The move comes as strict rules on short-term property rentals in the city-state, a keen early adopter of the sharing economy, have invited some complaints, as it seeks a balance between encouraging new disruptive industries and keeping them in line.

While there’s a place for short-term letting, the government will review and consider safeguards to ensure it does not negatively affect the “amenity” of residential estates, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said.

A coming public consultation will seek feedback on a framework for allowing short-term accommodation in private homes, the URA said in response to reporters’ questions.

This week, Singapore charged two men with unauthorised short-term letting of four apartments, its first such prosecution.

They were charged under the Planning Act for renting out condominium units for less than six months without permission from the URA. If found guilty, the two are liable to a fine of up to S$200,000 per offence.

The rentals were arranged through Airbnb, which was not referred to in court documents.

Airbnb says it has 8,700 listings in the city-state. Singapore has high population density, and its limited land area means a majority of the 5.6 million people live in apartments.

The URA said part of the public consultation “will involve working with key stakeholders such as representatives of home-sharing platforms, resident groups and other accommodation providers to ensure that the framework is robust and addresses the concerns of all parties, including residents and industry stakeholders”.

The planning agency said it investigated 985 cases of unauthorised short-term accommodation in private homes in 2015 and 2016, and about 750 cases in 2017’s first 11 months.

In most cases, the agency said it secured compliance from owners to cease unauthorised use of the properties.

Airbnb, founded in 2008 in San Francisco, matches people wishing to rent out all or part of their homes to temporary guests.

The firm has clashed with hoteliers and the authorities in cities including New York, Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris, which in some cases are limiting short-term rentals. Critics accuse Airbnb of exacerbating housing shortages and driving out lower-income residents.

In a statement on Friday, Airbnb said Singapore’s current regulatory framework “is untenable and does not reflect how Singaporeans travel or use their home today.”

But the controversial blasting of rocks and rapids to clear a navigation channel in the Mekong River would not be included on the agenda, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Busadee Santipitaks.

Thailand had not finished a feasibility study for the project, making it not the right time to raise the issue, she said.

With the collaboration of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand, China has pushed forward clearing a navigation channel in the Mekong to enable heavy vessels to travel between ports in China’s Yunnan province and Laos’s Luang Prabang.

Local residents and environmental conservationists in Thailand oppose the project fearing environmental and social effects for people living on the river.

Set up in 2015, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation forum brings together the Mekong basin countries China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. While other cooperative efforts in the Mekong basin mostly focus on infrastructure and economic development, the Lancang-Mekong scheme covers all dimensions of cooperation including politics and |security.

Southeast Asia’s longest river, the Mekong, is known in China as Lancang.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Cambodian counterpart Prak Sokhon will co-chair the meeting in Yunnan’s Dali next Friday.

The meeting will review the activities of members since the 1st Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Summit held in Sanya in China last year as well as the first and second foreign ministers meeting.

The meeting will also discuss future cooperation with consideration of the Five Year Plan of Action 2018-2022, which will cover politics and security, economics and sustainable development, and society, culture and people-to-people relations, Busadee said.

The ministerial meeting will also review the results of meetings in five areas conducted by six working groups on water resources, connectivity, cross-border economics, production efficiency, poverty elimination and agriculture, she said.

Ministers will also discuss the preparation for the 2nd summit of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, which will take place in Phnom Penh on January 10 and 11.

The meeting will also recognise the approval of projects funded by the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Special Fund, five of which were proposed by Thailand and focus on commerce and water management, Busadee said.

In the past couple of years, the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation has emphasised progress by supporting existing areas of cooperation and the Sustainable Development Goals 2030, she said.

This is the first use of new regulations against home sharing since they kicked in on May 15. Terence Tan En Wei, 35, and Yao Songliang, 34, face four charges each for renting out their private property to others for under six months. They are expected to plead guilty.

The Straits Times understands that the men had allegedly used popular home-sharing service Airbnb.

