Renting out your property is one of the most reliable ways to build passive income in Singapore. Done well, it pays your mortgage, covers your costs, and still leaves you with a meaningful yield. Done badly, it costs you tenant disputes, surprise tax bills, and damage you did not budget for.
This guide walks you through everything a Singapore landlord needs to get right.
Set the right rent from day one
Pricing is half marketing, half data. Price too high and your unit sits empty. Price too low and you leave money on the table for the next two to three years.
Start with the official data
For private residential, pull rental transactions from URA Realis or the URA Rental Median Rent tool. For HDB, use the HDB Rental Transactions portal. These give you the actual signed rents in your project or block over the last few quarters.
Adjust for your specific unit
Historical medians do not account for floor level, orientation, view, condition, or furnishing. Walk through the listed asking prices on PropertyGuru, 99.co, and EdgeProp for comparable stacks and recent dates, then adjust up or down.
Cross-check with CheckMyRent
For a fast indicative range based on property type, district, size, floor, furnishing, and age, use our free CheckMyRent tool. The output gives you a sensible starting target before you talk to an advisor.
CheckMyRent: estimate your property's monthly rental range in under a minute.
Set ask price above target
Convention in Singapore is to list 3% to 5% above your honest signing target, leaving room for tenants to negotiate down. If your target rent is S$4,200 a month, a S$4,400 ask is sensible. A S$4,800 ask signals you are not serious about renting.
Furnished, partially furnished, or unfurnished?
There is no single right answer. The right choice depends on your target tenant and your willingness to invest upfront.
Unfurnished
Widens your tenant pool, lowers upfront cost, and makes turnover cheaper because there is less to maintain or replace.
Partially furnished
White goods, lights, and curtains included. Lets tenants bring their own furniture or accept yours. Default for most HDB and mass-market condo rentals.
Fully furnished
Move-in ready. Can command a 10% to 20% rent premium but you carry replacement risk for sofas, beds, white goods, and appliances.
If you do not want to buy a new furniture set, furniture rental companies in Singapore can supply a package for roughly 10% to 15% of monthly rent. Useful as a middle path if a tenant requests furnishing late in the negotiation.
If you already have furniture in the unit, declutter ruthlessly before viewings. Anything worn, mismatched, or that you personally would not use should go. Tenants imagine living there, not negotiating around your old sofa.
The real cost of renting out your property
Most first-time landlords look at rent minus mortgage and call that their profit. That is not the real picture. Here is the full cost list.
Once rented out, IRAS taxes the property at the non-owner-occupied rate, which is materially higher than the owner-occupied rate and progressive based on Annual Value. Top bands have been lifted in recent revisions. Check IRAS for current rates.
0.4% of total rent for leases up to four years, payable within 14 days of signing via IRAS e-Stamping. By convention the tenant pays, but you should confirm in writing.
Industry norm payable by the landlord: half a month's rent for a one-year lease, one month's rent for a two-year lease. CEA does not fix the rate, so agree in writing.
Monthly maintenance fees stay with you, not the tenant. For condos this is the MCST charge. For HDB it is the conservancy and service fee.
Air-con servicing, plumbing, electrical issues, and appliance replacement. Older units cost more. Budget 1 to 2 months of rent per year as a maintenance buffer.
HDB fire insurance or condo MCST master policy does not adequately cover your renovations, contents, or third-party liability. A landlord's contents and liability policy is cheap insurance against real trouble.
Rental income is taxable as part of your personal income. Claim actual deductible expenses, or use IRAS's simplified 15% deemed rental expense deduction. Mortgage interest and property tax are deductible on top of the 15%.
Allow at least 2 to 4 weeks between tenancies for marketing, viewings, and minor refresh. Build this into your annual yield calculation.
Vet your tenant before you sign anything
The right tenant pays on time, treats the property well, and stays long enough that you avoid turnover costs. The wrong tenant costs you months of rent and legal headaches. Spend time on this.
- Verify identity and immigration status. For Singaporean and PR tenants, sight the NRIC. For foreign tenants, verify passport and Work Pass, S Pass, Employment Pass, or Student Pass on the MOM and ICA online portals. Tenants without valid status are illegal occupiers and you can be penalised for housing them.
- Confirm employment and income. Ask for a recent payslip or employment letter. Monthly rent should not exceed about a third of the tenant's gross monthly income. Higher than that and you are likely to see late payments.
- Reference check the previous landlord. One short call saves months of regret. Ask about payment history and condition of the unit at move-out. Pay attention to hesitation as much as the words.
- For HDB, confirm MOP and quotas. You must have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and registered the rental with HDB. Non-citizen quotas apply at block and neighbourhood level. Check the HDB e-Service before signing.
The clauses that actually matter
A solid TA is the difference between a clean tenancy and a messy one. Beyond the standard clauses, make sure these are clearly worded.
- Term and renewal. Start date, end date, notice period for non-renewal.
- Security deposit. Typically one month per year of lease, returnable on completion subject to deductions.
- Diplomatic clause. For foreign tenants on a 2-year lease, allows early termination after 12 months if the tenant is officially posted out or loses the right to remain in Singapore.
- Minor repairs cap. Tenant bears repair costs up to a stated cap per incident (commonly S$150 to S$300), beyond which the landlord pays.
- Reinstatement clause. Tenant returns the unit in the same condition as at handover, fair wear and tear excepted.
- No subletting without consent. Protects you from unauthorised occupiers.
- Pet and smoking policy. Say it explicitly. Defaults cause disputes.
- Inventory list as an annex. Dated inventory with photos. This is what you compare against on move-out.
Stamp the TA within 14 days of signing via the IRAS e-Stamping portal. Standard duty is 0.4% of total rent for leases up to four years. An unstamped TA is not admissible in court.
Get the handover right and you protect yourself for the whole lease
Standard market practice in Singapore is one month of rent per year of lease, plus one month's advance rent for the first month. So a two-year lease typically means two months deposit plus one month advance on signing.
On handover day:
- Walk the property with the tenant.
- Sign off the inventory list together.
- Take dated photos of every room and any existing defects.
- Hand over keys, access cards, and remote controls against signature.
- Provide soft copies of the TA, inventory, and handover document via email for record.
This package is what protects you when the lease ends and any deposit deductions are disputed.
The traps that cost first-time landlords the most
- Underestimating non-owner-occupied property tax in the yield calculation.
- Skipping the stamp duty because the TA "feels informal", then losing the right to enforce it.
- Renting to a tenant without verifying immigration status or income.
- No written inventory list, then arguing about scratches at move-out.
- Holding deposits in a personal account that gets co-mingled with cash flow, then struggling to refund on time.
- No maintenance buffer, treating the entire rent net of mortgage as profit.
- Pricing 10% above the latest signed rent in the same block, then sitting empty for weeks.
- Renting an HDB flat before MOP, or without registering with HDB.