundary marks and survey control marks are to serve as boundaries as a debt due to the Authority, in any proportion that appears to the Chief Surveyor to be proper.

(3)  The costs of replacing or repairing boundary marks or survey control marks where the marks are to serve as boundaries of 2 or more parcels of land, including the costs of carrying out a cadastral survey if the survey has been made by the order of the Chief Surveyor, must be borne by the owners of the lands for which the marks are to serve as boundaries in any proportion that appears to the Chief Surveyor to be proper.

Penalty for obliteration of boundary mark or survey control mark

11.—(1)  Any person who wilfully obliterates, removes or injures, without reasonable excuse, any boundary mark or survey control mark which has been made or erected by, or under the direction of, the Chief Surveyor shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 and may further be required by a Magistrate’s Court to pay 3 times the cost of replacing and repairing the boundary mark or survey control mark and of making any survey rendered necessary by the act for which the person was convicted.

(2)  The amount mentioned in subsection (1) is to be levied in the manner provided by the Criminal Procedure Code 2010 for the collection of fines.

(3)  If any person committing an offence under this section cannot be found, the Chief Surveyor may give directions for the replacement or repair of any boundary mark or survey control mark, and may order the cost of the replacement or repair to be paid by the owners of the adjacent lands in any proportion that appears to the Chief Surveyor to be proper.

PART 3

CONDUCT OF CADASTRAL SURVEYS

Powers of entry for survey purposes

12.—(1)  For the purposes of conducting any cadastral survey or installing any boundary mark or survey control mark under this Act or any other written law, the Chief Surveyor may authorise, either generally or specially and subject to any conditions that the Chief Surveyor may impose, any registered surveyor who has in force a practising certificate or any assistant employed by the registered surveyor —

(a) to enter and re-enter any land, seabed, foreshore or building at any reasonable time during the hours of daylight, with such workmen, aircraft, boats, vehicles, appliances, machinery and equipment as may be reasonably necessary to conduct the survey or to install the boundary mark or survey control mark;

(b) to emplace any boundary mark or survey control mark in or upon such lands and premises, and to dig up any ground for the purpose of emplacing the boundary mark or survey control mark; and

(c) to cut down and remove any tree or other growth which may obstruct any survey line or any boundary.

(2)  Before exercising any of the powers conferred by subsection (1) in respect of any land that is not a road, the person doing so must, where practicable, give reasonable notice to the occupier of the land of the intention to exercise those powers.

(3)  Any person exercising any power under subsection (1) must produce evidence of the person’s identity and authority to exercise those powers —

(a) if practicable, on first entering the land or premises; and

(b) whenever subsequently reasonably requested to do so.

(4)  Nothing in this section exempts any registered surveyor or the registered surveyor’s assistant or workman from liability for any damage caused in the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1).

[11A

Inspection of Authority’s survey maps, plans or survey records

13.—(1)  For the purpose of obtaining data for a cadastral survey, the survey plan of which is to be lodged with the Authority, a registered surveyor who has in force a practising certificate or an authorised employee or manager of a licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership may, on payment to the Authority of the prescribed fee, at all reasonable times be permitted —

(a) to inspect the relevant maps, plans or survey records lodged with the Authority; and

(b) to take copies of such information from the maps, plans or survey records as he or she may require.

[2/2007]

(2)  Any person referred to in subsection (1) must not remove any such maps, plans or survey records and shall be liable for any damage which the person may cause to them while they are under his or her control.

[11B

Deposit of survey plans and survey documents

14.—(1)  On completion of a cadastral survey, the registered surveyor who signs the survey plan of the cadastral survey must deposit that plan together with the relevant field books, calculation sheets and survey data (called in this Act survey documents) with the Authority, in any form that the Authority may approve.

(2)  If the survey plan is approved by the Chief Surveyor, the survey plan and survey documents deposited with the Authority under subsection (1) (including any copyright subsisting therein) are to be the property of the Authority and must be filed as permanent survey records.

