After the Specific Relief (Amendment) Act 2018 comes into force on 1 October 2018, a plaintiff will not be able to seek compensation in substitution of specific performance.
If the Act has been amended to enable plaintiffs to seek confidently the relief of specific performance, this particular amendment will deter plaintiffs from seeking it. It is hoped that this particular amendment in Section 21(1) of the Act that takes away the right to seek compensation in substitution, and indeed many other amendments to the Act, do not become one more instance of ‘legislate in haste, amend at leisure’.
This change to section 21(1) was NOT recommended by the Expert Committee set up to suggest amendments to the Specific Relief Act.
Obiter Dicta 