Limitation Act 1959

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“action” includes a suit or any other proceedings in a court;

“land” includes things attached to the earth or permanently fastened to anything attached to the earth, rentcharges and any legal or equitable estate or interest in land (including an interest in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale) but does not include any right of way, easement, servitude, profit over or in respect of land, or right in the nature of an easement, servitude or profit over or in respect of land, or any other incorporeal hereditament;

“personal estate” and “personal property” do not include land or chattels real;

“personal injuries” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition;

“rent” includes a rentcharge and a rent service;

“rentcharge” means any annuity or periodical sum of money charged upon or payable out of land except a rent service or interest on a mortgage or charge on land or a rent payable in respect of a grant or lease of State land;

“trust” and “trustee” have the same meanings as in the Trustees Act 1967.

Subject to section 36(1)(b) of the Civil Law Act 1909, for the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to be under a disability while he is a minor or lacks capacity (within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2008) to conduct legal proceedings.

A person shall be deemed to claim through another person, if he became entitled by, through, under, or by the act of that other person to the right claimed, except that a person becoming entitled to any estate or interest by virtue of a special power of appointment shall not be deemed to claim through the appointor.

References in this Act to a right of action to recover land shall include references to a right to enter into possession of the land or in the case of rentcharges any right to distrain for arrears of rent and references to the bringing of such an action shall include references to the making of such an entry or distraint.

References in this Act to the possession of land shall, in the case of rentcharges, be construed as references to the receipt of the rent, and references to the date of dispossession or discontinuance of possession of land shall, in the case of rentcharges, be construed as references to the date of the last receipt of rent.

In Part 3 references to a right of action shall include references to a cause of action and to a right to receive money secured by a mortgage or charge on any property or to recover proceeds of the sale of land, and to a right to receive a share or interest in the personal estate of a deceased person; and references to the date of the accrual of a right of action shall —

Subject to this Act, the following actions shall not be brought after the expiration of 6 years from the date on which the cause of action accrued:

An action for an account shall not be brought in respect of any matter which arose more than 6 years before the commencement of the action.

An action upon any judgment shall not be brought after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the judgment became enforceable and no arrears of interest in respect of any judgment debt shall be recovered after the expiration of 6 years from the date on which the interest became due.

An action to recover any penalty or forfeiture or sum by way of penalty or forfeiture recoverable by virtue of any Act or other written law shall not be brought after the expiration of one year from the date on which the cause of action accrued.

For the purposes of subsection (4), “penalty” shall not include a fine to which a person is liable on conviction for a criminal offence.

Nothing in this section shall apply to —

Subject to sections 22 and 32, this section shall apply to all claims for specific performance of a contract or for an injunction or for other equitable relief whether the same be founded upon any contract or tort or upon any trust or other ground in equity.

Where under section 15 of the Civil Law Act 1909 any person becomes entitled to a right to recover contribution in respect of any damage from any other person, no action to recover contribution by virtue of that right shall, subject to subsection (3), be brought after the end of the period of 2 years from the date on which that right accrued.

For the purposes of this section, the date on which a right to recover contribution in respect of any damage accrues to any person (referred to in this section as the relevant date) shall be ascertained as provided in subsections (3) and (5).

If the person in question is held liable in respect of that damage —

For the purposes of subsection (3), no account shall be taken of any judgment or award given or made on appeal insofar as it varies the amount of damages awarded against the person in question.

If, in any case not within subsection (3), the person in question makes or agrees to make any payment to one or more persons in compensation for that damage (whether he admits any liability in respect of the damage or not), the relevant date shall be the earliest date on which the amount to be paid by him is agreed between him (or his representative) and the person (or each of the persons, as the case may be) to whom the payment is to be made.

An action to recover contribution shall be one to which sections 24 and 29 apply, but otherwise Parts 3 and 4 (except section 33) shall not apply for the purposes of this section.

Where any cause of action in respect of the conversion or wrongful detention of a chattel has accrued to any person and before he recovers possession of the chattel, a further conversion or wrongful detention takes place, no action shall be brought in respect of the further conversion or detention after the expiration of 6 years from the accrual of the cause of action in respect of the original conversion or detention.

Where any such cause of action has accrued to any person and the period prescribed for bringing that action and for bringing any action in respect of such a further conversion or wrongful detention under subsection (1) has expired and he has not during that period recovered possession of the chattel, the title of that person to the chattel shall be extinguished.

No action shall be brought by any person to recover any land after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the right of action accrued to him, or, if it first accrued to some person through whom he claims, to that person.

