How to Rent a Home in Singapore (2026 Guide)

To rent a home in Singapore, set a budget and find a listing from a verified agent or owner. View the unit in person, then sign a letter of intent and a tenancy agreement. Stamp the agreement with IRAS within 14 days. The rules differ for HDB flats and private homes, and rental scams are common, so check who you are dealing with before you pay anything.

At a glance

• Minimum stay: private homes cannot be rented for less than three consecutive months. HDB flats and rooms need HDB approval before the tenancy starts, and each tenant must rent for at least six months.
• Verify before you pay: search the agent’s phone number on the CEA Public Register, view the home in person, and pay the owner directly. Never pay a “viewing deposit”.
• Stamp duty: 0.4% of the total rent for leases of up to four years. For a 2-year lease at S$4,000 a month, that is S$384. It is usually paid by the tenant.
• Market: private rents rose 0.7% in Q2 2026, and the vacancy rate is 6.4%, so you have room to negotiate on many units.
• Disputes: the Small Claims Tribunals hear residential tenancy disputes for leases of up to two years, for claims up to S$20,000, or S$30,000 if both parties agree.

The rental market in 2026

Private rents are rising slowly. URA’s rental index for private homes rose 0.7% in Q2 2026. Landed rents rose 2.7%, but non-landed rents rose only 0.4%. Rents differed by region: non-landed rents rose 1.2% in the Core Central Region (CCR), stayed flat in the Rest of Central Region (RCR) and fell 0.3% in the Outside Central Region (OCR).

Vacancy gives tenants bargaining power. At the end of Q2 2026, 6.4% of completed private homes were vacant: 8.3% in the CCR, 6.1% in the RCR and 5.6% in the OCR. An empty unit costs a landlord a month’s rent every month. So a reasonable offer below the asking rent, or a request for repairs or new furniture, is normal practice, not rude.

Before you make an offer, check the recent rents for the same block or project. Compare like with like: the floor, the condition and the furnishing all affect the rent.

Your options: HDB, condo, room or serviced apartment

Option	Who it suits	Rules to know
Whole HDB flat	Families, budget-conscious renters	Only Singapore Citizen owners who have met the minimum occupation period can rent out a whole flat. A neighbourhood and block quota limits non-citizen tenants.
HDB room	Singles, students	Citizen or permanent resident owners of 3-room or bigger flats can rent out bedrooms with HDB approval. You share the home with the owner or other tenants.
Condo or apartment	Expats, those who want facilities	Minimum stay is 3 months. An occupancy cap applies (below). Condo by-laws may add rules.
Landed house	Large families	Same URA rules as condos. Maintenance responsibilities are usually larger.
Serviced apartment	Short stays, relocations	Can be rented for stays from seven days. Higher rent, but bills and cleaning are often included.

Occupancy caps. A private home smaller than 90 sqm can house at most six unrelated people. From 22 January 2024 to 31 December 2028, homes of at least 90 sqm can house up to eight, but only if the owner registers the home with URA. Domestic helpers count as part of the family. If you plan to share with friends, count heads before you sign.

HDB quota. If a block or neighbourhood has reached its Non-Citizen Quota, the owner can rent the whole flat only to Singaporeans and Malaysians. If you are another foreign national, confirm that the owner has checked the quota before you put down money.

Short stays are illegal. A home rented for less than three months, for example through a holiday-rental app, breaks URA rules. See our explainer on short-term rentals.

Step by step: from search to keys

1. Budget for the upfront cash. Rent is only part of it. Say you agree a 2-year lease at S$4,000 a month. Suppose you also agree to a security deposit of two months’ rent and to pay the first month in advance. You then need S$12,000 at signing, plus S$384 of stamp duty. You may also need commission if you appoint your own agent, and moving costs. Deposits are negotiable, so get the amounts in writing.

2. Check the agent and the listing. All property agents must be registered with CEA. Scammers copy real agents’ names, registration numbers and photos, and ask for a deposit before a viewing. CEA’s rental scam page gives three simple rules:

• Search the phone number you are dealing with on the CEA Public Register. If it does not lead to the agent’s profile, assume a scam.
• View the property in person before you pay. Payment is never needed to secure a viewing.
• Pay the owner directly, by bank transfer, PayNow or crossed cheque, not the agent.

Agents must not handle the rental deposit or monthly rent for HDB rentals. For any rental, pay the landlord directly. It is also reasonable to ask for proof that the person who signs is the owner.

3. View carefully. Visit at different times of day. Check water pressure, air-con, windows, damp and pests, and the noise from roads or construction. Photograph defects and list the repairs or furniture you want before you move in.

