Housing Development Board advise on Steps Involved in Renting a HDB flat

HDB flats sold under the Home Ownership Scheme are meant for owner-occupation by the flat owners and their families. However flat owners may sublet their whole flat or spare bedrooms if they meet the eligibility conditions.

Singapore citizens, Singapore permanent residents and non-citizens may rent a flat or bedroom from existing HDB flat owners under the Subletting of Flat / Room Scheme.

HDB's Approval Needed To Rent Out the Whole Flat

An HDB owner can rent out his whole flat only after he has obtained a written approval from HDB. Hence, you may request the flat owner to show you a copy of the approval letter to rent out their flat, as obtained from HDB. In addition, to protect your interest, you are advised to include a condition in the subletting contract, specifying that the validity of the contract is subject to the flat owner obtaining HDB's approval for subletting.

Proof of Ownership of the Flat

You are advised to visit the flat you would be renting and to ensure that the person you are dealing with is the rightful owner of the flat. You can do so by requesting for documentary proof of flat ownership which includes the Agreement for Lease, Service & Conservancy charges booklet, Annual or Loan instalment payment booklet/Annual Loan statements, bearing the name of the flat owner.

Rent Payment and Deposit

The market practice is for rent to be paid monthly in advance on the day of tenancy commencement and thereafter on the same day of each subsequent month. The deposit amount is usually equal to one month's rent for a one-year tenancy and two months' rent for a two-year tenancy. It is payable upon signing of the tenancy agreement together with the first month's advance rent. You are advised not to pay more than one month's rent. As proof of payment, you should pay the rental deposit and rents by cheque. You are also advised to move into the flat immediately after collecting the keys.

Disputes Between Subtenants and Flat Owners

Matters relating to subletting tenancy such as amount of rental, payment/forfeiture of deposits, right to terminate tenancy, periods of subletting, etc. are private matters between owners and their subtenants. HDB will not mediate if there is a dispute between owners and their subtenants on these matters. Hence, flat owners and subtenants are advised to read and understand all the terms and conditions in the tenancy agreement carefully before signing it.

HDB Rental: Verification of Foreigner Immigration Status (VERIFI)

Illegal immigration and overstaying pose a serious problem in Singapore. The authorities have taken a number of measures to tackle the problem; however, as long as immigration offenders can get work or find a place to stay, the problem cannot be
effectively tackled.

Homeowners who wish to rent their premises out to foreigners must exercise due diligence in checking the status of their prospective foreign tenants to ensure that they are in Singapore legitimately. Persons or organizations who are in doubt, are also encouraged to check the foreigners' status before transacting with them.

Everyone has a role to play in ensuring the security and safety of Singapore. It concerns not only the safety and security of the
community, but also your personal safety.

Due Diligence Requirements

Before renting your room out to a foreigner, you need to screen the immigration status of your prospective tenant by conducting the following 3 specified checks:

• Check his original immigration pass or/and work pass;
• Cross-check particulars on these passes against particulars in his passport; and
• Verify with the Controller of Immigration or the Controller of Work Permits, as the case may be, that the permit or pass is valid at the material time or Verify with the employer if prospective tenant is working in Singapore.

If you are in doubt about the status of a foreigner, you may:

• Submit a request to verify the status of the foreigner through the Internet. To verify immigration passes (Long Term Visit Pass and Student's Pass), click here to submit your request to Immigration & Checkpoints Authority.
  .
  To verify work passes (Work Permit, Employment Pass and Dependent's Pass),
  click here to submit your request to Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
  OR

• Contact Immigration & Checkpoints Authority at Tel: 6391-6100 (immigration passes) during office hours or MOM (work passes) at Tel: 6438-5122 to verify the status of the foreigner. Alternatively, you can also call in person at Immigration & Checkpoints Authority or MOM during office hours to verify the authenticity of the immigration or work passes.

Consequences of Harboring Immigration Offenders

Under the Immigration Act, the homeowner is liable to be charged for harboring immigration offenders in his house if investigations reveal that he has not exercised due diligence as required by law. If the homeowner is found guilty of the offence, he shall be sentenced to an imprisonment of not less than 6 months and not more than 2 years and shall also be liable to a fine up to S$6,000.

Median Subletting Rents by Town and Flat Type for 4th Quarter 2010

The statistics below provide the median rents of HDB flats in various locations with subletting approvals in the said quarter. The median rent indicates that half the units were above the value and half below.

Flat owners and prospective tenants may use the median rent as a guide to do their own research before entering into a rental agreement.

