If the deal has gone wrong, or the rules don’t seem to apply fairly
Real estate disputes rarely explode. They stall. The seller goes quiet after you exercise the option. IRAS issues an Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty assessment you think is wrong. The MCST sends a demand for renovation fines. The collective sale committee starts using your sinking fund money in ways the by-laws don’t seem to cover.
I’m Roy, a director at A.W. Law LLC in Chinatown. You can read my full bio here. I’ve run real estate and strata litigation at the State Courts, the High Court, and the Strata Titles Board, including collective sale matters.
This page is for you if a real estate transaction, a stamp duty assessment, or a strata matter has turned into a real dispute. The first 10 minutes are free, and nothing commits you.
What real estate litigation in Singapore actually is
Real estate litigation is the civil side of property law, when a transaction or strata matter has broken down and someone has to go to court. It covers several distinct areas:
- Sale and purchase disputes. A signed OTP or sale and purchase agreement that one side won’t honour. Remedies include specific performance (forcing the sale through), damages, or recovery of the deposit.
- Option to purchase issues. The OTP is technically defective, the seller refuses to grant an extension, the buyer can’t finance, or the property’s condition turns out to be misrepresented.
- Stamp duty disputes. IRAS assessments you think are wrong, particularly on Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), Seller’s Stamp Duty, or trust arrangements under the Stamp Duties Act.
- Strata matters. Disputes with an MCST (Management Corporation Strata Title) over by-laws, maintenance fees, renovations, council conduct, or a collective sale. Many of these go to the Strata Titles Board under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act.
The venue depends on the matter. Contract and OTP disputes go to the State Courts (up to S$250,000) or High Court above that. Stamp duty objections start with IRAS and can be appealed to the High Court. Strata matters start at the Strata Titles Board, which has its own mediation-first process.
If the dispute is about ownership, co-ownership, or a boundary rather than a transaction, see our property disputes page. If it’s about rent, deposit, or eviction under a tenancy, see landlord-tenant disputes.
When to use this service
Before I take on a real estate matter, I ask a few things.
- What’s actually signed? An OTP, a sale and purchase agreement, a tenancy agreement, a trust deed? The document almost always decides the outcome.
- What deadlines are running? OTP exercise periods, completion dates, stamp duty objection windows (usually 30 days), and MCST notice periods can’t be paused. If a deadline is close, we move fast.
- What outcome do you actually want? Specific performance, return of deposit, damages, a stamp duty refund, an MCST order reversed? The remedy shapes the route.
- Have caveats been lodged? If you’re the buyer and the seller is wavering, lodging a caveat at the Singapore Land Authority can freeze the transaction until the dispute is resolved.
The situations we see most often:
- Seller trying to walk away after the OTP is exercised. Urgent caveat plus specific performance claim.
- Buyer’s financing falls through near completion. Usually ends in forfeited deposit, but the wording of the OTP matters.
- ABSD assessment dispute. Objection to IRAS within 30 days, with supporting documents on residency, trust structure, or property count.
- MCST by-law or maintenance fee dispute. Strata Titles Board mediation first, then a formal hearing if it doesn’t settle.
- Collective sale objections. Minority owner challenges to the sale scheme or the sale process.
What to expect, honestly
How long it takes.
A straightforward State Courts claim on an OTP or sale and purchase dispute usually takes 6 to 12 months. A contested High Court matter or a complex collective sale challenge can take 12 to 24 months. Strata Titles Board matters are faster, typically 3 to 9 months, because the Board is set up to move quickly. A stamp duty objection to IRAS is usually decided within a few months, with the possibility of a High Court appeal after.
How much it costs.
An initial document review and written opinion is usually S$800 to S$2,500 flat fee. A defended State Courts real estate claim starts around S$6,000 for filing and the pre-trial stage, quoted as a capped hourly engagement in writing. Strata Titles Board matters are usually quoted as a milestone-based engagement because the Board’s process is more predictable. High Court matters and stamp duty appeals run higher. Disbursements (court fees, searches, valuers, surveyors) are billed at cost. The 10-min Discovery Session is free.
What’s the hard part.
The timing. Real estate disputes are full of hard deadlines: OTP exercise dates, completion dates, stamp duty assessment windows, MCST response times. Miss one and your remedy narrows, sometimes to nothing. The first thing we do on any matter is map every deadline.
The second hard part is money in the system. If you’ve already paid a 5% exercise fee, you don’t want it stuck in a lawyer’s escrow for 18 months while a case runs. We’re realistic about when a settlement is worth it to get the funds moving again.
How we handle real estate litigation at A.W. Law
- One lawyer, start to finish. The director who takes your Discovery Session sees the matter through.
- Plain-English opinions. We translate the Stamp Duties Act, the Sale of Goods Act, and the strata by-laws into language you can read after work.
- Honest route advice. If a matter is better settled, or belongs at the Strata Titles Board rather than the courts, we say so.
- WhatsApp in the evenings. We reply until 10pm on weekdays.
- Multilingual. English, Malay, or Tamil.
We’re at 133 New Bridge Road, #20-03 Chinatown Point. Two minutes’ walk from Chinatown MRT, Exit E. If you want background on how civil claims run in Singapore, see our guide on civil litigation step by step.
What happens next
If a real estate transaction, a stamp duty assessment, or a strata matter has become a real dispute, the next step is simple. Book a free 10-min Real Estate Litigation Discovery Session using the form on this page, or message us on WhatsApp using the button anywhere on the screen.
Nothing commits you. Most sessions end with a short list of things to gather: the signed documents, the stamp duty notice, the MCST correspondence. You’ll leave knowing which venue fits, what a realistic timeline and cost look like, and what the next 3 months will actually involve.
