Rental market in Singapore are guided by strict regulations and here is what you need to know before you rent out your HDB units.
1) E Pass and S Pass
The term ‘E Pass’ and ‘S Pass’ are not uncommonly heard of, basically they acts as an indication of the type of profession and salary range of the potential tenant.
| S Pass | Mid-level skilled staff. Candidates need to earn at least $2,200 a month and meet the assessment criteria. |
|---|---|
| Employment Pass | Foreign professionals, managers and executives. Candidates need to earn at least $3,300 a month and have acceptable qualifications. |
Table extracted from Ministry of Manpower
Under this classification, it is easy to narrow down to the type of properties that these groups of people are able to afford based on their monthly salary range.
2) Non- Citizen (NC) Quota for Entire Unit Rental
It is important to note that only Singapore Citizens are allowed to rent out the entire HDB unit, Singapore PR are only allowed to sublet bedrooms. Singaporean owners are allowed to rent out their flat after fulfilling the Minimum Occupancy Period (MOP), as long as Non-Citizen Quota is met.
NC quote was introduced as a measure to ensure a good ethnic mix in HDB estates, applies to non-Malaysian non-citizen (Singapore Permanent Residence or foreigner). This quota is set at 8% at neighbourhood level and 11% at block level. Under circumstances where NC quota is reached, landlord only have the choice of renting out to Singaporeans or Malaysians.
Want to know if your unit can be rented to foreigners? Check out Housing Development Board
3) Room Rental
Owners do not have to obtain permission from HDB board for room rental, however they are required to abide to the subletting regulatory. Only owners of 3 room and bigger flats are allowed to sublet bedrooms. Based on you flat type, HDB restricted the number of room rental allowed, as shown on the table below:
| HDB Type | Entire Unit | Room Rental |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum number of Subtenant allowed in Each HDB unit | Maximum number of rooms allowed for rent | |
| 1-2 room HDB | 4 | 0 |
| 3-room | 6 | 1 |
| 4-room and above | 9 | 2 |
To sublet your bedrooms, owners are required to provide their tenant’s particulars and rental details via Housing Development Board
4) Documents Required
Documents involved: Photocopied Passport, Photocopied Employment Pass, Security Deposit, Letter of Intent and Tendency Agreement
When the landlord has accepted the deposit and signed the Letter of Intent, he/she essentially promised to keep the unit on hold until the Tendency Agreement has been signed. After the Tenancy Agreement has been signed, the deposit can be kept either as payment for the first month's rental or as a security deposit. Security deposit kept by the landlord will be returned to the tenant when his or her term of lease expires.
For a tenancy agreement to be considered as a valid contract of evidence in the court for any disputes that may arise in the future, it has to be stamped by Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). Hence, it is the responsible of the landlord to ensure that your tenant has e-stamps the rental agreement, simply by requesting for a copy of the stamp certificate. The stamp duty is usually borne by the tenant.
Comments