How to Rent in Singapore (For Landlords)

Renting out your property in Singapore sounds like a tough cookie to crack.

But, if you break it down, it's easy!

If you're a potential landlord looking to do rentals, we'll cover how you can do it in 5 chapters:

1. Are you eligible to rent out?
2. How to list your property for rent
3. How to attract potential tenants
4. How to arrange viewings
5. Finalising the transaction and move

We illustrate how your journey as a landlord in Singapore might look like below.

Before you begin, confirm that you're eligible to rent out your property, depending on:

• Whether you're renting out a HDB flat or condo/ executive condo
• Whether you're renting out a room or the entire unit
• How long you've owned your property

If you're renting out your HDB room...

• Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP): -
• Landlord eligibility: Only Singapore citizen and Singapore PR homeowners can rent out
• Tenant eligibility: Tenant must be Singapore Citizens, Singapore PRs, or non-citizens legally residing in Singapore
• Home size restrictions: Maximum of 1 room in 3-room HDB flats, and 2 rooms in 4-room and bigger HDB flats; 1 and 2-room HDB flats cannot be rented out by room
• Maximum number of tenants: 6 occupants (including live-in landlords), regardless of size of HDB flat
• Rental period: Minimum of 6 months, maximum of 3 years of tenants are Singaporeans/ Malaysians, or 2 years if tenants are non-Malaysian non-citizens

If you're renting out your entire HDB flat...

• Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP): 5 years
• Landlord eligibility: Only Singapore citizens can rent out
• Tenant eligibility: Tenant must be Singapore Citizens, Singapore PRs, or non-citizens legally residing in Singapore (subject to quota for non-Malaysian non-citizens per estate and HDB block)
• Home size restrictions: -
• Maximum number of tenants: 4 tenants for 1 and 2-room HDB flats, 6 tenants for 3-room and bigger HDB flats
• Rental period: Minimum of 6 months, maximum of 3 years of tenants are Singaporeans/ Malaysians, or 2 years if tenants are non-Malaysian non-citizens

If you're renting out your condo/ executive condo room...

• Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP): -
• Maximum number of tenants: 6 occupants (including live-in landlords)
• Rental period: Minimum of 3 months, no maximum

If you're renting out your entire condo/ executive condo unit...

• Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP): 5 years for EC, none for condo
• Maximum number of tenants: 6 unrelated occupants (e.g. if it's a group of friends renting), no cap if the tenants are all related (i.e. if it's a family renting)
• Rental period: Minimum of 3 months, no maximum

For every day your empty room or unit goes unrented, you’re forfeiting a good amount of passive income.

We’ve got tips to make your rental listing more attractive, so you’ll have your new tenants moving in in no time:

• Important details to include in your listing description
• The best ways to follow up with interested rental-seekers on Carousell

P.S. Wondering how much rent you can ask for?

HDB and URA has useful tools which allows you to benchmark your intended asking price against past rental transactions:

• Check for rental rates of HDB flats by town or block/ street using this HDB e-service
• Check for rental rates of condos and private property by property name or postal district using this URA e-service

Viewings are not just for prospective tenants to check out your property – it’s also for you to make sure you can entrust them with your beloved home.

Here’s what to take note of when you’re arranging viewings with interested rental-seekers:

• Easy ways to beautify your home for a viewing
• How to screen prospective tenants by asking the right questions (Read more here)
• Individual viewings vs organising an open house

We’ve broken down the technical bits into a few basic steps (Spoiler: It’s actually pretty easy to DIY!):

• What to include in the Tenancy Agreement (Here's a template!)
• How to create an Inventory of Contents, and how it can protect you as a landlord
• More tips and tricks, including how to collect the security deposit and monthly rent

Once you’ve settled those, you’re ready to welcome your new tenants into your home!