What must you check when you rent out your home in Singapore?
If you rent out a private home, URA requires all occupants to fulfil a minimum stay duration of three consecutive months; an HDB flat follows HDB's own rules instead. URA caps a private home smaller than 90sqm at six unrelated occupants, and from 22 Jan 2024 till 31 Dec 2028 a registered home of at least 90sqm may have up to eight. ICA says you must make sure your tenants are not illegal immigrants or overstayers by checking and comparing their passes, and MOM lets you check a work pass online. IRAS charges stamp duty on the lease unless its average annual rent does not exceed S$1,000, and the tenant pays it unless the agreement says otherwise. There is no penalty if the lease is stamped within 14 days after signing in Singapore, or, for a lease signed overseas, within 30 days after it is received in Singapore.
URA's minimum stay for private homes
If you rent out a private residential property, all occupants must fulfil a minimum stay of three consecutive months, URA's page on renting property says. You may not rent the property out as short-term accommodation, for example on a daily or weekly basis.
Stays of less than three consecutive months are illegal in all residential properties, according to URA's page on short-term accommodation. This includes lettings through online home-sharing platforms. Anyone found guilty faces a fine of up to S$5,000. Those who are recalcitrant, or who do this at several properties, are taken to court, where fines have been significantly heavier.
These rules cover private homes. For renting out an HDB flat, URA's page sends owners to HDB's own tenancy guidelines, which this guide does not cover.
The occupancy cap
Private residential properties smaller than 90sqm are subject to an occupancy cap of six unrelated persons per property, URA says. Unrelated persons are anyone who is not part of the same family unit. Domestic helpers are considered part of the same family unit. The cap also applies to tenants who sublet, and as the owner you must make sure your tenants follow the rules.
From 22 Jan 2024 till 31 Dec 2028, URA allows up to eight individuals in a private home of at least 90sqm strata or lot area. To qualify, you must register the property and pay a S$20 registration fee. Before you register, the property must already be approved for residential use. No earlier registration for it may have been cancelled in the last 12 months, or in a shorter period URA specifies in writing. An executive condominium must also have passed HDB's Minimum Occupation Period. URA cancels the registration if more than eight people live there, or if the extra occupants cause serious nuisance.
Checking a tenant's identity and pass
As a homeowner renting out property, you have a duty to ensure your tenants are not illegal immigrants or overstayers, ICA's anti-harbouring page says. The first step is to check that the tenant's original immigration or work pass, physical or digital, is valid. The second is to compare: make sure the tenant is the rightful owner of the original pass and passport. Anyone caught harbouring immigration offenders may be sentenced to imprisonment for up to 2 years and a fine not exceeding S$6,000, ICA states.
To check a work pass, you can use MOM's Check work pass and application status eService. MOM's page says landlords, and property agents representing them, may use it. You need the pass holder's date of birth and a FIN or passport number, and no log-in is required.
CEA's checklist for landlords of private homes, which it encourages landlords to go through, lists what you must verify. If the tenant is a citizen or permanent resident, verify the tenant's name and a valid Singapore identity card. If the tenant is a non-resident, verify the name, the passport number and a valid Employment Pass, S Pass, Work Permit, Student's Pass, Dependent's Pass or Long-Term Visit Pass with a validity period of at least 3 months. If you rent to a company, also verify its UEN.
Stamp duty on the tenancy agreement
Stamp duty on a lease is based on the contractual rent or the market rent, whichever is higher, IRAS says. A lease whose average annual rent does not exceed S$1,000 is exempted. For a lease running 4 years or less, the duty is 0.4% of all the rent due over the lease. For a lease running more than 4 years, or with no fixed end, it is 0.4% of 4 times its average annual rent. IRAS rounds the duty down to the nearest dollar, with a minimum of S$1.
IRAS requires you to stamp a document before you sign it. There is no penalty, though, if a document signed in Singapore is stamped within 14 days after signing. If it is signed overseas, the limit is 30 days after it is received in Singapore. The tenancy agreement usually states who pays the duty. If it does not, the Stamp Duties Act puts the duty on the lessee or tenant.
If you rent out through a property agent
If you engage a property agent, you must check that the agent is registered with CEA, according to CEA's checklist for landlords. The agent, in turn, must carry out anti-money-laundering checks on you. CEA's page on renting through an agent recommends signing an exclusive or non-exclusive estate agency agreement. Commission is not fixed. You should agree it before work begins, and you pay it to the property agency, not the agent. More on what an estate agency agreement contains.
CEA treats the agent's job as finished when both sides have signed the tenancy agreement and the tenant has received the home. After that, arranging repairs or collecting rent is property management. It is not estate agency work, and it sits outside what CEA regulates.