According to court documents, both men had allegedly worked together to rent out four units at D’Leedon condominium in Farrer Road to others for the short term without permission from the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA).

According to the Council of Estate Agencies public register, the two men are property agents with Savills Residential.

Under the Planning Act, the new rules make it illegal for people to rent out, sublet or share their private homes with others for under six months.

Following a 2015 public consultation by the URA, the bar was lowered to under three months for private homes from June 30 this year. For HDB flats, the minimum stay is still six months.

However, both Tan and Yao allegedly committed the offences before the three-month bar set in, so the earlier six-month rule still applies to them.

Court documents did not say how long they intended to rent out the units for, and were also unclear as to whether they were owners, occupiers or acting as property agents for the units.

The amendment renders the provision of short-term stays in return for payment a form of development.

Under the Planning Act, those who carry out or allow the development of any home, without approval from the Government, are liable to be fined up to $200,000.

Repeat offenders face jail time of up to a year, on top of the $200,000 fine. Those convicted of the offence, but still continue to rent the unit out to others, can be fined up to $10,000 a day.

Owners of Housing Board flats are also liable to fines and getting their units repossessed.

URA prosecutor Douglas Neo said that as this was the first mention of the cases for the two men, more time was needed for prosecutors to prepare the cases.

The cases of Tan and Yao will be heard again next month. Both men were represented in court by Ms Wong Soo Chih of Ho Wong Law Practice.

URA is still considering a new class of private homes where short-term rentals are allowed. This means that the Airbnb model may still thrive here, though few details about this upcoming class of housing have emerged so far.

There are around 8,700 Singapore listings on Airbnb now, an increase from around 8,000 in February, before the changes kicked in.

Over the past year, the Singapore Airbnb community has hosted more than 330,000 travellers. There was a 40 per cent surge of guests arriving and using Airbnb in Singapore over the Formula 1 weekend in September.

PandaBed, another home-sharing platform, has around 300  listings too.

The URA received 608 complaints regarding short-term rentals last year, 61 per cent more than the 377 complaints in 2015.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong has said the new law will allow the URA to “make sure that the issue does not worsen further”.

A URA spokesman said the law is meant to safeguard the living environment of neighbouring residents.

There were 985 cases of unauthorised short-term accommodation in private homes in 2015 and 2016, and about 750 from January to November this year. Most were in condominiums.

URA is typically informed of potential infringements either through feedback from neighbouring residents who have been affected by the unauthorised use or by the condominium’s managers, the spokesman added.

Not all cases end up in court – most offenders comply after they receive enforcement notices from URA. But recalcitrant offenders and those who blatantly disregard the regulations, even after URA action, face prosecution, said the spokesman.

A public consultation on the upcoming regulatory framework for short-term accommodation will be held when it is ready, but URA reminded private home owners to observe the three-month minimum stay duration rule for now.

In response to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for Airbnb said its model has helped Singapore’s economy, driving around $324 million of economic activity here in 2016.

“The current framework for home sharing in Singapore doesn’t reflect how Singaporeans travel or use their homes today. The current framework also stands in contrast with Singapore’s commitment to innovation,” said the spokesman.

She told The Straits Times that the company is helping locals earn supplementary income, with the average host earning $4,700 a year.

The spokesman said Airbnb wants to work with the Government to find a way to make home sharing to Singapore’s benefit.

HDB residents are also subject to stern penalties, such as fines and having their units repossessed if they let out their flats or bedrooms on a short-term basis.

All letting or subletting of HDB flats must also be approved by the Housing Board. Flat owners must also meet certain conditions, such as having fulfilled the five-year minimum occupation period.

“We take a very serious view of unauthorised rentals and will not hesitate to take action against those who flout the rules,” HDB wrote on its website.

Members of the public can report suspected cases of unauthorised rental or misuse of HDB flats on 1800-555-6370 from Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm. All information provided will remain confidential, said the HDB.

The Prime Minister and Umno president said he was confident and believed that the Muslim ummah will never be able to accept the shocking proposal by the United States.

