Renting an HDB flat/ bedroom (Tenant)

Here is an overview of the process if you are planning to rent an HDB flat or bedroom from the open market:

Step 1: Check your Eligibility Criteria

Citizenship Eligibility Criteria

To rent a flat or bedroom, you must be any of the following:

• Singapore Citizen

• Singapore Permanent Resident

• Non-citizen legally residing in Singapore who holds an Employment Pass, S Pass, Work Permit, Student Pass, Dependant Pass, or Long-Term Social Visit Pass. The pass must have a validity period of at least 6 months from the date of application by the flat owners:

  • Work Permit holders from the construction, marine, and process sectors must be Malaysians. Work Permit holders from the manufacturing sector must also be Malaysians if they are renting a whole HDB flat

  • Tourists are not allowed to rent any HDB flat/ bedroom

Companies renting the flat or bedroom for their employees must ensure that the individuals meet HDB’s eligibility conditions for tenants.

Tenancy/ property ownership status

You must not be a tenant of a public rental HDB flat or own another HDB flat unless you are:

• Divorced/ legally separated. In this case, only one party can rent an HDB flat from another flat owner.

• An owner eligible to rent out your whole flat. However, you must rent out your own flat within a month after you have rented an HDB flat from another flat owner

You must not own an Executive Condominium where the 5-year minimum occupation period has not been met.

Non-Citizen Quota

Non-Malaysians non-Citizens renting HDB flats are subject to a Non-Citizen Quota of 8% at the neighbourhood level and 11% at the block level.

Rental period

You must rent an HDB flat/ bedroom for at least six months

If you are a Singaporean or Malaysian, the landlord can rent to you for a maximum of three years per application. Non-Malaysian non-Citizens can rent for a maximum of two years per approval.

Maximum number of tenants and occupants

Landlords can only rent out bedrooms and accommodate a maximum number of occupants based on the flat type.

To check the Non-Citizen Quota and find out more details, you can visit the HDB InfoWEB on the regulations for renting an HDB flat/ bedroom from the open market.  

Step 2: Go through checklist for rental of HDB flats or bedroom

You are encouraged to go through the Checklist for Tenant for Renting of HDB Flat (PDF, 120KB) before entering into a tenancy agreement with a landlord.

Step 3: Negotiate and sign tenancy agreement

If you require a tenancy agreement sample or template, you can refer to our Tenancy Agreement Template for HDB Flats (PDF, 401KB).

This template is just a guide and is not compulsory. It is aimed at protecting the interest of both landlords and tenants by including clauses relating to the main aspects of a tenancy for parties to negotiate, while providing flexibility by allowing additional clauses to be included.

You are free to negotiate the terms and conditions of the tenancy with the landlord before entering into a tenancy agreement.