4. Sign a letter of intent (LOI). The LOI records the agreed rent, lease term, deposits, move-in date and every item the landlord promised. A good-faith deposit is usually paid with the LOI and later becomes part of the security deposit. Read the LOI carefully. In one case that CEA describes, a scammer used a convincing LOI to collect deposits for a flat that he did not control.

5. Sign the tenancy agreement. CEA publishes tenancy agreement templates for HDB flats and private homes. They are a good, balanced starting point, and you can negotiate any clause. Make sure that every LOI promise appears in the agreement.

6. Stamp it. See the next section.

7. Take over the home properly. Check the inventory list and take dated photos of every room. Note existing defects in writing and get a full set of keys and access cards. These records protect your deposit when you move out.

If you are not a citizen, the agent must copy your passport and pass. This is a legal due diligence check under the Immigration Act and the Women’s Charter, not a sign of distrust.

Clauses that matter

• Diplomatic clause. This clause lets you end the lease early if you are transferred overseas or lose your work pass. Check when you can use it and how much notice you must give.
• Repairs. Most agreements make the tenant pay for minor repairs up to an agreed amount per item. The landlord pays for larger repairs and for wear and tear. Agree the limit and who repairs what, especially for air-con units and water heaters.
• Air-con servicing. Agreements commonly require regular servicing at your cost. Keep the receipts.
• Security deposit. State that the landlord returns the deposit within a fixed number of days after handover, with deductions limited to damage beyond fair wear and tear and to unpaid bills.
• Early termination and renewal. Check the penalty for leaving early. If you want to stay longer, ask for an option to renew at a stated rent, or with a cap on the increase.
• Viewings near the end. Landlords usually ask to show the home to new tenants in the last month or two. Agree the notice period.

The tenant’s agent and the landlord’s agent stop working on the deal once the agreement is signed and the home is handed over. CEA does not treat property management after that as estate agency work. So deal with the landlord directly on repairs, and keep their contact details.

Stamp duty on the tenancy agreement

IRAS charges lease duty of 0.4% of the total rent for leases of up to four years. For longer leases, the duty is 0.4% of four times the average annual rent. If the average annual rent is S$1,000 or less, the lease is exempt. The duty is rounded down to the nearest dollar.

Lease	Monthly rent	Total rent	Duty (0.4%)
1 year	S$3,000	S$36,000	S$144
2 years	S$4,000	S$96,000	S$384
2 years (room)	S$1,200	S$28,800	S$115

The agreement should state who pays. If it does not, the law makes the tenant liable. Stamp online within 14 days of signing (30 days if signed overseas) to avoid penalties.

Agent commission and disputes

There are no fixed commission rates. The landlord’s agent works for the landlord. If you appoint your own agent, agree the fee in a CEA prescribed agreement before the search starts, ask whether GST applies, and pay the agency, not the agent. An agent who collects commission from you cannot also take a fee from the landlord’s side. Our guide to finding a reliable property agent explains how to check one.

If the landlord keeps your deposit unfairly, first ask in writing and send your photos and inventory notes. CEA cannot help with deposit refunds, because they are private contractual disputes. The Small Claims Tribunals hear claims up to S$20,000, or S$30,000 if both parties agree (in writing), including disputes on residential tenancy agreements of up to two years, without lawyers.

Bottom line

Renting in Singapore is simple if you check the agent’s phone number, view before you pay, put every promise in writing and stamp the agreement on time. With private vacancy at 6.4%, many tenants can negotiate on rent, furniture or repairs. If you are renting while you decide whether to buy, our guide on whether to rent or buy in 2026 shows how to compare the two.

Sources

• Renting out a flat: regulations — HDB, updated 29 Jun 2026
• Renting property: minimum stay and occupancy cap — URA, updated 15 Jun 2026
• Short-term accommodation — URA (checked Oct 2026)
• Release of 2nd Quarter 2026 real estate statistics — URA, 24 Jul 2026
• Renting out a flat or bedrooms — HDB (checked Oct 2026)
• Eligibility for renting out a flat — HDB (checked Oct 2026)
• Rental scams — CEA, updated 25 Jun 2026
• CEA Public Register — Council for Estate Agencies (checked Oct 2026)
• What to take note of when engaging a property agent — CEA, updated 13 May 2026
• Renting or renting out (tenancy agreement templates) — CEA, updated 4 Nov 2025
• Top questions posed by property consumers to CEA in 2026 — CEA, Apr 2026
• Stamp duty for renting a property — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Who should pay stamp duty — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• When to pay stamp duty — IRAS (checked Oct 2026)
• Small claims — Singapore Courts (checked Oct 2026)