Nothing in this section or in section 11(2) shall be deemed to affect the provisions of the Government Proceedings Act 1956, or to apply to any person registered under or by virtue of the provisions of the Land Titles Act 1993 as the proprietor of the land sought to be recovered, or to any person claiming through a person so registered, except to the extent that such Act so provides or permits.

This section shall not apply to an action to recover land from a person by reason only of his unauthorised occupation of the land.

Where the person bringing an action to recover land or some person through whom he claims has been in possession thereof and has, whilst entitled thereto, been dispossessed or discontinued his possession, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the dispossession or discontinuance.

Where any person brings an action to recover any land of a deceased person whether under a will or intestacy and the deceased person was on the date of his death in possession of the land and was the last person entitled to the land to be in possession thereof, the cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of his death.

Where any person brings an action to recover land, being an estate or interest in possession assured otherwise than by will to him, or to some person through whom he claims, by a person who, at the date when the assurance took effect, was in possession of the land, or in the case of a rentcharge created by the assurance, in possession of the land charged, and no person has been in possession of the land by virtue of the assurance, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date when the assurance took effect.

Subject to this section, the right of action to recover any land shall, in a case where the estate or interest claimed was an estate or interest in reversion or remainder or any other future estate or interest and no person has taken possession of the land by virtue of the estate or interest claimed, be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the estate or interest fell into possession by the determination of the preceding estate or interest.

If the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, not being a term of years absolute, was not in possession of the land on the date of the determination thereof, no action shall be brought by the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the preceding estate or interest, or 6 years from the date on which the right of action accrued to the person entitled to the succeeding estate or interest, whichever period last expires.

No person shall bring an action to recover any estate or interest in land under an assurance taking effect after the right of action to recover the land had accrued to the person by whom the assurance was made or some person through whom he claimed or some person entitled to a preceding estate or interest, unless the action is brought within the period during which the person by whom the assurance was made could have brought such an action.

Where any person is entitled to any estate or interest in land in possession and, while so entitled, is also entitled to any future estate or interest in that land, and his right to recover the estate or interest in possession is barred under this Act, no action shall be brought by that person, or by any person claiming through him, in respect of the future estate or interest, unless in the meantime possession of the land has been recovered by a person entitled to an intermediate estate or interest.

Subject to section 22(1), this Act shall apply to equitable interests in land, including interests in the proceeds of the sale of land held upon trust for sale, in like manner as it applies to legal estates, and accordingly a right of action to recover the land shall, for the purposes of this Act but not otherwise, be deemed to accrue to a person entitled in possession to such an equitable interest in like manner and circumstances and on the same date as it would accrue if his interest were a legal estate in the land.

Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, and the period prescribed by this Act (if any) has expired for the bringing of an action to recover the land by the trustees, the estate of the trustees shall not be extinguished if and so long as the right of action to recover the land of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale either has not accrued or has not been barred by this Act, but if and when every such right of action has been so barred, the estate of the trustees shall be extinguished.

Where any land is held upon trust, including a trust for sale, an action to recover the land may be brought by the trustees on behalf of any person entitled to a beneficial interest in possession in the land or in the proceeds of sale whose right of action has not been barred by this Act notwithstanding that the right of action of the trustees would apart from this provision have been barred by this Act.

Where any land held on trust for sale is in the possession of a person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or in the proceeds of sale, not being a person solely and absolutely entitled thereto, no right of action to recover the land shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to accrue during such possession to any person in whom the land is vested as trustee, or to any other person entitled to a beneficial interest in the land or the proceeds of sale.

For the purposes of this Act, a tenancy at will shall be deemed to be determined at the expiration of a period of one year from the commencement thereof, unless it has previously been determined, and accordingly the right of action of the person entitled to the land subject to the tenancy shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of such determination.

For the purposes of this Act, a tenancy from year to year or other period, without a lease in writing, shall be deemed to be determined at the expiration of the first year or other period, and accordingly the right of action of the person entitled to the land subject to the tenancy shall be deemed to have accrued at the date of such determination.

Where any rent has subsequently to the determination of any tenancy been received in respect of the tenancy, the right of action shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the last receipt of rent.

Where any person is in possession of land by virtue of a lease in writing by which a rent of not less than $10 is reserved, and the rent is received by some person wrongfully claiming to be entitled to the land in reversion immediately expectant on the determination of the lease, and no rent is subsequently received by the person rightfully so entitled, the right of action of the last-named person to recover the land shall be deemed to have accrued at the date when the rent was first received by the person wrongfully claiming as aforesaid and not at the date of the determination of the lease.

