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.