Median Subletting Rents by Town and Flat Type for 4th Quarter 2010

TOWN	1-RM	2-RM	3-RM	4-RM	5-RM	EXEC
ANG MO KIO	-	$1,280*	$1,610	$2,100	$2,200	-
BEDOK	-	$1,250*	$1,580	$2,000	$2,250	$2,280
BISHAN	-	-	$1,610	$2,200	$2,400	$2,490*
BUKIT BATOK	-	-	$1,550	$1,900	$2,250	$2,150
BUKIT MERAH	$750*	$1,430*	$1,800	$2,400	$2,800	-
BUKIT PANJANG	-	-	$1,500	$1,700	$1,950	$2,100
BUKIT TIMAH	-	-	$1,730*	$2,150*	$2,350*	$2,450*
CENTRAL	-	$1,300*	$2,050	$2,400	$3,500*	-
CHOA CHU KANG	-	-	$1,300	$1,900	$2,000	$2,300
CLEMENTI	-	-	$1,700	$2,200	$2,400	$2,500*
GEYLANG	-	$1,250*	$1,630	$2,050	$2,400	$2,650*
HOUGANG	-	-	$1,600	$1,930	$2,150	$2,450
JURONG EAST	-	-	$1,600	$2,000	$2,100	$2,480
JURONG WEST	-	$1,450*	$1,500	$2,000	$2,200	$2,300
KALLANG/ WHAMPOA	-	$1,250*	$1,700	$2,250	$2,440	$2,650*
MARINE PARADE	-	-	$1,900	$2,330	$2,350*	-
PASIR RIS	-	-	-	$2,000	$2,100	$2,300
PUNGGOL	-	-	-	$1,900	$2,100	$2,300*
QUEENSTOWN	-	$1,300	$1,780	$2,380	$2,550	$2,800*
SEMBAWANG	-	-	-	$1,850	$2,000	$2,200
SENGKANG	-	-	$1,930*	$2,000	$2,100	$2,300
SERANGOON	-	-	$1,700	$2,030	$2,270	$2,500
TAMPINES	-	-	$1,700	$1,950	$2,200	$2,350
TOA PAYOH	-	$1,300*	$1,700	$2,000	$2,330	$2,490*
WOODLANDS	-	-	$1,430	$1,800	$2,000	$2,050
YISHUN	-	-	$1,500	$1,800	$2,000	$2,250
OVERALL	$750	$1,300	$1,700	$2,000	$2,150	$2,300

Notes:

1. (-) indicates no subletting transactions in the quarter.
2. Figures marked with asterisks (“ * ”) refer to cases where there are less than 10 subletting transactions in the quarter for the particular town and flat type. As such, they may not be representative.
3. The data above is based on rents self-declared in the subletting application forms. Nevertheless, it serves as a useful reference in sublet flat hunting and basis for rent negotiations.
4. The median rent tells you that half of the units for that flat type in that town were rented above that price and half below.
5. The figures are rounded to the nearest ten dollars.

Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) required before selling HDB flat

HDB flat owners can sell their flats in the open market to eligible buyers of their own choice at a mutually agreed resale price. The seller and buyer shall declare to HDB the true resale price of the flat. They shall not enter into any supplementary or other agreements or arrangements that may cause the true resale price as declared to be inflated or understated.

Important Note
Under the Housing & Development Act, the penalties for buyers and sellers who give false information to HDB is up to 6 months' imprisonment and/or a fine of up to $5,000.

Before selling your flat, you must ensure that you have met the eligibility criteria to do so, i.e. to have met the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).

Minimum Occupation Period (MOP)

HDB flat owners must have physically occupied their flats for a period of time, referred to as Minimum Occupation Period (MOP), before they are eligible to sell it in the open market.

The period will depend on:

• The purchase mode, and
• The flat type

*If you have rented out your entire flat, the period of subletting will not be included in the computation of the MOP.

Flat type listed below and their required MOP*.

1-Room and HUDC Flat
- No occupation period for owners owning 1-room flat or HUDC flat.

Flats bought from HDB (direct-purchase flat), DBSS flat bought from developer and Resale Flat under CPF Housing Grant Scheme
- 5 years from effective date of purchase.

Flats bought under Selective En Bloc Redevelopment Scheme (SERS)

• For SERS replacement flat purchased with portable SERS rehousing benefits
  - 5 years from the effective date of purchase of the replacement flat.
• For SERS replacement flat not purchased with portable SERS rehousing benefits
  - 7 years from the date of selection of the replacement flat, provided they had taken possession of the replacement flat; or
  - 5 years from the effective date of purchase of the replacement flat.

The computation of the MOP excludes the period (if any) of non-occupation of the replacement flat, such as subletting of whole flat or any infringement of the flat lease.