This section shall not apply to any tenancy at will or lease granted by the Government.

A right of action to recover land by virtue of a forfeiture or breach of condition shall be deemed to have accrued on the date on which the forfeiture was incurred or the condition broken.

If a right referred to in subsection (1) has accrued to a person entitled to an estate or interest in reversion or remainder and the land was not recovered by virtue thereof, the right of action to recover the land shall not be deemed to have accrued to that person until his estate or interest fell into possession, as if no such forfeiture or breach of condition had occurred.

No right of action to recover land shall be deemed to accrue unless the land is in the possession of some person in whose favour the period of limitation can run (referred to in this section as adverse possession).

Where under this Act any such right of action is deemed to accrue on a certain date and no person is in adverse possession on that date, the right of action shall not be deemed to accrue unless adverse possession is taken of the land.

Where a right of action to recover land has accrued and thereafter, before the right is barred, the land ceases to be in adverse possession, the right of action shall no longer be deemed to have accrued and no fresh right of action shall be deemed to accrue unless the land is again taken into adverse possession.

For the purposes of this section —

No action shall be brought to recover any principal sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge on land or personal property or to enforce such mortgage or charge, or to recover proceeds of the sale of land or personal property after the expiration of 12 years from the date when the right to receive the money accrued.

No foreclosure action in respect of mortgaged personal property shall be brought after the expiration of 12 years from the date on which the right to foreclose accrued.

If, after the date referred to in subsection (1), the mortgagee was in possession of the mortgaged property, the right to foreclose on the property which was in his possession shall not, for the purposes of that subsection, be deemed to have accrued until the date on which his possession discontinued.

The right to receive any principal sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge and the right to foreclose on the property subject to the mortgage or charge shall not be deemed to accrue so long as that property comprises any future interests or any life insurance policy which has not matured or been determined.

Nothing in subsections (1) to (4) shall apply to a foreclosure action in respect of mortgaged land but the provisions of this Act relating to actions to recover land shall apply to such an action.

No action to recover arrears of interest payable in respect of any sum of money secured by a mortgage or other charge or payable in respect of proceeds of the sale of land or to recover damages in respect of such arrears shall be brought after the expiration of 6 years from the date on which the interest became due.

Notwithstanding subsection (6) —

This section shall not apply to any mortgage or charge on a ship.

No period of limitation prescribed by this Act shall apply to an action by a beneficiary under a trust, being an action —

Subject to subsection (1), an action by a beneficiary to recover trust property or in respect of any breach of trust, not being an action for which a period of limitation is prescribed by any other provision of this Act, shall not be brought after the expiration of 6 years from the date on which the right of action accrued.

The right of action referred to in subsection (2) shall not be deemed to have accrued to any beneficiary entitled to a future interest in the trust property until the interest fell into possession.

No beneficiary as against whom there would be a good defence under this Act shall derive any greater or other benefit from a judgment or order obtained by any other beneficiary than he could have obtained if he had brought the action and this Act had been pleaded in defence.

If, on the date when any right of action accrued for which a period of limitation is prescribed by this Act, the person to whom it accrued was under a disability, the action may be brought at any time before the expiration of —

In any case to which section 29 applies, subsection (1) shall apply as if the date from which the period of limitation begins to run were substituted for the date when the right of action accrued.

Where any such person as is referred to in subsection (1) was on such date under 2 disabilities or where before the disability which he was under on such date had ceased he was affected by another disability, he shall be deemed for the purposes of this section to have continued under a disability until both the disabilities have ceased.

When one of several joint creditors or claimants is under any such disability, and when a discharge can be given without the concurrence of that person, time will run against them all.

Where no discharge under subsection (4) can be given, time will not run as against any of them until all those persons cease to be under a disability or until one of them becomes capable of giving a discharge without the concurrence of the others whichever shall first occur.

This section shall take effect subject to the following provisions:

This section shall apply to any action for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty (whether the duty exists by virtue of a contract or of a provision made by or under any written law or independently of any contract or any such provision).

An action to which this section applies, where the damages claimed consist of or include damages in respect of personal injuries to the plaintiff or any other person, shall not be brought after the expiration of —

An action to which this section applies, other than one referred to in subsection (2), shall not be brought after the expiration of the period of —

In subsections (2) and (3), the knowledge required for bringing an action for damages in respect of the relevant injury or damage (as the case may be) means knowledge —

Knowledge that any act or omission did or did not, as a matter of law, involve negligence, nuisance or breach of duty is irrelevant for the purposes of subsections (2) and (3).

