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Best Guide: Renting a room or unit in Singapore (2024)

ByYour Money Bestie Last updated

Are you planning to rent a room or whole unit in Singapore? If you do not know anyone in Singapore and you are not physically present in Singapore, renting a property can be a daunting task. I feel you because I was in your position back in 2016.

With my 7.5-year room rental journey in Singapore, I am confident that you will benefit greatly from reading this guide.

Key Takeaways (TL;DR)

  1. There are some districts in Singapore, such as Ang Mo Kio, Bishan, Bukit Timah, Tanglin, central area, and Tampines, which are more preferred by both locals and expatriates due to various factors. If you have budget constraint, consider renting a room or whole unit located outside of popular districts as those areas usually command higher monthly rent;
  2. From my 7.5-year room rental journey, I concluded eight factors that will potentially increase the likelihood of you renting a good room or whole unit and, therefore, making your rental experience in Singapore much more pleasant;
  3. I listed down the pros and cons of engaging a property agent if you plan to do so;
  4. I also shared 5 practical and effective tips that could potentially save you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars when renting a room or whole unit. Follow my tips to avoid overpaying for your rental property;
  5. You should be mentally and financially prepared for an upfront payment required to rent a room or whole unit in Singapore. Rule of thumb: you should have minimally 2.7 months’ rent in your bank account if you do not engage any property agent; minimally 3.7 months’ rent in your bank account if you plan to engage a property agent. The estimated amount of money excludes your transportation cost for property tour, shipping or air freight cost for posting your items from overseas and cost for engaging local home mover.
Renting a room or whole unit in Singapore

Why should you read this guide?

When I first came to Singapore in 2016, I knew nothing and nobody. Lucky me. I was not being human trafficked to other countries. Joking aside, I searched for room for rent on the internet and I contacted landlords directly. No real estate agent was involved. Everything was done online. I paid good faith deposit to the landlord via online banking system to secure my room. Done deal.

Fast forward to 2023, I was packing my belongings and getting ready to move into a HDB resale unit which my wife and I bought.

I know my experience will be helpful and valuable for someone like you. Throughout my 7.5-year room rental journey, I rented HDB rooms and studio unit located at various districts in Singapore:

  • 1 Toh Yi Drive at Bukit Timah (HDB, 5th floor) – 9 months of common room rental
  • 602 Bedok Reservoir Road at Bedok (HDB, 2nd floor) – 41 months of common room rental
  • 113 Pending Road at Bukit Panjang (HDB, 11th floor) – 16 months of common room rental
  • 117 Compassvale Bow at Buangkok (condominium, 8th floor) – 24 months of studio unit rental

Now, let me shed some light on renting a HDB common room or studio unit in Singapore.

8 steps to renting a room or unit in Singapore

When you are planning to rent a room or whole unit in Singapore, you should be financially and mentally prepared for steps and costs involved throughout the entire process.

Step 1: 8 factors to consider before renting in Singapore

I know you are excited and want to search for room or whole unit for rent in Singapore immediately. You have to hold your horse for a second.

When you are searching for a room or whole unit to rent, there are factors that will potentially increase the likelihood of you renting a good room or whole unit and, therefore, making your rental experience in Singapore much more pleasant.

I concluded these eight factors from my 7.5-year room rental journey, and I can almost guarantee you want to have 0 tick for Factors 1 to 3 but as many ticks as possible for Factors 4 to 8.