Resale Flat bought in the open market (without CPF Housing Grant Scheme)

The minimum occupation period you need to meet depends on when we receive your resale application:

Resale Application Received Date	MOP applicable
Before 5 March 2010 (includes owners owning their resale flat as at this date)	2½ years from effective date of resale if the owner takes a loan from HDB 1 year from the effective date of resale if: i. the owner has not taken a loan from HDB; or ii. he has taken a loan from the bank/financial institution to finance the purchase
5 March 2010 - 29 August 2010	3 years from effective date of resale, regardless of the type of loan taken by the owners or loan status
On or after 30 August 2010	5 years from effective date of resale, regardless of the type of loan taken by the owners or loan status

HDB/Flat Rental Scam–Police are appealing for information to assist with investigations into a series of flat rental scams

Police are looking for the man shown in the picture to assist with investigations into a series of flat rental scams reported at Blk 1 Lor Lew Lian #06-24.

From 31 Mar 2011 , at least 13 cases of flat rental scams have been reported at Blk 1 Lor Lew Lian #06-24. In all the cases, victims had responded to flat rental advertisements placed in the Chinese newspapers between 4 and 29 Mar 2011 . The suspect would arrange with victims to view the unit, and would collect money ($500 - $4800) from them as deposit for the rental of the unit. The victims were told to move into the unit between 3 and 7 Apr 2011. After collecting the money, the suspect would then become evasive and remain uncontactable.

Police believe that this man in the picture may be able to assist in investigations. His name is Chua Thiam Lye and the description of the man is as follows:

a)	Gender	:	Male Chinese in his 40s
b)	Height	:	About 1.7m tall
c)	Hair	:	Short and black
d)	Build	:	Plump
e)	Other	:	A mole below his lips

Anyone with information on this man is requested to call the Police Hotline at 1800-2550000. All information will be kept strictly confidential.

Crime Prevention Tips – Flat Rental Scam
a)	Seek service from an established estate agent;
b)	Conduct a check against the agent and the company before signing any agreement;
c)	Observe due diligence and carry out verifications of any documents relating to the property;
d)	Visit the flat you wish to rent and ensure that the person you are dealing with is the rightful flat owner. Request documentary proof of flat ownership that bears the flat owner’s name.
e)	Request the flat owner to show you a copy of the approval letter from HDB if you are renting the whole flat
f)	Be careful if asked for an advance payment and do not pay large sums in cash. As proof of payment, you should pay the rental deposit and rents by cheque; and
g)	Do a check with the company to ensure that the estate agent is indeed with the company. If in doubt, request to sign the documents and hand over the deposit at the office.

Housing Development Board guidelines for renting out whole HDB flat/unit

This are the guidelines for subletting of flat but is also useful info for those who will be renting the HDB so that they can verify the legality of the flat.

In particular, information provided concerns:

• Eligibility conditions : Flat owners
• Flat owners' responsibilities
• Eligibility conditions : Subtenants
• Maximum subletting period
• Costs involved in subletting
• Apply for approval

Eligibility Conditions: Flat Owners

To sublet the entire flat, you need to satisfy the condition of a 3-year or 5-year Minimum Occupation Period (MOP).
You are allowed to sublet your whole flat if you have occupied your:

• Non-subsidised flat (flat purchased from the open market without a CPF housing grant) for at least 3 years if your application for the purchase of the flat was received before 30 Aug 2010;
• Non-subsidised flat (flat purchased from the open market without a CPF housing grant) for at least 5 years if your application for the purchase of the flat was received on or after 30 Aug 2010;
• Subsidised flat (flat purchased directly from HDB or from the open market with a CPF housing grant) for at least 5 years

In case you do not meet the MOP condition for subletting, you may still sublet your whole flat only if it is under any one of the following special circumstances.

Living in quarters provided by employer	You/your spouse, your family members and authorized occupiers, are all staying in quarters provided by your employer.
Going overseas to work or study	You/your spouse are going overseas to work or study and the entire family will be going with you OR You are leaving behind family members who: Cannot take care of themselves, and Will be moving out of the flat
Living in commercial properties	You/your spouse are tenants, subtenants or owners of commercial property with living quarters AND You need to stay in that property, with your family members, to look after the business
Other circumstances	You are the sole owner and occupier of the flat and need medical care from relatives because of an illness OR You are the sole owner and occupier of the flat and have been hospitalised for more than 6 months OR The flat owners have passed away and left behind an orphaned minor child (under 21 years of age) The guardian or public trustee of the minor child may sublet the whole flat

Flat Owners’ Responsibilities

As a flat owner subletting your flat, you will be responsible for:

• Making sure the flat is sublet to eligible subtenants only
• Making sure that there is no overcrowding and the number of subtenants does not exceed the maximum number allowed
• Making sure that your subtenants have entered and are remaining in Singapore lawfully at all times (while the subletting is in force)
• Making sure that your subtenants do not further sublet the flat to other persons
• Making sure that your subtenants comply with all the covenants in the lease and the provisions of the Housing & Development Act and that you are responsible for all infringements, if any, committed by them
• Informing the Comptroller of Property Tax of the subletting, and HDB of any changes in the subletting
• Resuming occupation of your flat and ensuring your subtenants vacate the premises when:
  • The subletting is terminated, or
  • You are no longer eligible to sublet your flat

Surrendering the flat if the flat is repossessed by HDB

Eligiblity Conditions : Subtenants

Citizenship

Subtenants must be :

• a. Singapore citizens; or
• Singapore permanent residents; or
• Non-citizens legally residing in Singapore [holders of Employment Passes, S Passes, Work Permits*, Student Passes, Dependant Passes, Professional Visit Passes, Long Term Social Visit Passes (6 months and above)].