For the purposes of this section, a person’s knowledge includes knowledge which he might reasonably have been expected to acquire —

A person shall not be taken by virtue of subsection (6) to have knowledge of a fact ascertainable only with the help of expert advice so long as he has taken all reasonable steps to obtain (and, where appropriate, to act on) that advice.

An action for damages for negligence, nuisance or breach of duty to which section 24A applies shall not be brought after the expiration of 15 years from the starting date.

For the purposes of subsection (1),

“starting date” means the date (or, if more than one, from the last of the dates) on which there occurred any act or omission —

This section bars the right of action in a case to which subsection (1) applies notwithstanding that the cause of action has not yet accrued before the end of the period of limitation prescribed by this section.

Nothing in section 24A shall —

Subject to subsection (1), sections 24A and 24B shall have effect in relation to causes of action accruing before or after 26 June 1992.

Where any right of action has accrued to recover land or to enforce a mortgage or charge in respect of land or personal property, and —

Where any right of action has accrued to recover any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim, or any claim to the personal estate of a deceased person or to any share or interest therein, and the person liable or accountable therefor acknowledges the claim or makes any payment in respect thereof, the right shall be deemed to have accrued on and not before the date of the acknowledgment or the last payment.

A payment of a part of the rent or interest due at any time shall not extend the period for claiming the remainder of the rent or interest then due, but any payment of interest shall have effect, for the purposes of subsection (2) only, as if it were a payment in respect of the principal debt.

Every such acknowledgment as is referred to in section 26 shall be in writing and signed by the person making the acknowledgment.

Any such acknowledgment or payment as is referred to in section 26 may be made by the agent of the person by whom it is required to be made under that section, and shall be made to the person, or to an agent of the person, whose title or claim is being acknowledged or, as the case may be, in respect of whose claim the payment is being made.

For the purposes of this Act, an acknowledgment of the title to any land, or mortgaged or charged property by any person in possession thereof shall bind all other persons in possession during the ensuing period of limitation.

A payment in respect of a debt secured by a mortgage or charge by the mortgagor or any person in possession of the mortgaged or charged land or personal property shall, so far as any right of the mortgagee or chargee to foreclose or otherwise to recover the property is concerned, bind all other persons in possession of the mortgaged property during the ensuing period of limitation.

Where there are 2 or more mortgagors of land or personal property and the title or right to redemption of one of the mortgagors is acknowledged as aforesaid, the acknowledgment shall be deemed to have been made to all the mortgagors.

An acknowledgment of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind the acknowledgor and his successors but not any other person.

An acknowledgment made after the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed for the bringing of an action to recover the debt or other claim shall not bind any successor on whom the liability devolves on the determination of a preceding estate or interest in property under a settlement taking effect before the date of the acknowledgment.

A payment made in respect of any debt or other liquidated pecuniary claim shall bind all persons liable in respect thereof.

A payment made after the expiration of the period of limitation prescribed for the bringing of an action to recover the debt or other claim shall not bind any person other than the person making the payment and his successors and shall not bind any successor on whom the liability devolves on the determination of a preceding estate or interest in property under a settlement taking effect before the date of the payment.

An acknowledgment by one of several personal representatives of any claim to the personal estate of a deceased person, or to any share or interest therein, or a payment by one of several personal representatives in respect of any such claim shall bind the estate of the deceased person.

In this section, “successor”, in relation to any mortgagee or person liable in respect of any debt or claim, means his personal representatives and any other person on whom the rights under the mortgage or, as the case may be, the liability in respect of the debt or claim devolve, whether on death or bankruptcy or the disposition of property or the determination of a limited estate or interest in settled property or otherwise.

Where, in the case of any action for which a period of limitation is prescribed by this Act —

Nothing in this section shall enable any action to be brought to recover, or enforce any charge against, or set aside any transaction affecting, any property which —

Subject to this Act and without prejudice to section 3, this Act shall apply to proceedings by or against the Government in like manner as it applies to proceedings between private persons.

This Act shall not apply to any proceedings by the Government for the recovery of any tax, duty or interest thereon or to any forfeiture proceedings under any written law in force in Singapore relating to customs duties or excise or to any proceedings in respect of the forfeiture of a ship.

For the purposes of this section, proceedings by or against any Government department or any officer of the Government as such or any person acting on behalf of the Government shall be deemed to be proceedings by or against the Government.