Terms and Conditions

A: ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS OF FLAT OWNERS
B: ELIGIBILITY OF PERSONS WHO WISH TO RENT THE FLATS
C: TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR RENTING OUT OF FLAT

 

A: ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS OF FLAT OWNERS

 

1. CITIZENSHIP

Flat owners who wish to rent out their flat must be Singapore Citizens. Singapore Permanent Residents are not allowed to rent out their flat.

 

2. MINIMUM OCCUPATION PERIOD

Singapore Citizen flat owners who wish to rent out their flat must meet a 3- or 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) as follows:

3 years

  • Non-subsidised flat (flat purchased from the open market without a CPF Housing Grant) and the application to buy the flat was received by HDB before 30 Aug 2010

5 years

  • Non-subsidised flat (flat purchased from the open market without a CPF Housing Grant) and the application to buy the flat was received by HDB on or after 30 Aug 2010.

  • Subsidised flat (flat purchased directly from HDB or from the open market with a CPF Housing Grant).

The MOP is computed from the date of purchase of the flat if the SC flat owners who rent out the flat are the original purchasers. If there was 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.

 

3. NON-CITIZEN* QUOTA FOR RENTING OUT OF FLAT

Flat owners who rent out their flat to one or more non-Malaysian non-citizens will be subject to the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat. When the Non-Citizen Quota in a neighbourhood or block is reached, flat owners cannot apply to rent out their flat to non-Malaysian non-citizens. They can only rent out their flat to Singaporeans or Malaysians.

* Non-Citizens are defined as SPRs and foreigners (excluding Malaysians for both groups).

 

B: ELIGIBILITY OF PERSONS WHO WISH TO RENT THE FLAT
 
 
1. PERMITTED PERSONS:
 
a. Singapore Citizens; or
 
b. Singapore Permanent Residents; or
 
c. 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 application.
 
* Work Permit holders from Construction, Manufacturing, Marine and Process sectors must be Malaysians
 
 
2 NON-PERMITTED PERSONS:
 
a. Non-Malaysian Work Permit holders from the Construction, Manufacturing, Marine and Process sectors; or
 

b. Owners or tenants of HDB public rental flats, except for

  • Owners/tenants who are divorced/legally separated. However, only one of the divorced/legally separated parties is eligible to rent an HDB flat on the open market;

  • Owners who are eligible to rent out their whole HDB flat. However, they must rent out their own flat within one month after they have rented an HDB flat from other flat owner, failing which they are required to resume occupation of their own flat; or

c. Owners of Executive Condominium units where the 5-year minimum occupation period has not been met; or
 
d. Tourists or foreigners who do not fall within paragraphs B1b. or B1c. above; or
 
e. An Attorney appointed under a Power of Attorney for the management of the flat shall not be a tenant of the flat that he / she manages.
 
3. CORPORATE TENANTS:
 
Flat owners may rent out their flat to a corporate body to house its employees. However, they must:
 
a. Ensure that the company allows only persons who meet the eligibility conditions i.e. comply with paragraphs B1 and B2 above to stay in the flat (Hereinafter referred to as the occupiers);
 
b. Provide the particulars of the occupiers in the application form;
 
c. Ensure that only authorised occupiers who are registered with HDB are staying in the flat;
 
d. Ensure that every authorised occupier registered with HDB occupies the flat for at least 6 months before the occupier can be replaced by any new occupier;
 
e. Ensure that any new occupiers authorised by the company meet the above eligibility conditions and are duly registered with the HDB. Flat owners must notify HDB of any change of particulars of the authorised occupiers and/or if any of the authorised occupiers move out of the flat, within 7 days of the occurrence. For inclusion of any new occupiers, flat owners must obtain HDB’s approval before the new occupiers may move into the flat;
 
f. Ensure that the non-citizen occupiers had lawfully entered Singapore and are lawfully allowed to remain in Singapore;
 
g. Ensure that the occupiers comply with all the terms and conditions; and
 
h. Ensure that the occupiers vacate the premises upon termination of rental or in the event that the approval to rent outthe flat is revoked by HDB or in the event that the name(s) of occupiers are deleted by HDB if it is subsequently discovered that any information provided in the application (e.g. the particulars of the occupiers) is inaccurate or untrue, or if the occupiers are ineligible.
 
 
4. NON-CITIZEN QUOTA FOR RENTING OUT OF FLAT
 
Tenants who wish to rent a flat are subject to the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat as long as one or more tenant is a non-Malaysian non-citizen. When the Non-Citizen Quota in a neighbourhood and/or block is reached, those who wish to rent a flat in that neighbourhood or block must be Singaporeans or Malaysians.
 
