Politics
Town Councils Amendment Bill 2026: Punggol Households See Different Conservancy Charge Adjustments Than Bedok or Yishun
Punggol residents will pay charges calculated under a new formula that factors estate age and size, producing monthly bills that differ from those issued in comparable towns under the same rules.
How we reported this
The Town Councils Amendment Bill 2026, passed by Parliament on 5 July, revises the formula used to set service and conservancy charges for all Housing and Development Board estates.
The legislation applies to every town council from January 2027 onward. Punggol Town Council, which manages more than 42,000 flats, will recalculate charges using the new schedule that weighs building age and precinct size.
Charge Calculations for Punggol Households
Under the bill, estates completed between 2010 and 2015 receive a base multiplier of 1.05. Punggol Waterway and Punggol Cove precincts fall into this band, so a typical four-room flat will be assessed at S$82 per month once the formula takes effect. The same flat type in an estate finished after 2020 receives a multiplier of 0.95.
Local residents who pay through GIRO will see the revised amount on their February 2027 statement. The bill requires town councils to publish the full schedule on their websites by 30 September 2026 so households can check the exact figure for their block.
Comparison With Other Towns
Bedok Town Council applies the same multipliers but to a larger stock of older blocks, producing an average charge of S$79 for a four-room flat. Yishun Town Council, with a higher share of post-2020 estates, records an average of S$76. The legislation states that each town council must publish its own average alongside the national median.
The Ministry of National Development 2025 annual report recorded Punggol Town Council’s current average at S$74. The shift to the new formula therefore raises the local average by S$8. Town councils must notify every household of the change by letter before the end of 2026.
The revised charges begin with the January 2027 billing cycle. Town councils will hold public briefings in each precinct during October and November to explain the block-by-block calculations.