Can a trustee sell trust property?

What the Law Says

The power of a trustee to sell trust property is governed primarily by the terms of the trust itself and supplemented by statutory authority. In Singapore, section 3 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act provides a default legal power for trustees to deal with land held on trust.

A trustee does not automatically have the power to sell trust property. That power must come either from the trust deed (the document that creates the trust) or from a statute.

Section 3 of the Conveyancing and Law of Property Act gives trustees certain powers over land held in trust — including the power to sell — but only where the trust instrument does not expressly exclude or restrict that power.

This statutory power applies only to land (real property), not to movable assets like cash or shares. For those, the trustee must rely solely on the trust deed or obtain consent from beneficiaries or court approval.

Statutory Text

Every trustee for the time being of any land shall have, in addition to all other powers conferred on him by the instrument creating the trust or by law, the powers set out in this section.

— Conveyancing and Law of Property Act, s. 3 — Powers of trustees

What to Do

Sources