Guide for Private Residential Property Landlords

By Lin Zhiqin

/ The Edge Property |

June 10, 2016 12:00 PM SGT

Before renting out their property, landlords should take note of the following:

URA guidelines for renting out private residential properties

Private residential properties or the rooms within their premises should not be rented out on a short-term basis for less than six months on a daily/weekly/monthly basis

Renting out the whole unit or individual rooms for residential purposes is only allowed for long-term stays of six months or more if these conditions are met:

no internal partitioning works that alter the layout of the property to create more rooms. Such overcrowding can pose safety concerns

in the case of master tenancies or en-bloc leasing-out, there should only be one single tenancy agreement per residential unit to cover the number of occupants for the unit. This does not apply to a single property or individual owner who rents out rooms within his unit to different tenants

each occupant should have at least 10 sqm of space. The maximum number of occupants in a residential unit is eight, no matter how big the unit is

- includes the owner if he is living within the premises

- does not apply if the unit is occupied by a family who is not renting out the premise in any way

Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) Anti-Harbouring

Homeowners who wish to rent their premises to foreigners are required to exercise due diligence in checking the immigration status of their prospective foreign tenants to ensure that they are in Singapore legally.

Before renting your room, flat or house, you are required to carry out the following mandatory checks:

Check his original immigration pass and/or work pass

Cross-check the particulars of his pass against the particulars on his original passport

Verify the validity of his pass by checking with the issuing authority, which is the ICA or Ministry of Manpower

Process of renting your property

Set your asking price. Consider engaging a real estate salesperson (property agent) who can assist you in pricing your rent

Check that the salesperson is registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA)

Market your property. Your salesperson will assist you in this

List your property for rent

Screen the prospective tenants

Check if your property fits their criteria, such as budget, number of bedrooms, size and location

Conduct viewing

Negotiate with prospective tenants who will try to bargain

Collect Letter of Intent (LOI) and good faith deposit

LOI is an offer from the prospective tenant to rent your property. It should include the following:

Name of tenant and NRIC/passport number

Lease term of usually 6 months, 1 year or 2 years

Monthy rental

Expiry of LOI.

This is the time frame, usually 7 days, for you to accept rental offer.

Good faith deposit, usually equal to one month of rent.

In return for the deposit, you cannot offer the property to another tenant.

You must return this deposit in full if you do not accept the rental offer.

The good faith deposit is converted into the security deposit or the first month of rent after the Tenancy Agreement (TA) is signed

Security deposit

This is usually one month of rent for each year of lease term.

The good faith deposit is converted into the security deposit or the first month of rent after the Tenancy Agreement is signed

This will be returned without interest to the tenant at the end of the lease, after deduction of any cost for damage according to the Tenancy Agreement.

Additional requirements. The tenant may specify requirements such as:

Permission to sublet your property

Permission to live with pets

Diplomatic clause. Under this clause, the tenant can terminate the lease after 12 months by giving 2 months notice if he is no longer employed by his employer in Singapore. The tenant must show proof of transfer to other countries or cessation of employment in Singapore

Tenancy Agreement (TA)

If you accept the prospective tenant’s offer, you will need to prepare the TA, to be signed by you and the tenant. This forms the rental contract

The TA should include the following:

Your name and contact details

Name of tenant and NRIC/passport number

Lease term

Monthy rental

Payment conditions

How and when you want the rental to be paid

Security deposit

This is usually one month of rent for each year of lease term.

The good faith deposit is converted into the security deposit or the first month of rent after the Tenancy Agreement is signed

This will be returned without interest to the tenant at the end of the lease, after deduction of any cost for damage according to the Tenancy Agreement.

Terms for repairs

Inventory

Additional requirements. The tenant may have requests such as:

Permission to sublet your property

Permission to live with pets

Diplomatic clause. Under this clause, the tenant can terminate the lease after 12 months by giving 2 months notice if he is no longer employed by his employer in Singapore. The tenant must show proof of transfer to other countries or cessation of employment in Singapore

Payment of deposit and fees

Upon signing the TA, the tenant will have to pay

Security deposit, less the good faith deposit already paid

The first month of rent in advance

Payment of stamp duty

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The tenant is required to pay stamp duty to IRAS to have the TA stamped within 14 days of signing it if it was signed in Singapore

The deadline for stamping is 30 days after receiving the document in Singapore if it was signed overseas

The tenant can e-Stamp online or at these locations listed by IRAS

Inspection and handover, your salesperson can assist with this

Check each item on the inventory list with the tenant on or a few days before the date of commencement of the list

Hand over the keys

Source: URA, IRAS, ICA, The Edge Property

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