Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat

If the tenant renting the flat is a non-Malaysian non-citizen (Singapore Permanent Resident or foreigner), the tenant will be subject to the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat. The quota is to help maintain a good ethnic mix in HDB estates. Malaysians are excluded from this quota because of their close cultural and historical similarities with Singaporeans.

The quota is applicable if any tenant renting a flat is a non-Malaysian non-citizen, and is set at 8% at the neighbourhood level and 11% at the block level. If the quota is reached, only Singaporeans and Malaysians can rent a flat in that neighbourhood/ block. This quota does not apply to the renting out of bedrooms.

Prospective tenants may use our e-Service to check if an HDB flat can be rented by non-Malaysian non-citizens. The e-Service can also be accessed via the HDB Map.

Rental Period

Tenants must rent an HDB flat/ bedroom for at least 6 months. Owners can apply to rent out their flat/ bedrooms for a maximum period of 3 years per application if their tenants are all Singaporeans or Malaysians. For rental applications involving non-Malaysian non-citizens, the maximum period per approval is 2 years.

Renting out of flat for non-residential use, for example, to tourists, for commercial filming or goods storage, is also not allowed.

Maximum Number of Tenants / Occupants

Take note of the maximum number of tenants and occupants allowed in each flat when renting the flat/ bedrooms.

	Renting of Flat	Renting of Bedrooms
Flat Type	Maximum Number of Tenants Allowed in Each Flat	Maximum Number of Bedrooms Allowed	Maximum Number of Occupants* Allowed in Each Flat**
1-room and 2-room	4	Owners are not allowed to rent out the bedroom.
3-room	6	1	6
4-room and bigger^	8	2	8

* Includes flat owners, authorised occupiers, and tenants. The maximum number of occupants applies even if flat owners rent out bedroom(s) to tenants who are from the same family unit.

** Only bedrooms originally constructed by HDB can be rented out. All other parts of the flat (including partitioned rooms) cannot be used as bedrooms for tenants.

^ The number of tenants/ occupants allowed for 4-room and bigger flats will revert to a maximum of 6 persons for rental period extending beyond 31 December 2028.

Regulations for Renting a Flat