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Expats relocating to Singapore to note:
1. If they rent units with "one
room locked",
they are violating
Singapore Government regulations if the Owner does
NOT reside in the apartment. HDB officials may be
knocking at your doors, usually in the evenings if
there are complaints of
illegal subletting.
2. Try to rent an HDB apartment with official
approval, otherwise you may face sudden eviction or
blackmail. Unfortunately, there are very few units
with official approval. Such approval is given to
a few Owners who are:
living abroad or have to live and work in their
shop houses or look after ill parents by living in
the parent's residence. It may be better to rent
a private apartment. Rents have dropped to as low as
S$1,200 for older private apartments. Contact
judy@asiahomes.com for details.
3. The
HDB system
is that foreigners can rent HDB bedrooms,
not the
whole apartment if the Owner does
not have
official approval. In this situation, the Owner
must be sharing the apartment
with the tenants or landlords.
Most foreigners, especially newly married, don't
like this arrangement. Therefore, the Owner "locks
one room" to show the HDB official that he is only
subletting the one or 2 bedrooms and this is
perfectly legal if
the Owner really lives in the apartment. Some
Owners do go back a few times a week but most don't.
The HDB has publicised in the newspapers some years
ago that they do not recognise the "locked one
room".
However, it will need private investigators and
surveillance to prove that the Owners have sub-letted
the whole apartment. Realtors had had been warned by
the HDB officials, the biggest Landlord in Singapore
that their licences will be revoked if they are
involved. Nowadays, the wordings "locked one room"
no longer is advertised.
How are Owners caught?
3.1 Complaints from neighbours to the HDB. Most
Singaporeans don't do that unless the illegal Tenant
of the apartment is a nuisance.
3.2 Tenants renting the "locked one room" opens a
utilities account in Tenant's name.
3.3 The rent for the "locked one room" apartment is
higher than if one room is sublet.
3.4 The penalty is the loss of the apartment and
this had happened before.
3.5 Many foreigners will rather not be involved in
breaking Singapore law and since the rent of private
properties have dropped by at least 30% in most
cases, the tendency is to rent private housing. They
are worried that they may lose their employment
passes or work permits by participating in illegal
subletting. However, HDB apartments are still much
cheaper to many expatriates and are value-for-money.
Some of the 3-bedroom and maisonettes are really
spacious and there are so many amenities, markets
and shops within the neighbourhood.
3.6 Some Caucasian wives dislike being the only
foreigner in HDB neighbourhood and have heard of
horror stories of urine smell inside elevators. The
majority of HDB elevators nowadays do not have urine
smell.
3.7 It is very risky for HDB owners, especially
older folks and children, to lift a long bamboo pole
of wet clothing out of the HDB kitchen window and
then swing it and pull it back to fit it into the
pole holder. One may over-stretch and fall down the
apartment block.
It is hoped that the new generation of HDB
architects may resolve this problem of having to
hang clothing on bamboo poles but this is the
cheapest method of drying clothes, using sunlight.
3.8 It is better to rent the newer units, less than
5 years old.
UPDATE IN 2003 -
Relaxation of the HDB flat renting rules
1. Since Jan 1, 2003, an owner who is NOT
receiving an HDB subsidy or loan for his HDB
apartment, has lived for at least 10 YEARS in a flat
bought on the RESALE market can lease out the whole
unit. Around 15,000 HDB owners are eligible to lease
out their entire units under this scheme but very
few do so.
2. Around 7,400 flats were given approval for a full
lease at end of Dec 2002 based on criteria in
living abroad or have to live and work in their
shop houses or look after ill parents by living in
the parent's residence.
3. There are around 738,000 HDB flats at end of
Dec 2002.
4. A single HDB bedroom rents around $200. A
3-bedroom HDB flat rents around $1,000 - $1,500
depending on size, location and quality.
There are around 783,000 HDB flats at end 2002.
UPDATE IN 2004 -
Relaxation of the HDB flat renting rules
HDB
owners can rent out their apartments even though
they have received an HDB subsidy or loan for his
HDB apartment. It is best to phone the HDB or
consult your housing agent as regards the latest
ruling. HDB charges a fee, around $20, to approve
the leasing of the whole HDB apartment as well as
informing the Comptroller of Property Tax.
UPDATE
IN 2006 - 2007 Relaxation of the HDB flat
renting rules
HDB
owners can rent out their apartments with HDB
approval. Best is to get professional advice from
the housing agent or go to the HDB to get the latest
ruling in 2011.
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March
14, 2011
For Rent