“I, as the president of Umno and the Prime Minister of Malaysia, would like to invite all party leaders, and others who are present in this hall or who are outside, to stand up.

“We must voice our stand clearly so that the world listens to the voice of the Muslims in Malaysia, that we reject forever and in the harshest terms the suggestion to make Baitul Maqdis (Jerusalem) as the capital of Israel,” Najib said in his presidential address at the Umno general assembly Thursday.

Najib said Umno has never and will never compromise on any matter that involves an insult to the sanctity and teachings of islam, not just in Malaysia, but in every corner of the world.

But the non-governmental organisation cautioned countries against imposing further sanctions on Myanmar, saying these are “unlikely to produce positive change”.

The report, “Myanmar’s Rohingya crisis enters a dangerous new phase” published on Thursday (Dec 7), said the home-grown Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (Arsa) militant group “appears determined to regroup and remain relevant” following its attacks on police posts and an army base in Rakhine state in August, which led to a security crackdown.

While it has not launched any new attack since then, it “will undoubtedly strive to do so”, the report said.

Led by a network of respected local leaders, including young mullahs or religious leaders, Arsa has to date organised cells within hundreds of villages to try and start an uprising by sending large numbers of ordinary villagers to overrun police posts with farm tools, a departure from its previous approach of stationing uniformed, armed militants in camps, ICG added.

“Yet operating under cover of the civilian population is no longer possible given that few Rohingya villages remain. Most of the group’s organisers and fighters are now in the Bangladesh camps,” according to the report.

“The group may thus shift to cross-border attacks, which would require different training, access to weapons as well as operating space in Bangladesh,” it said, adding it could aim at “opportunistic security targets in northern Rakhine or turn to attacking any non-Muslim villagers resettled on Rohingya lands, an easier target”.

The ICG warned that such attacks could escalate tensions between Bangladesh and Myanmar, potentially leading to clashes between the militaries of the two countries. They would also reinforce anti-Rohingya sentiment within Myanmar and prompt stronger security measures, which would hinder the chances of the return of the refugees.

Furthermore, attacks against Rakhine Buddhists would inflame anti-Muslim sentiment and tip central Rakhine state – so far untouched by the recent violence – into crisis, the report added.

Dr Subir Bhaumik, a consulting editor with Mizzima Media in Myanmar, told The Straits Times he did not agree that Arsa has a large number of organised cells led by respected religious leaders. He estimated that there are up to 30 squads in northern Rakhine who are “led by young radicalised alienated Rohingyas, some of them mullahs”.

“Respected Rohingya leaders have been terrorised into silence”, he said, adding that the Arsa is seeking to eliminate Rohingya moderates.

He agreed with the report that Arsa will shift to cross-border insurgency and draw Rohingya recruits from Bangladesh refugee camps. The group will also target non-Rohingyas, especially ethnic Rakhines, settled on Rohingya lands.

“But the present government of Bangladesh is determined to not encourage Arsa because it has close links to its (Bangladesh) terror groups like JMB”, or the Jama’at ul Mujahideen Bangladesh.

The ICG also urged against imposing international sanctions against Myanmar over the Rohingya refugee crisis , saying the community should resist from disengaging from the country but instead maintain development assistance and non-military engagement.

Policymakers should be “under no illusions” that the sanctions would bring positive change, but could only worsen the situation.

“Their most likely effect will thus be to push the government, military and population even closer together and to reinforce current narratives in Myanmar that the West is a fickle friend and unreliable partner,” the report said.

Dr Oh Su-Ann, a visiting fellow at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, told The Straits Times that assistance could come in the form of coordinating and facilitating, as well as providing programmes towards peace and reconciliation, as well as monetary donations especially to Bangladesh to help deal with the humanitarian crisis.

She said: “It would help if the international community were to provide assistance to both governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar while reducing their overt criticisms, as these would only succeed in increasing the us-versus-them attitude in Myanmar.”