  • Is the unit facing void deck / community sharing space? Social events or group exercise activities can be noisy.
  • Is the unit facing major expressway, traffic light intersection / bus stop / bus interchange / multi-storey or unsheltered carpark / construction site / above-ground MRT railway or track / community hospital / emergency hospital?
  • Is the unit nearby or facing a graveyard / cemetery / temple / mosque / church?
  • Is the rubbish chute inside the unit? Cockroach infestation.
  • Is the unit located at low floor? Level 1 to 4. Cockroaches will probably escape to your unit when there are fogging activities.
  • Is the unit facing or near to a bin centre? Stinky.
  • Is the housemate or roommate a smoker?
  • Is the housemate or roommate a night shift worker?
  • Do you hear them scolding or fighting with one another / banging doors loudly?
  • Is the neighbour a smoker?
  • Do you hear neighbours scolding or fighting with one another / banging doors loudly?
  • Do you observe walkway or corridor being blocked by inconsiderate neighbour who hoards things or rubbish?
  • Is there supermarket nearby (FairPrice / Giant / Sheng Siong)?
  • Is there any food court or hawker centre nearby?
  • Is there any family clinic nearby?
  • Is there any convenience store nearby (7-Eleven / Cheers)?
  • Is there any wet market nearby (selling fresh meat, fish, fruit, and vegetable)?
  • Is there any childcare centre / primary school / secondary school nearby?
  • Is the unit within 5-minute walk to the nearest MRT station, LRT station, bus interchange or bus stop?
  • Is there any express bus service that goes from the unit to your office?
  • Are you allowed to bring visitors home?
  • Are you able to negotiate with your landlord if your visitor (e.g. family members) would like to stay overnight at your place?
  • Are you allowed to use washing machine for at least 2 times per week?
  • Are you allowed to put food and drink in the refrigerator?
  • Are you allowed to switch on air-conditioner in your room when you are in the room every evening?
  • Are you allowed to do light cooking in the kitchen? Example: cook Maggie mee or rice, but not something heavy like frying fish / meat or cook curry or rendang.
  • Does the room / unit have sufficient sunlight?
  • Does the room / unit have dedicated area for drying washed or wet clothes?
  • Is the monthly rental fee within your budget?
  • Is the landlord asking for one month’s rent as good faith deposit? Maximum two months’ rent as deposit.
  • Is the landlord asking for half month’s rent as utilities deposit? Maximum one month’s rent as deposit.
  • Is your property agent asking for a fee worth up to one month’s rent?

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Read here to learn more about popular districts in Singapore for room rental.

If eight factors are too many to be considered, you will need to prioritise factors that matter the most to you and your family. Otherwise, you may find it difficult to shortlist rental rooms or units for property tour.

Step 2: Shortlist properties for property tour

When you are browsing each rental property listed on PropertyGuru, 99.co, RentInSingapore, and iLiveSG, you should refer to the eight factors in Step 1.

Most of the rental property listings should have sufficient information for you to assess factors:

  • Factor 1 Sound pollution
  • Factor 4 Nearby amenities
  • Factor 5 Access to public transport
  • Factor 6 Curfew, restrictions
  • Factor 8 Rental fee, utilities fee, agent’s fee

If you are physically present at the property tour, you can better assess all eight factors, especially factors:

  • Factor 2 Air pollution, hygienic environment
  • Factor 3 Housemates or roommate, neighbours
  • Factor 7 Sunlight direction and windows

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If a listing has limited information, you should be more alert and clarify with the landlord or appointed property agent directly.

Step 3: Set appointment for property tour

I personally feel that the best timing for a property tour will be around 10am or 8pm. In the morning, you will get to see the direction of sunlight. In the evening, you get to feel the neighbourhood atmosphere when neighbours are back to their homes and road traffic is at its worst.

Be prepared though, most property agents will try to schedule your property tour between 11am and 2pm. I personally do not think that such time slot is ideal for both physical and virtual property tour because the sunlight direction is too neutral, there are literally no neighbours around and road traffic is not at its peak.

I strongly recommend you to visit the property in person to assess potential air pollution sources, housemates or neighbours, direction of sunlight, and other factors.

If you are overseas or running short of time for a physical property tour, you may consider engaging a property agent to do a virtual property tour. On top of that, you can request the property agent to share video recordings and photos of the property you are interested in renting in Singapore.

0 (excluding your transportation cost)

Read here to find out if you should engage a property agent.

Step 4: Make an offer and pay good faith deposit

If you are satisfied with the room or whole unit, you may now make an offer to the landlord. Typically, the landlord will be expecting a good faith deposit equivalent to a month’s rent from you to secure the room or whole unit. In exchange, you must request for a hardcopy receipt or minimally a WhatsApp text confirmation for the good faith deposit you paid.

1 month rent for the good faith deposit and to be paid to the landlord. This good faith deposit shall be returned to you upon the maturity of a tenancy agreement.

Read here to find out how you can avoid overpaying for your rent.

Step 5: Sign a letter of intent (LOI)

The next step involves signing a letter of intent (LOI). A standard LOI is a simple one-page document that includes a tenant’s personal details, the landlord personal details, the room or whole unit full address, rent duration, agreed monthly rent, and the amount of good faith deposit paid by you. Sign on the LOI if all the details are correct.

