Here is what you need to look out for if you would like to rent premises from HDB's tenant or owner. For units in HDB shopping and office complexes, please approach the respective Managing Agents.

Renting from an HDB tenant

Tenants of our commercial premises can rent out up to 50% of the trading area or living quarters (for residential use). From 16 October 2013, each shop is limited to 1 subtenant. We will consider the application if:

The tenant has fulfilled conditions in the Tenancy Agreement during his/ her existing term of tenancy with us
The tenant does not owe arrears
The tenant is not a bankrupt
Your proposed trade is an allowable trade and is operated within the premises
Applicants need to read through the Terms & Conditions and submit an application through GoBusiness for approval before the subtenant can commence operations.

Length of tenancy

The tenant may opt for a fresh 1-, 2-, or 3-year term while applying to rent out the trading area of the premises.

For a fresh tenancy, the rent payable shall be revised to the prevailing market rent or remain at the existing rent, whichever is the higher. Where the existing tenant does not opt for a fresh term, the rent payable for the balance term shall remain at the existing rent.

Subtenant's trade

For retail shops, both the tenant and you should be sharing the shop frontage.

Units allocated under specific trade conditions

For units let out for specific trade/ use, the proposed trades must comply with the conditions specified during tender allocation. For example, if the unit is only for ‘office’ use, we will not consider a change of trade/ use.

Your trade must not duplicate the trades that are already available in the same cluster of shops.

Renting out of living quarters

Owners and tenants can rent out their living quarters for residential or commercial use. From 1 May 2018, the maximum number of (sub)tenants/occupiers permitted for 3-room and bigger living quarters is six (6). The maximum number of (sub)tenants/occupiers for 1-room and 2-room living quarters is four (4).

Owners and tenants who want to rent out their living quarters need to submit an application through GoBusiness for approval before doing so. An administrative fee of $109 (inclusive of GST) is payable with each application.

Find out more information on renting out your living quarters.

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.

Renting from an HDB sold shop owner

HDB sold shop owners can rent out part of their shop or their whole shop to tenants for the operation of approved retail/ service trades. Although no application is required for the renting out, the owner is to note that:

For trades that involve no change of use, they are encouraged to update the trade details in RetailerLink. Trade information that is updated will be reflected on HDB’s Where2Shop. Where2Shop is an online business directory that allows the public to obtain information on the variety of goods and services that are provided in our HDB shops.
For trades that involve a change in the use class, our consent is needed and has to be obtained before applying to the other relevant authorities, such as the Urban Redevelopment Authority, for approval. The owner should write in to us with the details of the proposed use for our evaluation. We do not liaise directly with the proposed/ existing tenants of the shop on matters pertaining to the shop premises.

Application Guidelines for Renting an HDB Shop or Office from Open Market

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Application Guidelines for Renting an HDB Shop or Office from Open Market