🇸🇬 Singapore
Moving to Singapore
Singapore is one of the most straightforward markets in the world to rent in, provided you have your pass. Contracts are standardised, agents are licensed and searchable, and the process is fast. The hard part is the price, and the choice between a condominium with facilities and an HDB flat at a very different number.
- Visit
- €49
- Starter
- €899
- Premium
- €1,900
Orderly, expensive, and gated on your work pass. Verify every agent's licence number.
Where to live
Neighbourhoods in Singapore
Tiong Bahru
Couples, professionalsLow-rise heritage blocks, independent cafés, walkable, and on the MRT. Consistently popular.
Tanjong Pagar & Chinatown
ProfessionalsWalk to the CBD. Small units, high floors, high rents.
East Coast & Katong
FamiliesCloser to the airport, near the beach park, Peranakan food and more space per dollar. The Thomson–East Coast line now links it directly to the city.
Queenstown & Redhill
Value seekersCentral-adjacent on the East–West line, close to one-north and NUS, with a large HDB market at a very different price point. Whole-flat HDB lets carry a six-month minimum and a non-citizen quota per block.
Holland Village & Bukit Timah
FamiliesLeafy, low-density streets near the Botanic Gardens and the nature reserve, with many international and local schools. Condos are priced for family packages, and parts are a bus ride from the MRT.
River Valley & Robertson Quay
Couples, professionalsCondos along the Singapore River, with restaurants on the quay, a promenade for running into the CBD and Orchard Road a short walk away. Among the dearest rents in the city.
What it costs to rent
Indicative rents
Monthly, mostly furnished, excluding utilities.
- One-bed condo, centralS$3,800 – S$5,500
- One-bed condo, suburbanS$2,800 – S$3,800
- Room in an HDB flatS$1,000 – S$1,800
Indicative only · last checked · your Insider confirms before you commit.
What catches people out
Agents without a CEA number
Every property agent in Singapore is registered with the Council for Estate Agencies, and the register is public. Check the number before you view, not after.
The same unit at three different prices
Duplicate listings at fictional prices are used to generate calls. The unit exists; the price does not.
Minimum rental periods
Private properties have a three-month minimum and HDB flats six. Anything shorter being offered is not legal, whatever the listing says.
After the keys
The admin that follows a move
On Premium, your Insider does this with you rather than sending you a checklist.
How long a move to Singapore takes. Three to four weeks. Landlords want to see your pass before they commit.
- Step 1
Your pass comes first
An Employment Pass, S Pass or Student Pass is effectively a prerequisite. Landlords check, and so does the agent.
- Step 2
Stamp the lease
Tenancy agreements are stamped with IRAS, normally by the tenant, within 14 days of signing. The duty is 0.4% of the total rent for a lease of up to four years, and stamping makes the agreement admissible.
- Step 3
The diplomatic clause
Standard in two-year leases: it lets you break early if you leave the country. Make sure it is in yours, and check the notice period.
- Step 4
Utilities
SP Group for electricity, water and gas, with a deposit that varies by pass type.
LanguageEnglish is an official language and the language of every lease. Your Insider works with you in English and negotiates on your behalf in whatever the lease is written in.
Relocation tools
Plan the move to Singapore
Small tools built on this guide: what a month costs, the steps in order, what to pack and what to do when you land. Indicative figures, in the local currency.
- Cost calculatorA month in the city, three ways, in the local currency.Open
- Visa timelineYour route, step by step, with how long each part takes.Open
- Neighbourhood matchmakerFour questions, one neighbourhood, and what a one-bed costs there.Open
- Packing listA checklist for this city and the season you land in.Open
- First 48 hoursWhat to do first after landing, in the order that works.Open
- Local appsThe phone setup that runs daily life, and what each replaces.Open
- Dish finderWhat to order, by time of day, and what it is called.Open
- Weekend getawaysEasy escapes, by travel time and how you get there.Open
Pricing for Singapore
What a move to Singapore costs
These are the fees in Singapore, published before you start, in euros. No commission on your rent, no percentage of the lease, no success fee.
Visit
Your Insider visits for you€49single · €99 pack of 3- In-person visit by a local Insider
- Video walkthrough
- Area report
- Scam check
- Most popular
Starter
Full home search€899flat fee · Singapore- Personal shortlist
- Viewings with video
- Lease negotiation & review
- Handover & keys
- 50% to start, 50% at the keys
Premium
Home search + full setup€1,900flat fee · Singapore- Everything in Starter
- Bank, SIM & registration
- Utilities & internet
- Healthcare & school search
- First-week orientation
The full guide
Five deep dives for someone arriving, not visiting
- Housing A standardised, fast, licensed market with one large decision in it — condominium or HDB flat — and a price gap between them that changes what you can afford.
- Paperwork Everything runs off your work pass and your Singpass, the employer does the immigration side, and the exit has its own tax formalities.
- Healthcare Excellent care at genuinely high prices, no public subsidy for foreigners, and an insurance decision that matters more here than almost anywhere.
- Schools A world-class local system that foreigners can only enter through a centralised examination, and an international sector that is correspondingly expensive and correspondingly full.
- Getting around One of the best public transport systems in the world, and a car market deliberately priced so that you use it.
On the ground
Alfred, Antoine, Capu, Eva, Nico — the people behind Insidoor.
Every Insider lives in their city and holds a verified ID. We match you on language and on who is coming with you.
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