Guide

Buying industrial property: zoning, JTC rules, tax and financing

Industrial property is bought for a business, not a household, and the rules reflect that. What you may do inside the unit is set by its zoning and by URA's use controls. If the land is leased from JTC, the lease adds its own conditions. Tax works differently from a home: GST can apply, buyer's stamp duty uses the non-residential bands, and seller's stamp duty has an industrial schedule of its own. This guide takes each in turn.

B1 and B2: what the zoning allows

URA's Master Plan zones most industrial land as Business 1 (B1) or Business 2 (B2).

  • **B1** is for clean and light industry with little impact on neighbours: light manufacturing, food processing and packing, printing and publishing, media production, data and telecommunications work, and similar uses.
  • **B2** is for general and special industry whose processes can affect the surroundings, such as heavier manufacturing, assembly and maintenance. B2 sites can also be approved for storage that would not suit a B1 area.

The difference matters when you buy. A B1 unit will not be approved for a use that belongs in B2, and some B2 uses need further clearance from agencies such as NEA. Before committing, match your intended use to the zoning and to the development's approved uses. URA publishes the allowable uses for each zone.

The 60:40 use rule

URA requires industrial activity to take up no less than 60% of the GFA meant for industry, leaving no more than 40% for ancillary uses such as offices, showrooms and staff areas. In a strata development, the rule applies twice: across the development as a whole, and inside each strata unit. So a strata unit cannot be fitted out as a pure office; the office part must support the industrial use in the same unit.

When the land is leased from JTC

Many industrial developments sit on land leased from JTC, and the head lease carries conditions that bind every owner. The common ones are:

  • **Approved uses.** A change of use needs JTC's approval and must still meet the 60:40 rule.
  • **Subletting.** JTC expects lessees to use their own space. Where space is temporarily spare, a lessee may sublet up to 30% of the gross floor area to unrelated businesses for no more than three years, with JTC's prior approval. Subletting to related businesses also needs approval.
  • **Assignment.** Selling or assigning a JTC-leased property can need JTC's consent, and some leases carry an assignment prohibition period or a right of first refusal for JTC.

The developer's sales documents and the lease will state which conditions apply to a given project. Ask for them early, especially if you may want to let part of the unit.

Tenure

Industrial tenures are often shorter than residential ones. A shorter lease affects financing, because lenders look at the remaining lease against the loan tenure, and it affects resale, because the remaining term shrinks as the years pass. The directory's industrial page shows the tenure of each project in the guide.

GST on the purchase

The sale of non-residential property is a taxable supply for GST. If the seller is GST-registered, as developers selling new industrial units are, GST at the prevailing 9% is charged on the price. A GST-registered buyer that uses the unit for its own taxable business can usually claim that GST back as input tax, subject to IRAS's conditions. A buyer that is not GST-registered, or that makes exempt supplies, bears the GST as a cost. Factor it into the cash plan, because it is due on top of the price.

Stamp duty

**Buyer's stamp duty** follows the non-residential scale, the same as for homes up to $1.5 million (1%, 2%, 3% and 4% across slices of $180,000, $180,000, $640,000 and $500,000) and 5% on value past that point. IRAS assesses it on price or market value, whichever is greater, and it must be paid within 14 days of signing.

**ABSD**, being a residential duty, is not charged on industrial property.

**Seller's stamp duty** bites on an industrial property acquired from 12 January 2013 and resold inside three years, at 15%, 10% or 5% for a sale in year one, two or three respectively. The seller's stamp duty guide explains how the holding period is counted.

Financing

Individuals borrowing to buy industrial property are subject to TDSR, the 55% cap on total debt repayments against income. For non-residential property, MAS sets the stress-test interest rate at a floor of 5% a year, higher than the 4% used for homes, so the same income supports a smaller instalment. The loan limits guide shows how the sum works.

The loan-to-value tables on MAS's housing loan pages are written for housing loans. For industrial units, the amount offered rests on each bank's own assessment of the property, the remaining lease and the borrower. Companies buying in their own name are assessed on the company's finances.

A short checklist

  • Match your use to B1 or B2, then to the development's approved uses.
  • Check the 60:40 rule against your intended layout.
  • Read the head lease for subletting, assignment and use conditions.
  • Price in GST, and whether you can claim it.
  • Work out BSD on the non-residential bands.
  • Test the loan at the 5% floor.

Industrial projects in this guide

The directory covers food factories and strata factories, among them GATE+, Gourmet Xchange, KeyStone @ Mandai, Space Nova and SKYE @ TUAS. Each profile states the project's tenure and floor specifications as published.

Calculators

The industrial purchase calculator brings price, GST, stamp duty and loan together. The industrial and commercial stamp duty calculator applies the non-residential bands on their own.

Sources and date checked

Figures checked on 12 November 2026 against these primary sources:

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