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You have to keep in mind that not all landlords practise signing of a letter of intent (LOI) as they may prefer to work with the tenancy agreement. So, you should not rule out or disqualify a landlord if he or she does not ask you to sign on an LOI.

Electronic signature on softcopy of LOI is considered acceptable for all, if not most, landlords in Singapore.

Step 6: Sign tenancy agreement and collect keys

The tenancy agreement is a legal binding agreement that protects both the landlord and the tenant. It contains all the terms and conditions of a landlord’s responsibilities and your responsibilities as a tenant. All parties involved are expected to abide by the terms and conditions as stipulated in the tenancy agreement. Take your time to read the tenancy agreement. Do not feel pressured even if you are in a hurry or being forced to sign on the agreement. If you have doubt or discomfort in complying with the terms and conditions, feel free to clarify with the landlord or the appointed property agent.

Upon signing of the agreement, you are now officially a tenant and have the rights to collect keys from the landlord. Your landlord or the appointed property agent should brief you on keys that will be used to open door gate, main door, bedroom door, letter box, and others.

  • 0.5 month rent for the utilities deposit and to be paid to the landlord once you sign the tenancy agreement. The utilities deposit shall be returned to you upon the maturity of a tenancy agreement.
  • 0.1 month rent for the stamp duty and to be paid to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). For instance, you will need to pay for SGD 48 if you are renting a room at SGD 1,000 per month for one year. More sample calculations are available on IRAS official website.
  • 1 month rent for the property agent’s fee and to be paid to the property agent. If you hire an agent, you will pay for the fee. If the landlord hires an agent, the landlord will pay for the agent’s fee. So, you must clarify with the landlord’s agent upfront to avoid unnecessary dispute. Read here to learn more.

The landlord will keep the original signed tenancy agreement and may give you an unsigned copy of the tenancy agreement. So, you must remind the landlord to send the softcopy of the signed tenancy agreement to you.

Step 7: Officially move into the property

Congratulations for getting this far! With the paperwork completed and keys in hand, you are now ready to move into the property. Let your landlord know the date that you will be moving in. Consider engaging a home mover if you have heavy items, luggage and furniture to be moved.

Varies. You will incur additional costs for posting items from overseas or engaging a home mover.

Most condominium only allow home movers entering their premises in the Saturday morning. So, you will need to work closely with your landlord and the home mover you engaged.

On the other hand, you do not have such restrictions if you are moving into a HDB room or flat.

Step 8: Pay rent and bills on time

As a tenant, you should pay the monthly rent and utilities fee on time. Your landlord expects you to remember the payment due date as stipulated on the tenancy agreement.

  • 1 month rent for the month
  • 0.1 month rent for utilities fee for the month

When you pay monthly rent and utilities fee on time, your landlord will feel fortunate having you as a tenant and be more lenient in monthly rent increment during lease renewals.

There are altogether 28 districts in Singapore, and some districts are more preferred by both locals and expatriates due to various factors. As always, popular districts usually translate to higher monthly rent.

If you want to rent a HDB room or the entire flat, here is the range of monthly rent you will need to pay (information accurate as of Feb 2024):

  • Renting a common room in HDB flat: SGD 500 to SGD 800
  • Renting a master bedroom in HDB flat: SGD 1,000 to SGD 1,500
  • Renting the entire HDB flat: around SGD 2,000 for a 3-room flat, SGD 2,800 for a 4-room flat and SGD 3,500 for a 5-room flat
DistrictPopularityRange of monthly rent for
HDB room or whole unit (SGD)
Ang Mo KioHigh1,500 to 2,500
BedokMedium1,200 to 1,800
BishanHigh1,800 to 2,500
Boon LayLow800 to 1,200
Bukit BatokMedium1,000 to 1,500
Bukit MerahMedium1,300 to 1,800
Bukit PanjangLow900 to 1,300
Bukit TimahHigh2,000 to 3,000
Central AreaHigh2,500 to 3,500
ChangiLow600 to 1,000
Choa Chu KangLow700 to 1,100
ClementiMedium1,200 to 1,800
GeylangLow600 to 1,000
HougangMedium1,000 to 1,500
Jurong EastLow800 to 1,200
Jurong WestLow700 to 1,100
KallangMedium1,300 to 1,800
Lim Chu KangLow500 to 800
Pasir RisLow600 to 1,000
PunggolLow900 to 1,300
QueenstownMedium1,200 to 1,800
SengkangMedium1,000 to 1,500
SerangoonMedium1,300 to 1,800
TampinesHigh1,500 to 2,000
TanglinHigh2,000 to 3,000
Toa PayohMedium1,200 to 1,800
WoodlandsLow700 to 1,100
YishunLow800 to 1,200

Should you engage a property agent?

