What a Title Search and Requisitions Uncover

Buying process · Conveyancing

By Winfred Quek, Associate Marketing Consultant · CEA R073319H · Crestbrick Pte Ltd (L31010886H) · Published 13 July 2026

Quick answer: A title search, run through the Singapore Land Authority's registry, confirms the seller actually owns the property, that the title is free of undischarged mortgages, and whether any caveats are lodged against it. Requisitions are separate written enquiries your lawyer sends to authorities such as URA, HDB, the town council and utility boards, asking about outstanding charges, unauthorised renovations, and planning contraventions. Together these two steps are how a buyer's lawyer confirms the property they are about to pay for is legally clean. When either turns something up, resolving it, usually on the seller's side, is a common reason completion gets pushed back.

Facts verified: 13 July 2026 · Process described reflects standard Singapore conveyancing practice · Sources attributed below

Buyers rarely see this part of the transaction happen. It occurs quietly, in the background, between exercising the Option to Purchase and completion day, handled entirely by your conveyancing lawyer. But it is one of the most important checks in the entire purchase, because it is the step that confirms the seller can actually deliver what you are paying for: clean legal ownership, free of hidden claims, charges or contraventions. Understanding what a title search and requisitions actually do makes the sometimes frustrating wait between exercising and completing far less mysterious.

What a title search actually checks

A title search is conducted against the Singapore Land Authority's land registry, which is the authoritative record of who owns what and what is registered against a property. Your lawyer pulls this record to confirm three core things: that the seller named in the contract is indeed the registered owner, that the title is not still encumbered by an existing mortgage that has not been discharged, and that no caveats have been lodged against the property by a third party. A caveat is a formal notice that someone else claims an interest in the property, which could stem from an ongoing dispute, an unpaid debt secured against the property, or a competing sale. Any of these findings needs to be resolved before your purchase can safely complete. For more on what a caveat specifically signals, see my guide to caveats on property.

What requisitions to authorities cover

Requisitions are a separate exercise from the title search. Your lawyer sends formal written enquiries to a range of authorities that would know about anything affecting the property beyond pure ownership. URA is asked about planning matters, such as whether any part of the property was built or altered without proper planning permission. HDB, for HDB properties, is asked about outstanding charges or breaches of lease conditions. The town council is asked about outstanding conservancy and service charges. Utility boards are asked to confirm there are no unpaid utility bills tied to the property that could become the new owner's problem. Each authority responds confirming the status, and your lawyer reviews every response before advising you it is safe to proceed to completion.

What red flags can surface

Unauthorised works. Renovations, extensions or structural changes made without the required approval from URA or the relevant authority, which the current owner may need to regularise or reverse before selling.
Outstanding charges. Unpaid town council conservancy fees, utility bills, or in some cases outstanding property tax, all of which need to be cleared, usually from the seller's sale proceeds, before completion.
Caveats. A registered claim against the property from a third party, which must typically be withdrawn or resolved before the transfer can proceed cleanly.
Planning contraventions. Use of the property inconsistent with its approved planning permission, which can be a more serious issue requiring regularisation before a sale can complete.
Undischarged mortgages. An existing home loan on the property that has not been formally discharged from the title, even if the seller tells you it has been fully repaid.

How this affects your completion timeline

Requisitions go out to multiple authorities at once, and each authority has its own processing time to respond. In a clean transaction, this runs in parallel with other completion preparations and rarely becomes a bottleneck. But if any single authority flags an issue, that response can hold up the whole chain, because your lawyer needs the seller to resolve it, and the resolving authority then needs to confirm the resolution, before completion can proceed. This is one of the more common, if underappreciated, reasons a completion date shifts later than originally planned. For the broader list of what tends to delay completion, see my guide to mistakes that delay property completion.

A clean requisition response is not automatic. Even an owner who has lived in a property for years and made no obvious changes can have an undischarged administrative matter on file. This is precisely why the check exists independently of what the seller tells you, and why it is worth budgeting time for in your purchase timeline rather than assuming it will clear instantly.

Who orders it and when

Your conveyancing lawyer orders the title search and sends out requisitions shortly after you exercise the Option to Purchase, once they are formally engaged on the file. This typically runs in the earlier part of the completion window, well before the funds disbursement stage, precisely so there is enough runway to resolve any issue that surfaces without derailing your agreed completion date. If you engage your lawyer late, this step gets compressed along with everything else, which is one reason experienced buyers line up their lawyer before they even exercise the option, not after.

What happens if something turns up

If the title search or a requisition response reveals an issue, your lawyer will raise it formally with the seller's lawyer and typically require it to be resolved before completion: discharging a mortgage, clearing an outstanding charge from sale proceeds, regularising unauthorised works with the relevant authority, or withdrawing a caveat. In most cases these are administrative fixes that add time rather than derail the purchase entirely. In more serious cases, such as an unresolved planning contravention or a contested caveat, the issue can push completion back significantly, and depending on the terms of your contract, may give you grounds to renegotiate or, in extreme cases, walk away. This is exactly the kind of protection the process exists to give you, even though from the buyer's seat it often just looks like a wait.

Frequently asked questions

What does a property title search actually check?

A title search, conducted through the Singapore Land Authority's land registry, confirms who legally owns the property, whether the title is free of encumbrances such as an existing mortgage that has not been discharged, and whether there are any caveats lodged against it, which can signal a dispute or a competing claim. It is the single document that tells your lawyer whether the seller can actually deliver clean legal ownership.

What are requisitions and who do they go to?

Requisitions are formal written enquiries your lawyer sends to relevant authorities, commonly URA, HDB, the town council, and utility boards, asking whether there are outstanding charges, unauthorised renovations, planning contraventions, or notices affecting the property. Each authority responds confirming the status, and any outstanding matter needs to be resolved, usually by the seller, before completion.

Can a title search or requisition delay my completion date?

Yes. If a requisition uncovers an issue, such as unauthorised structural works, an outstanding town council charge, or a caveat that needs to be cleared, the seller typically needs time to resolve it before the sale can complete. Because requisitions are sent to multiple authorities and response times vary, this step is one of the more common sources of delay in an otherwise straightforward conveyancing timeline.

Who pays for the title search and requisitions?

These are standard conveyancing disbursements typically included in or billed alongside your lawyer's legal fees for the transaction, paid by the buyer as part of the overall legal costs of the purchase. Exact fee structures vary by law firm, so it is worth asking your conveyancing lawyer for an itemised quote upfront.

What happens if a title search or requisition reveals a problem?

Your lawyer will flag the issue and typically require the seller to resolve it before completion, whether that means discharging an existing mortgage, regularising unauthorised works with the authority, settling an outstanding charge, or removing a caveat. In more serious cases, an unresolved issue can be grounds to delay completion or, depending on the contract terms, to withdraw from the purchase.

Want the full completion timeline mapped out?

Title searches, requisitions, financing and completion all interact. A Property Portfolio Analysis sequences your purchase so nothing surprises you mid transaction.

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Winfred Quek is Associate Marketing Consultant at Crestbrick Pte Ltd, advising Singapore upgraders, investors and families. CEA R073319H. The information on this page is general and does not constitute legal advice. Conveyancing steps described reflect standard practice and can vary by transaction; consult a qualified conveyancing lawyer for advice specific to your purchase.

What a title search and requisitions actually uncover