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The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has unveiled a new website that allows the public to search for information on property-related matters easily and without having to pay for a fee, National Development Minister Lawrence Wong announced in a blog post on Thursday (2 June).
Known as URA SPACE (Service Portal and Community e-Services), the online portal contains data about the master plan, urban design guidelines, private property use and approval, car park locations and availability, private residential property transactions, and conservation areas and buildings.
The data is presented on a map in Geographical Information System (GIS) format with a 3D map “so that the search for information becomes more intuitive and convenient,” the Minister said.
“This new service will be piloted for six months to find out whether there is a need to improve it further,” Mr Wong added.
According to Mr Wong more than 33,000 people write in to URA each year to ask for information on property matters.
Previously, the agency would take up to seven working days and would charge a fee of S$53.50 for the time and effort involved to search its records. With the new website, consumers can now quickly check the allowable and last approved uses for private shophouses. If necessary, they can also submit applications for other intended use.
Mr Wong said currently, the majority of queries to the URS are on allowable uses for shophouses—for instance, whether a shophouse can be used to operate a restaurant, a spa, a pub, an office; or whether it can be leased or owned for other uses.
The uses of shophouses are regulated to safeguard the character and amenities in different localities.
“URA SPACE now allows businessmen, investors and shophouse owners to access this information at the click of a mouse, without having to pay, or wait a week for the information. We may well be one of the few cities in the world to offer such a service,” Mr Wong said.
In addition, the portal provides information on the market transaction for different types of properties, as well as real-time parking availability. There are also plans to add more features and information in the future.
URA Space is accessible on various devices, including Apple and Android tablets.
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