C: TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR RENTING OUT OF WHOLE FLAT
 
1. Flat owner(s) and their proposed tenant(s)/occupier(s) must satisfy the above stated eligibility requirements for renting out of the flat. Flat owner(s) must not have committed any infringement at any time prior to the submission of the application or at any time thereafter.

2. The flat owner must obtain the HDB’s prior written approval before commencement of rental.
 
3. The rental must commence on the date of the approved commencement date which must be by the end of the next calendar month.
 
4. Flat owners can only apply for renewal of the approval to rent out 2 months before the expiry date of the existing approval to rent out.
 
5. Flat owners are not allowed to rent out the flat on a short-term basis. Each individual tenant (or authorised occupier of corporate tenants registered with HDB) must be in continuous occupation of the flat for at least 6 months.
 
6. It is a serious breach of the lease to rent out the whole flat without the prior written approval of the HDB. HDB may take action to repossess the flat. The flat owners and occupiers will also be debarred from applying for or being included in any application for any HDB accommodation.
 
7. The flat owner must provide a valid e-mail address and the tenants’ particulars at the time of application. Flat owners must inform HDB of any subsequent changes of any tenants’ particulars or when any of the tenants move out of the flat within 7 days of the occurrence. For inclusion of new tenants, flat owners must obtain HDB’s approval before the new tenants may move into the flat.
 
8. HDB reserves the right to withdraw the approval to rent out the flat or delete the name(s) of any tenant(s) if it is subsequently discovered that any of the information given in the application (including the particulars of the tenants) is untrue, inaccurate or the flat owners have wilfully suppressed any material information to HDB or if the tenants are ineligible. In such situations, HDB shall not be liable for any cost or expense that the flat owners may have incurred or damages suffered arising from the withdrawal of our approval or deletion of name(s) of ineligible tenant(s).
 
9. If the flat owner is overseas during the period of rental, there must be a properly appointed Attorney to act for him in the management of the flat. A certified true copy of the Power of Attorney (POA), executed in HDB standard form and which has been lodged with the High Court, must be furnished (Please consult your solicitor on the POA). The attorney managing the flat cannot be a tenant of the flat.
 
10. Flat owner/Attorney/Administrator/Executor/Public Trustee/Committee/ Deputy appointed by the Court is responsible for:
 
a. Ensuring that the flat is rented out to eligible persons and only the authorised persons are staying in the flat;
 
b. Ensuring that there is no overcrowding. The maximum number is 4 persons to a flat for 1- and 2-room flats and 6 persons to a flat for 3-room and bigger flats;
 
c. Notifying the HDB of any changes in respect of the rental within 7 days. For inclusion of new tenants, HDB’s approval must be obtained before the tenants move into the flat;
 
d. Ensuring that the tenants observe and comply with all the covenants in the lease, all terms and conditions of the approval to rent out the flat and the provisions of the Housing & Development Act Cap 129 and all amendments made hereto;
 
e. Ensuring that the tenants have entered Singapore and are remaining in Singapore lawfully at all times while the rental is in force. If you are in doubt about the status of your prospective tenant, you may call the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) at Tel: 63916100 (immigration passes) or Ministry of Manpower (MOM) at Tel: 64385122 (work passes) during office hours. You may also submit a request via ICA's website at www.ica.gov.sg or MOM's website at www.mom.gov.sg to verify the status of a foreigner. The onus of verifying the tenants’ lawful presence in Singapore is on the Flat owner/Attorney/Administrator/ Executor/Public Trustee/Committee/Deputy appointed by the Court;
 
f. Ensuring that the tenants do not further rent out the flat to other persons;
 
g. Ensuring that the living room, household shelters, utility rooms, balcony and all other parts of the flat (including partitioned rooms) are not used as bedrooms;
 
h. Surrendering vacant possession of the flat to HDB in the event the flat is re-possessed by HDB;
 
i. Evicting the tenants upon the HDB’s revocation of its consent for renting out of the flat or deletion of name(s) of tenant(s) if it is subsequently discovered that any information provided in the application (e.g the particulars of your tenant) is inaccurate or untrue, or if the tenants are inelgible;
 
j. Ensuring compliance with all terms and conditions of the rental;
 
k. Extending a copy of terms and conditions of the approval to all the tenants for their reference and compliance; and
 
l. Conducting regular checks and ensuring that the tenants do not misuse the flat and/or create nuisance to the neighbours.
 
11. The property tax of the flat will be revised when you rent out your HDB flat. For the applicable property tax rate and the procedure to notify IRAS, please refer to “ www.iras.gov.sg> For property owners> Essential Property Tax Information for HDB Flat Owners’’.
 