If you plan to engage a property agent to streamline the process of renting in Singapore, you should be aware of the pros and cons.

Pros

  • Property agent is resourceful
  • Property agent knows the local regulations

Cons

  • Property agent’s fee can be costly
  • Property agent does not fully understand your needs

If you are running out of time to find a room or whole unit, a property agent’s network and knowledge is extremely valuable. They have immediate access to numerous listings and can quickly arrange viewings, potentially saving you days or even weeks of searching.

More importantly, they probably have all the video recordings and photos for room or whole unit that you are interested in renting. You can even ask them to do virtual property tour if you are overseas or running short of time for a physical property tour.

On a side note, do not engage multiple property agents concurrently even if you are in a hurry to get a room or whole unit to rent in Singapore. A little respect goes a long way.

When you are renting a room or whole unit as an expatriate, it can be challenging as you are not familiar with the local regulations. You are not sure if you can rent a room in a HDB flat or the whole condominium unit. A property agent can streamline the process of renting in Singapore; thus, let you have a peace of mind.

If you hire an agent, you will pay for the fee. If the landlord hires an agent, the landlord will pay for the agent’s fee. So, you must clarify with the landlord’s agent upfront to avoid unnecessary dispute.

A property agent, who completes handover of a room or whole unit to you, will ask for an agent’s fee or commission equivalent to half month’s rent for 1-year lease or shorter; one month’s rent for 2-year lease. On top of that, agent’s fee ranging between half month and one month’s rent applies for lease renewals.

A property agent may not fully understand your needs and that will affects his or her ability to bring you the most suitable room or whole unit. Some of them just want to close the deal, earn their commission and move onto the next client. You must communicate your requirements clearly. Otherwise, you will be disappointed with the agent’s recommendations.

5 tips to avoid overpaying for your rent

Monthly rent is costly in Singapore, but it doesn’t mean you need to burn a hole in your pocket to rent a room or whole unit. Follow these tips to avoid overpaying for your rent.

Your monthly rent should not exceed 40% of your monthly income. This ratio ensures that you have enough budget left for other expenses. When looking for a rental, calculate 40% of your take-home pay to set a cap on how much you can afford to spend on rent.

Research the latest rental rates in the area where you are looking to rent. Websites such as PropertyGuru or 99.co offer listings with prices for various units, giving you a better idea of what landlords are charging for similar properties.

Landlords may accept a cheaper rent if you intend to rent the room or whole unit for two years continuously. If you do not see yourself moving out of Singapore soon, and you are a Singaporean or Malaysian, you can negotiate a lease of 36 months to secure a more competitive rent.

Fully furnished units may seem more expensive, but they can be more cost-effective than unfurnished ones when you factor in the expense of buying furniture, transporting furniture and time commitment required. Estimate the cost of furnishing a unit and compare it against the rent of furnished units to find the best deal.

Trust me, a landlord will never ever lower their rent if you appear desperate or express high level of interest in their property. You should remain humble and be cautious when a landlord asks about your occupation or businesses you own.

In short

Renting a room or whole unit in Singapore should be less daunting to you now as you know the steps and costs involved throughout the process. Shortlist your rental properties by prioritising factors that matter the most to you and your family. If you have budget constraint, you should consider renting a room or whole unit located outside popular districts and avoid engaging property agent. More importantly, my tips should help you avoid overpaying for your rent.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

If you encounter any disputes with your landlord that you cannot resolve at your level, you may seek assistance from the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) or the Singapore Mediation Centre. These organisations specialise in resolving consumer disputes, which include tenancy disagreements.

Renting a property without a tenancy agreement is risky as you, as a tenant, is not protected in the event of a dispute. Insist on a written agreement. If your landlord refuses, you may want to reconsider the rental or seek advice from a legal professional or contact the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) if you’re a foreign worker experiencing housing issues.

The minimum rental period for private residential properties in Singapore is three months. For public housing (HDB flats), the minimum rental period is six months. This regulation is strictly enforced to prevent short-term rentals and maintain a stable residential environment.

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