Finding somewhere to live in Singapore

Condo, HDB, or a room

Private condominiums come with a pool, a gym and a security desk, and are what most relocation packages assume. HDB flats — the public housing that the large majority of Singaporeans live in — are bigger for the money, in well-connected mature estates, and rent for markedly less. Renting an HDB flat as a foreigner is permitted but regulated: there is a minimum tenancy period longer than the private one, the letting has to be registered with HDB, and a non-citizen quota applies at block and neighbourhood level.

• Private property: three-month minimum tenancy. HDB: six months.
• HDB lettings must be registered with HDB and are subject to a non-citizen quota.
• Room rentals in both are common and are how most single arrivals start.
• Anything offering a one- or two-month stay is not a lawful tenancy, whatever the listing says.

The agent, and who pays them

Every property agent is registered with the Council for Estate Agencies and carries a registration number that is searchable on a public register. Check it before you view. On commission, the market convention is that the tenant's agent is paid by the landlord on higher-rent leases and by the tenant on lower-rent ones — establish which applies to you at the outset rather than discovering it at signing.

• CEA registration number, verifiable on the public register.
• Agree in advance who pays your agent and how much.
• The same unit will be listed at several prices by several agents; the unit is real, the cheapest price often is not.

LOI, tenancy agreement, stamp duty

The sequence is standardised. You submit a Letter of Intent with a good faith deposit of about a month's rent, the landlord's agent produces the tenancy agreement, and on signing you pay the security deposit — conventionally one month per year of the term — plus the first month's rent. The tenant then stamps the agreement with IRAS, normally within a fortnight, at a small percentage of the total rent over the lease. It is cheap and it is what makes the agreement admissible.

• Good faith deposit with the LOI, credited against the security deposit.
• Security deposit: one month for a one-year lease, two for a two-year.
• Stamp duty is a small percentage of the aggregate rent, e-stamped with IRAS via Singpass.
• Handover inventory signed by both sides, with photographs of every defect.

The clauses that actually cost you

Two standard clauses do most of the damage at the end of a tenancy. The minor repair clause makes the tenant liable for the first fixed sum of every repair, which adds up quickly in an older unit. The air-conditioning servicing clause requires quarterly servicing by a contractor at your expense, with receipts, and landlords do check. The diplomatic clause, by contrast, works in your favour: in a two-year lease it lets you break early if you leave the country, usually after twelve months with two months' notice.

• Minor repair clause: a fixed excess per repair, borne by the tenant. Negotiate the figure.
• Air-con servicing: quarterly, at your cost, with receipts kept for the handover.
• Diplomatic clause: check it exists, and check the lock-in and notice period.
• Reinstatement: agree what condition the unit must be returned in before you hang anything on a wall.

In order

1. 1Get your pass or In-Principle Approval — landlords and agents will ask for it.
2. 2Decide condo versus HDB before you start viewing; they are different searches.
3. 3Verify the agent's CEA number and agree who pays the commission.
4. 4View, then submit an LOI with the good faith deposit.
5. 5Negotiate the minor repair excess and the diplomatic clause into the tenancy agreement.
6. 6Sign, pay the security deposit and first month.
7. 7Stamp the agreement with IRAS through Singpass within the deadline.
8. 8Do the handover with a signed, photographed inventory.
9. 9Open the SP Group utilities account before you move in.