Renting Out of Living Quarters

For residential use

Understand the guidelines and application process to rent out living quarters to stay in.

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Guidelines

The minimum rental period for each (sub)tenant shall be 6 months. You are not allowed to rent out living quarters on a short-term basis, as it may disrupt the living environment and pose security concerns for other residents.

 

The maximum number of bedrooms that can be rented out and the maximum number of (sub)tenants allowed depends on the type of living quarters, as shown below:

 

Type of Living Quarters	Cap on Number of (Sub)tenants1	Cap on Number of Bedrooms to Rent Out2
1- and 2-room	4	1
3-room	6	2
4-room and 5-room	8	3
6-room	8	4

Note: Where the renting out of an HDB commercial property is by an owner, the word 'tenant' shall apply. Otherwise, the word 'subtenant' shall apply. 

¹ The maximum number of (sub)tenants does not apply if all the tenants renting the whole living quarters are from the same family unit. The number of (sub)tenants allowed for 4-room and bigger living quarters will revert to a maximum of 6 for rental periods extending beyond 31 December 2028.

² All other parts of the living quarters (including partitioned rooms) cannot be used as bedrooms for (sub)tenants.

 

(Sub)tenants must be any of the following:

1. Singapore citizens 
2. Singapore Permanent Residents
3. Non-citizens legally residing in Singapore and are holding a valid Employment Pass, S-Pass, Work Permit, Student Pass, Dependant Pass, or Long-Term Social Visit Pass. The passes must have a validity period of at least 6 months from the date of application. Work Permit holders from the construction, manufacturing, marine and process sectors must be Malaysians. Tourists are not allowed as (sub)tenants of the living quarters 

Important notes

HDB commercial property owners or tenants renting out your living quarters must ensure that: 

• Only authorised tenants/ subtenants are staying in the living quarters
• The number of (sub)tenants does not exceed the cap
• Your (sub)tenants use the living quarters only for residential purposes
• Your (sub)tenants do not sublet the living quarters to others, create nuisance or misuse the living quarters
• Your (sub)tenants are legally allowed to reside in Singapore

Application process

If you wish to apply to rent out your living quarters, or change your (sub)tenants/ occupiers, you may do so at GoBusiness. Please refer to our step-by-step guide for details and read through the Terms and Conditions before submitting your application.

If you wish to remove your (sub)tenants' records, please write in to us.

 

To view records of existing (sub)tenants in your commercial property, you may log in to My Business.

Administrative fees

You will need to pay an administrative fee of $109 (inclusive of GST) per application.

For commercial use

Understand the guidelines and application process to rent out living quarters for businesses.

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Guidelines

Living quarters can be rented out for commercial use, subject to the following terms and conditions:

1. The area to be rented out must not be more than 50% of the trading area (for rental shops)
2. The rent is subject to HDB's revision (for rental shops)
3. Any change of use of the living quarters for commercial purpose is on a temporary basis
4. The change must comply with statutory requirements (e.g. fire safety, structural safety)
5. The business renting your commercial property does not cause any nuisance or inconvenience to neighbouring units

Application process

You can obtain approval from us by:

1. Using GoBusiness (for rental shops)
2. Writing to us, and include the details of the tenants (for sold shops)

Administrative fees for rental shops

These are the administrative fees for rental shops:

• $109 (inclusive of GST) for the balance term
• $218 (inclusive of GST) for a fresh term and a change of use of living quarters to non-residential use