Some of my experiences to be shared with New Agents are best illustrated with real cases.

Is it possible to rent a Singapore’s 2 or 3 bedroom apartment for $1,500/month as at November 23, 1997? Real cases illustrated.

Letter below is representative of many Internet queries from professionals looking for 2 or 3 bedroom apartments to rent at $1,300 - $1,500 rental budget. There is an increase in professionals employed in the IT, finance, architectural and engineering firms in Singapore.

Replies dated November 23, 1997 (are in green/red).

Nov 1997 20:56:46 -0800Date: Fri, 21 Nov 1997 20:56:34 -0700
From: "...." <...@mailcity.com> To: drsing@asiahomes.com
Subject: Apts in Singapore

Dear Dr.Sing Kong Yuen,

I went through the Asiahomes web site and was amazed at the variety of information and advice you provide. I am an Electronics Engineer from India and I have a job offer from a reputed company in Singapore. However I still do not have clear idea about the houses/apts. available in Singapore. I would be thankful if you could advise me on the following:

1. Accommodation Type :
Location required: Eastern/ Northern Singapore
Furnished One with Kitchen Gas Stove, fridge.
Near to subway (MRT)? Yes.
No. of bedrooms: 2 to 3 Bedrooms.
Sq. feet floor area of the flat: 1000 sq. feet.
Rental budget : Max. S$ 1500.

Whether possible to get ?

Yes, if you rent Housing and Development Board (HDB) apartments which are considered by the Singapore Government to be heavily subsidised public housing. The Owner can rent rooms but not the whole apartment as he/she must be residing in it.

To counter, there evolves a Singaporean culture of "locked one room" in which the Owner rents without HDB approval and keeps one room locked up to "show" the HDB officials that he/she is resident.

Licensed agents have been warned by the licensing authority that their licence will not be renewed if they participate in renting such unapproved apartments. Associates may not be aware of this ruling though but then it is easier to earn a living by acting for Owners to rent an HDB apartment than a private apartment which is less affordable and plentiful.

However, the blatant advertisement of "locked one room" is still read in the Singapore Straits Times Classifieds "Rental of HDB", probably due to ignorance of the HDB rules (see another Surfers’ Girl article on HDB rentals).

Other advertisers do not bother with disclosure and many have rented the whole apartment for many years, without problems from the HDB assuming correctly that the HDB officials do not have time to police its policy since 90% of the population are housed by the HDB and this is a substantial number of HDB apartments!

Also, there are cases of Owners being indebted to loan sharks. These loan sharks rent the apartment and collect rent which constitute payment for the high interest (20% per month) and principal. If you rent such apartments, be prepared for some nasty and emotional situations affecting the Owner when he/she tries to sell the HDB apartment.

HDB apartments approved by the HDB for rental of the whole apartment are rarely available and commands a higher rental. This appears to be a Government policy intended to help Owners who work overseas/study overseas/who have to stay with sick parents/shophouse doing business, unwittingly enriching a minority of the population (since few are qualified to rent out with approval) and forcing the majority (who desperately needs the rental income to pay for living expenses/school fees and hoping to avoid loan sharks) to act furtively.

According to feedback from one couple trying to rent an HDB yesterday, there is one in Simei (East Coast) asking for $2,200 per month because it is newer and well renovated! There is one in Marine Parade he would not want to talk about because it is disgusting and untenantable.

2. Whether such houses are available in plenty (i.e. whether the tenant has chance to choose among various offers )

No. Indian nationals and local Singaporeans have a great difficulty in renting approved HDB compared to other nationalities such as Caucasians and Japanese. For the past 7 days, my agency has had contacted all agencies and Owners but has not been successful in getting one for an Indian National who wants an approved HDB from $1,300 - $1,500. He has been active in looking and has been unsuccessful. Most likely, he will have to rent an unapproved HDB.

3. Chance of getting the above type of accommodation within a week's time after arriving.

Fairly good, if you are not particular as to whether the unit is tenantable, must be near the subway and must be approved by the HDB. The JTC (Jurong Town Corporation) is buying HDB apartments to rent and has a scheme to rent to professional people like you but it has certain conditions of residency.

4. some idea about the advance payments to house-owner and the fees of the housing agent.

For HDB apartment rental, you pay one month’s deposit for one year rental to the Landlord and half month (depending on negotiation) for one year rental to the housing agent who gets the apartment for you.

For private apartment rental, you do not pay any fee to the housing agent who gets the apartment for you.

Please treat the matter confidential.

Writer’s name and company not published in all letters publicised in Surfers’ Girl Tips. I get so many queries on this bread and butter topic as most prospective Singapore employers do not provide such information; this letter will be published in Surfers’ Girl Tip FAQ to benefit all Internet Surfers. FAQ means frequently asked questions in case first time Surfers do not know what it means.

With best regards,

...............
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