(3)  The Chief Surveyor, on payment of the prescribed fee, may provide to any person applying for it a certified copy of any survey plan or survey document deposited with the Authority under subsection (1).

(4)  Every such certified copy of a survey plan or survey document signed by the Chief Surveyor shall be received in evidence in any court, or before any person having authority by law or by consent of parties to receive evidence, without proof of signature, as prima facie proof of all the matters contained in or entered on the survey plan or survey document, as the case may be.

(5)  A printout of any information stored in a computer in the Authority issued and signed by the Chief Surveyor shall be received in evidence in any court, or before any person having authority by law or by consent of parties to receive evidence, without proof of signature, as prima facie proof of all the matters contained in or entered on that document.

[11C

[4/2012]

Approval of cadastral surveys and assurance plans

15.—(1)  No cadastral survey or survey plan thereof may be accepted or adopted for the purpose of any written law unless it has been approved by the Chief Surveyor.

(2)  No assurance plan may be lodged in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Titles Registry of the Authority (as the case may be) unless the assurance plan —

(a) is signed by a registered surveyor and approved by the Chief Surveyor; and

(b) bears a caution to the effect that the boundaries or dimensions and areas are inconclusive.

(3)  The Chief Surveyor may refuse to approve any survey plan or assurance plan under this section if —

(a) the subdivision permission as required by section 12 of the Planning Act 1998 has not been obtained;

(b) the prescribed survey fees have not been paid; or

(c) an encroachment has been created by the purchaser or owner of a parcel of land being surveyed for any relevant purpose, which affects any parcel of land adjoining that parcel of land, and the registered surveyor who signs the plan has not certified that the encroachment has been resolved.

(4)  Where the subdivision of land has been authorised by a notification made by the Minister under section 21(6) of the Planning Act 1998, the Chief Surveyor is not, when the Chief Surveyor approves any survey plan under this section, obliged to enquire whether any condition set out in the notification or imposed by the competent authority under that Act has been satisfied or complied with.

(5)  Despite that a survey plan has been approved by the Chief Surveyor, it is the duty of the registered surveyor who signed the survey plan to ensure that the survey plan and all information and matters set out in the survey plan are correct and accurate.

(6)  In subsection (3)(c), “relevant purpose”, in relation to any survey of a parcel of land, means a survey for the purpose of —

(a) obtaining a new State title for the parcel of land;

(b) amalgamating the parcel of land; or

(c) subdividing the parcel of land.

(7)  Any cadastral survey, survey plan or assurance plan approved before 31 March 2005 by the Chief Surveyor or other officer appointed by the Chief Surveyor under section 39 of the Land Surveyors Act 1991 then in force, is deemed to have been approved under this section.

[11D

Correction of errors

16.—(1)  The Chief Surveyor or any authorised surveyor designated by the Chief Surveyor may at any time undertake field and office checks on the cadastral survey work of a registered surveyor or a licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership.

[2/2007]

(2)  The Chief Surveyor may, at any time after the survey plan has been deposited with the Authority, by written notice, direct any registered surveyor or any licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership to correct at his or her or its expense within a period specified in the notice any error in the cadastral survey made by that registered surveyor or by a registered surveyor who is a director, a partner, a manager or an employee of that corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership, as the case may be.

[2/2007]

(3)  If any person fails to comply with the notice given under subsection (2), the Chief Surveyor may undertake the correction of the cadastral survey and recover the cost of the correction from the person.

(4)  Where the Chief Surveyor is entitled to recover the cost of any correction of a cadastral survey under subsection (3), the Chief Surveyor may serve on the registered surveyor, licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership (as the case may be) a statement of the cost of the correction by registered post addressed to the last known place of practice or residence of the registered surveyor, licensed corporation, partnership or limited liability partnership.

[2/2007]

(5)  Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply to an assurance plan.

[11E

PART 4

SURVEY MAP

Correction of map

17.—(1)  All maps published under the repealed Act continue to be valid until the maps have been declared to be superseded under section 7(f).