12. The maximum period for renting out of flat per application is 36 months or as stipulated in the approval letter, whichever is shorter. However, for rental involving non-Malaysian non-citizen (i.e. SPR and foreigner) tenants, the maximum period of rental per application is 24 months or as stipulated in the approval letter, whichever is shorter. A new application is required for each new or renewal of the rental.
 
13. Flat owners are required to comply with the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat policy during the entire period of the rental. Any proposed change of tenants will be subject to the Non-Citizen Quota for Renting Out of Flat.
 
14. Flat owners, who have earlier obtained approval to rent out the flat to Singaporean or Malaysian tenants but subsequently include one or more non-Malaysian tenants, will have the remaining rental period revised to 18 months if the remaining approved period of rental is more than 18 months.
 
15. The HDB’s consent to the application is subject to the following:-
 
a. Consent shall be automatically revoked if permission for the approved non-citizen tenant to remain in Singapore is revoked or withdrawn by any relevant authority, for any reason whatsoever.
 
b. Consent may be revoked by HDB giving 2 weeks’ notice if there is any breach of the terms and conditions for the renting out of flat, terms and conditions of the Lease agreement; or provisions of the Housing and Development Act (Cap 129).
 
16. It is advisable for flat owners to include in the tenancy agreement with their tenants, a termination clause allowing either party to terminate the agreement upon the occurrence of any of the following events:
 
a. receipt of a written notice of termination issued by either party to the other; or
 
b. the Housing & Development Board (HDB) revokes or withdraws its consent to the rental, or deletes the name(s) of ineligible tenant(s).
 
17. Any notice required to be served by HDB on the flat owner shall be deemed to be sufficiently served if:
 
a. it is sent by ordinary or registered post to the flat owner(s) addressed to him at the flat or the address given by Attorney/ Administrator/Executor/Public Trustee/Committee/ Deputy appointed by the Court, irrespective of whether or not the same is received and/or returned undelivered;
 
b. it is affixed to some conspicuous part of the flat; or
 
c. an e-mail is sent to the e-mail address indicated in the application.
 
18. The flat owner must ensure that the tenants vacate the premises and that he and his family resume occupation of the flat upon expiry of the approved rental period or when the flat owner ceases to be eligible to rent out his flat, whichever is earlier. The flat owner must inform HDB when he ceases to be eligible to rent out his flat. The flat owner must also give HDB 2 weeks’ written notice prior to the date of termination of the rental.
 
19. Please note that the period of the approved rental will not be included in the computation of the requisite occupation period/time bar in assessing the flat owners’ eligibility to:
 
a. resell the flat in the open market;
 
b. invest in a private residential property;
 
c. apply for a subsidised HDB flat *; and
 
d. rent out the flat under the 3-year and 5-year MOP** categories.
 
*    Para 19c is not applicable if the flat is a non-subsidised flat (i.e. flat purchased from the open market without a CPF Housing Grant)
**   Minimum Occupation Period
 
20. HDB’s approval for renting out of whole flat will be automatically revoked upon the transfer of flat ownership. If the transferees (proposed owners) wish to rent out the flat after the transfer, they are required to submit a fresh application to HDB after the legal completion of the transfer of flat ownership.
 
21. A non-refundable administrative fee of $20/- is payable for each application. If the flat owner wishes to continue to rent out the whole flat after the expiry of the approved rental period, a new application form must be submitted. HDB will then re-assess the eligibility of the flat owners to rent out the flat. A fresh administrative fee will be payable to HDB according to the prevailing rate at the time of the new application.
 
22. HDB reserves the right to rely on any information and/or records of any other relevant authorities to obtain or verify any information relating to or in connection with the application. In this regard, the source of information will not be revealed to the applicants. HDB also reserves the right to write to and request information from all the applicants.
 
23. HDB collects personal data from you to administer HDB's public housing programmes and services. HDB may share the necessary data with other Government agencies, unless such sharing is prohibited by legislation. This is to enable us to serve you in the most convenient, efficient and effective way. We will NOT share your personal data with non-Government entities, except where such entities have been authorised to carry out specific Government services. If you would like to find out more about HDB’s Data Protection and Privacy Policy, you can visit our website www.hdb.gov.sg for more details.
 
24. HDB reserves the right to unilaterally vary or add to the conditions for renting out of flat. Such varied or additional conditions shall take immediate effect and be binding on the flat owner/his Attorney/Administrator/Executor/Public Trustee/Committee/ Deputy appointed by the Court. You may also refer to https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/application-for-flat-rental/terms-and-conditions for the latest terms and conditions for renting out of flat.
 
25. Any approval granted by HDB for the rental shall not prejudice HDB’s right to take action for any infringement of the terms of the lease or the Housing & Development Act committed prior to or after the submission of the application.