Guide to Renting a HDB Flat
By Lin Zhiqin
/ The Edge Property |
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Non-citizen tenant quota
- There is a quota for tenants who are non-Malaysian Singapore Permanent Residents and foreigners
- The quota is capped at 8% at the neighbourhood level and 11% at the block level
- If the quota has been reached, only Singaporeans and Malaysians can rent a flat in the neighbourhood and block
- You or the landlord can check the quota using HDB’s e-Service
Eligibility conditions for tenants
- Tenants must be any of the following
- Singapore citizens
- Singapore Permanent Residents
- Non-citizens legally residing in Singapore who hold passes with a validity period of at least 6 months from the date of the HDB subletting application
- Employment Passes
- S Passes
- Work Permits
- Work Permit holders from the construction, marine and process sectors must be Malaysians
- Student Passes
- Dependant Passes
- Long-term Social Visit Passes
- Tenants who own a HDB property are not allowed to rent another HDB flat, unless
- They are divorced or legally separated
- A landlord can only rent to one party of the divorced or legally separated couple
- Tenants must rent out their HDB flat within 1 month of renting a flat or room from a landlord
- They own an Executive Condominium and have met their 5-year MOP
Process of renting a HDB flat
- Decide on your budget and criteria for a rental home
- Search and browse rental listings
- Consider engaging a real estate salesperson (property agent) who can assist you in your search, help with paperwork and negotiate on your behalf
- Check that the salesperson is registered with the Council for Estate Agencies (CEA)
- Shortlist and arrange to view the properties you are interested in
- View the properties
- You should take a look at the surroundings
- You should also look at the common areas and facilities to check on maintenance
- Letter of Intent (LOI) and good faith deposit
- LOI is an offer from you to rent the 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 the landlord to accept your offer.
- Good faith deposit, usually equal to one month of rent.
- In return for the deposit, the landlord cannot offer the property to another tenant.
- The landlord must return this deposit in full if he does 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 you at the end of the lease, after deduction of any cost for damage according to the Tenancy Agreement.
- Additional requirements. You may specify requirements such as:
- Permission to sublet your property
- Permission to live with pets
- Diplomatic clause. Under this clause, you can terminate the lease after 12 months by giving 2 months notice if you are no longer employed by your employer in Singapore. You will have to the landlord show proof of your transfer to other countries or cessation of employment in Singapore
- Landlord to apply for subletting approval from HDB
- Tenancy Agreement (TA)
- If the landlord accepts your offer, he will prepare the TA, to be signed by both of you. This forms the rental contract
- The TA should include the following:
- Landlord’s name and contact details
- Name of tenant and NRIC/passport number
- Lease term
- Monthy rental
- Payment conditions
- How and when the rental is 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 you at the end of the lease, after deduction of any cost for damage according to the Tenancy Agreement.
- Terms for repairs
- Inventory
- Additional requirements. You may have requests such as:
- Permission to sublet your property
- Permission to live with pets
- Diplomatic clause. Under this clause, you can terminate the lease after 12 months by giving 2 months notice if you are no longer employed by your employer in Singapore. You will have to the landlord show proof of your transfer to other countries or cessation of employment in Singapore
- Payment of deposit and fees
- Upon signing the TA, you 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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- You are 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
- You can e-Stamp online or at these locations listed by IRAS
Computation of stamp duty
Average Annual Rent (AAR) | Lease Duty Rates |
|---|---|
AAR does not exceed $1,000 | Exempted |
AAR exceeds $1,000Lease period of 4 years or less | 0.4% of total rent for the period of the lease |
AAR exceeds $1,000Lease period of more than 4 years or for any indefinite term | 0.4% of 4 times the AAR for the period of the lease |
AAR refers to the higher of the average annual contractual or annualised market rent and includes other considerations such as payments for:
- Advertising and Promotion charge
- Furniture / Fittings charge
- Maintenance charge
- Service charge
- Any other charges, excluding GST charges
- Inspection and handover, your salesperson can assist with this
- Check each item on the inventory list with the landlord or his salesperson on or a few days before the date of commencement of the list
- Receive the keys
Source: HDB, IRAS, The Edge Property
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