Only Singapore Citizens are allowed to rent out the HDB flat. Singapore Permanent Resident flat owners are not allowed to do so.
Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)
You can rent out your flat after fulfilling the 5-year MOP. If your flat is non-subsidised (purchased from the open market without a housing grant) and purchased before 30 August 2010, the MOP is 3 years.
If you are the original purchaser, the MOP is computed from the date of purchase of the flat
If there has been a transfer of flat ownership, the MOP is computed from the effective date of the transfer of flat ownership, or the date the owner was included as an authorised occupier of the flat
After a resale of part-share, the owners have to meet a fresh MOP computed from the effective date of resale
You can print the confirmation of your eligibility to rent out the whole flat through My HDBPage. (Log in with your SingPass and go to: My Flat > Purchased Flat – Renting Out of Flat)
You will have to consider the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat if any tenant renting your flat is a non-Malaysian non-citizen (Singapore Permanent Resident or foreigner). The quota is to help maintain a good ethnic mix in HDB estates. Malaysians are not subject to this quota in view of their close cultural and historical similarities with Singaporeans.
The quota is set at 8% at the neighbourhood level and 11% at the block level, and applicable if any tenant renting the whole flat is a non-Malaysian non-citizen (Singapore Permanent Resident or foreigner) . If the quota is reached, only Singaporeans and Malaysians can rent a flat in that neighbourhood/ block. Note that this quota does not apply to the rental of bedrooms.
You may use our e-Service to check if your flat can be rented out to non-Malaysian non-citizens. The e-Service can also be accessed via the HDB Map Services.
Persons who wish to rent HDB flats must be any of the following:
Singapore Citizens
Singapore Permanent Residents
Non-citizens legally residing in Singapore who are holders of Employment Passes, S Passes, Work Permits, Student Passes, Dependant Passes, or Long-Term Social Visit Passes. These passes must have a validity period of at least 6 months as at the date of your application
Work Permit holders from the construction, manufacturing, marine, and process sectors must be Malaysians
Tourists are not allowed as tenants of HDB flats
You can check online if your tenant's documents are valid:
If you are renting out the flat to a company to house its employees, the employees must also meet the above eligibility conditions for tenants.
Maximum number of tenants
These are the maximum number of tenants allowed in each flat:
Flat Type
Total Number of tenants
1-room and 2-room
4
3-room
6
4-room and bigger
9
From 1 May 2018, the occupancy cap for 4-room and larger HDB flats being rented out will be reduced to 6 persons, from the current maximum of 9 persons. The cap for 3-room and smaller flats remains unchanged at 6 persons and 4 persons respectively.
Tenancy and property ownership status
Tenants must not be tenants of public rental HDB flats or owners of other HDB flats unless they are:
Divorced/ legally separated. In this case, only 1 party can rent a HDB flat from another flat owner
Owners who are eligible to rent out their whole flat. However, they must rent out their own flat within a month after they have rented an HDB flat from another flat owner
Tenants must not be owners of Executive Condominium units where the 5-year MOP has not been met.