*Construction workers who are Work Permit holders should be Malaysians.

Immigration status of non-citizen subtenants may be verified using the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority's VERIFI website.

Maximum Number of Subtenants
The maximum number of subtenants allowed in each flat is:

Flat Type	Total Number of Occupants
1-room and 2-room	4 persons
3-room	6 persons
4-room and bigger	9 persons

Tenancy/Property Ownership Status

• Subtenants must not be tenants/owners of other HDB flats except for :
  • Tenants/owners who are divorced/legally separated
    • Only one of the divorced/legally separated parties may be a subtenant
• Owners who are eligible to sublet their whole HDB flat
  • They must sublet their own flat within 1 month after having rented a flat from another flat owner
  • They are not able to sublet their own flat after they move out of their flat as there are other occupiers remaining behind

Subtenants must not be owners of Executive Condominium units where the 5-year minimum occupation period has not been met.

Maximum Subletting Period
- Three years per subletting approval.

Costs Involved In Subletting

• Administrative fee
  Flat owners have to pay an administrative fee of $20/- for each subletting application.
• Renewal fee
  Flat owners must submit a new application and pay a fresh administrative fee to continue subletting the flat when existing subletting period expires. The new application will be subject to a reassessment of your eligibility to sublet your flat.

Apply For Approval

You must obtain HDB’s approval before you sublet your whole flat. You can submit the application online at My HDBPage. Alternatively, you can obtain the application form from any HDB Branch Office or download the application form and print it.

If the lessee is overseas during the period of subletting, there must be a properly appointed Attorney to act for him in the management of the flat. A certified true copy of the Power of Attorney (POA), executed in HDB's prescribed form and which has been lodged with the High Court, must be furnished (Please consult your solicitor on the POA).

Housing and Development Board (HDB) stepped up enforcement against unauthorized subletting of flats

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) stepped up its enforcement against unauthorized subletting of flats in 2010. This comes after 7,000 flat inspections conducted in 2010 (an increase from the 3,000 done in 2009).

Of the 95 flat owners owners caught by the HDB for illegal subletting, 39 had their flats acquired.

Of the 7,000 flats inspected, 95 flat owners had action taken against them by the HDB in relation to unauthorized subletting. The actions taken include compulsory acquisition of the flats and imposing of financial penalties.

The public's feedback played a greater role in the HDB's inspections, with public feedback leading to 1,800 inspections (of the total of 7,000). This is almost double the number received in 2009.

Under current HDB rules, flat owners who wish to sublet their entire flats must meet the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and obtain the HDB's approval before doing so.

Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) -- HDB flat owners must have physically occupied their flats for a period of time before they are eligible to sell or sublet/rent it in the open market.

HDB will continue to step up inspections and is welcoming public feedback on suspected unauthorized subletting, which it promises to keep strictly confidential. The public can report such suspected cases by calling the dedicated hotline 1800-555-6370.

Beware: Singapore Rental scam racket busted

POLICE have crippled a rental scam syndicate and arrested three men and a woman believed to be connected to more than 20 cases of cheating over the rental of flats.

This follow reports to police by people who were unable to move into residential flats after paying deposits, rental fees and agent commissions between June last year and July this year.

The amounts, ranging from $900 to $1,500, were paid to the supposed home owners and property agent who advertised for the rental of two flats located at Block 115 Jalan Bukit Merah and Block 7 North Bridge Road. The home owners and the property agent could not be reached after the payments were made.

Following investigations by Central Police Division, the owner of the Jalan Bukit Merah unit was arrested in connection to the case. He was found to be working with a bogus property agent to commit cheating in a bid to obtain quick cash. Police were able to establish that money from both units was paid into a common bank account.

In a police operation lasting 20-hours on Friday, police officers arrested a 48-year-old woman at about 12am. She had a bundle of blank tenancy agreements. About 14 hours later, officers nabbed a 56-year-old man who had posed as the owner of the North Bridge Road unit.

On Friday at about 8.15pm, police officers arrested the last remaining suspect, a 45-year-old bogus property agent known to his victims as 'Raymond'. He was later found to be wanted by the police for other separate offences of robbery and serious hurt.

source: StraitsTimes