Renting or renting out

The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC)'s Advisory Guidelines on the The Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC)'s Advisory Guidelines for NRIC and other National Identification Numbers state that an organisation may collect, use, or disclose a person’s NRIC number with notification and consent, when it is necessary to accurately establish or verify the identity of the individual to a high degree of fidelity.

This applies to property transactions as the inability to accurately identify an individual to a high degree of fidelity may pose a risk of significant impact or harm to an individual, organisation, or both.

Hence, property agencies and agents can request to collect the NRIC, FIN, or passport numbers of their clients, specifically for the purposes of facilitating property transactions. Property agents can take photos and make photocopies of the documents when necessary. The information collected should not be used for other purposes or shared with other parties not involved in the property transaction.

For rental transactions involving non-Singaporean citizens, property agents are required to check and make photocopies of the passport and immigration/ work/ student passes of the foreign tenants and occupiers. Similarly, the information collected should not be used for other purposes or shared with other parties not involved in the property transaction.

There are no fixed commission rates nor prescribed guidelines on commission amounts.
 
You should discuss and agree on the commission amount and terms with your property agent before he/ she starts work. You should also check if GST is payable on the commission.

The agreed commission amount can be documented in the Prescribed Estate Agency Agreement. When the transaction is completed, you will need to honour and pay the agreed commission to the property agency, not to the property agent.

Do take note that property agents cannot collect commission from more than one party in the same transaction, as doing so is an offence. If your property agent collects a commission from you, he cannot collect a commission or a co-broking fee from the other party or from the other party’s property agent. Even if your property agent has helped the other party with paperwork, he should not receive any fees from the other party.

Investing in real estate is one of the ways criminals launder their illegally obtained money. By identifying the parties involved in the property transaction, especially the beneficial owner,  authorities can effectively combat these illicit activities.

Property agents play an important role in Singapore’s anti-money laundering efforts. When facilitating a property transaction, they are required to carry out various measures to mitigate the risk of money laundering, proliferation financing, and terrorism financing when facilitating any property transaction. This includes conducting Customer Due Diligence checks, which involve filling out the Customer’s Particulars Form with relevant information obtained from their clients.

It is important that you cooperate with your property agent. You should provide your property agent with the required information to complete the Customer's Particulars Form, which can be found in Annex E1 of the Guide on Estate Agents (Prevention of Money Laundering, Proliferation Financing and Terrorism Financing) Regulations 2021 (PDF, 804KB).

The tenancy agreement covers the terms and conditions for renting a property. It includes clauses relating to the main aspects of the tenancy to protect and balance the interests of both landlords and tenants. On CEA’s website, you can find the templates for renting HDB flats and private residential properties, for both landlords and tenants.

These templates serve as a guide, and you are free to amend the templates or negotiate the terms contained in the templates with your property agent.

A property agent’s role ends after the landlord and tenant have signed the tenancy agreement and the property is handed over to the tenant. While your property agent may offer to assist you with property management matters, these are not considered part of estate agency work and fall outside of CEA’s regulatory purview, e.g., facilitate repairs to faulty appliances or furniture during the tenancy, collection of rental payments.

If you require help with property management during the tenancy, you should check with your property agent whether he/ she provides this service and if additional fees apply.