(2)  No map (whether published under the repealed Act or generated from the coordinated cadastre) may be corrected, altered or added to in respect of any boundary of any land laid down in the map, except in the following cases:

(a) where it is found that a map does not correctly represent the boundaries of any land, the Chief Surveyor must inquire into the reason for the difference and, if it is found to be due to inaccuracy in the survey caused by error in measuring the angles or the sides of the land or in plotting the survey or in the process of conversion and adjustment under section 7, the Chief Surveyor must give notice to the owners of the land affected, or their agents if they are known and are in Singapore, of the error and require them to forward to the Chief Surveyor within one month their objections (if any) to its correction;

(b) where it appears that wrong boundary marks have been joined up in the survey and delineation of a boundary shown on a map, or where it appears that there has been a change in the position of a boundary from that which it held at the time of the survey or at the time when it was delineated on the map under paragraph (c), the Chief Surveyor must, after one month’s notice to the owners of the land affected, or their agents if they are known and are in Singapore, of the Chief Surveyor’s intention, proceed to hold an inquiry, which may be held in part upon the land;

(c) where in the case of the assignment or demise of any land comprised wholly or partly in any State title in parcels or otherwise than the entirety of the land, the parcels have been properly demarcated and surveyed to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor and the fees payable in respect of the demarcation and survey have been duly paid, the boundaries of the parcels or any subdivision of the parcels must be delineated upon the representation of the land or parcel of the land on the map;

(d) where any owners whose boundaries are conterminous agree to an alteration in their boundaries, the map may be altered by the order of the Chief Surveyor upon a deed or instrument being presented at the Registry of Deeds or the Land Titles Registry (as the case may be) of the Authority effectuating the alteration agreed to;

(e) where in any suit an order of the General Division of the High Court has been made which affects the position of the boundaries of any land, the map may be altered upon an office copy of the order being served on the Chief Surveyor;

(f) where any land delineated on the map has been subdivided into parcels and the parcels have not been surveyed to the satisfaction of the Chief Surveyor, the Chief Surveyor —

(i) may proceed to make a cadastral survey of the parcels; and

(ii) if so, must —

(A) proceed to fix and demarcate the boundary in the position which the Chief Surveyor considers to be the true position; and

(B) make an order for the delineation upon the map of the boundary so fixed.

[40/2019]

(3)  If no objection is lodged with the Chief Surveyor under subsection (2)(a) within one month from the service of the notice, the Chief Surveyor must make an order for the correction to be made.

(4)  If any objection is lodged with the Chief Surveyor under subsection (2)(a), the Chief Surveyor must hold an inquiry and make such order as he or she thinks fit.

(5)  If, after taking into consideration the evidence of the owners or their agents appearing at the inquiry under subsection (2)(b) and of any other persons who have knowledge of the subject, the Chief Surveyor is satisfied that the boundary as it appears from the then existing occupation of the land is the true boundary, the Chief Surveyor must make an order for the correction of the map.

(6)  Where it is found that the boundaries of a Mukim or Town Subdivision shown on any map published under the repealed Act or generated from the coordinated cadastre should be altered by reason of —

(a) any correction, addition or alteration of the boundaries of any land made in accordance with this section;

(b) the change in, alteration or deviation of, any boundary mark of the Mukim or Town Subdivision boundaries; or

(c) any reclamation of the foreshore or seabed,

the Chief Surveyor may, after the publication of a notice in the Gazette describing the alteration of the boundaries of the Mukim or Town Subdivision, make an order for the delineation or alteration of the boundaries on the map.

[12

Map to be conclusive evidence

18.—(1)  Every map published under the repealed Act is, until it has been declared to be superseded under section 7(f), conclusive evidence in all courts of the boundaries of the land comprised in every land shown in the map, subject only to any order made under section 17 for their modification, correction or alteration.

(2)  Upon a declaration under section 7(f), every map generated from the coordinated cadastre is conclusive evidence in all courts of the boundaries of the land comprised in every land shown in the map, subject only to any order made under section 17 for their modification, correction or alteration.

[13