Renting A Flat : Direct from HDB (Public Rental Scheme)

Renting a flat

Overview

To safeguard the heavily subsidised and limited number of HDB rental flats which are meant to cater to the housing needs of the poor and needy citizen families with no housing options, applicants need to meet the eligibility criteria before they apply for a rental flat.

This section contains information for renting a flat under the Public Rental Scheme :

•  Eligibility for renting a flat
•  Choice of Flats
•  Rents and Deposits
•  Application
•  Allocation of Rental Flat

Eligibility conditions for renting a flat

Listed below are some eligibility criteria that are mandatory for renting a flat under the Public Rental Scheme.

Click the following links for more information.

• Citizenship Requirement
• Age Requirement
• Income Ceiling
• Eligibility Scheme
• Property Ownership
• Debarment
• Existing HDB Tenants/Essential Occupiers
• Family Support

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Citizenship Requirement

a) Family Scheme

 The applicant must be a Singapore citizen. There must be one other Singapore citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident in his basic family nucleus.

b) Joint Singles Scheme

 Both the applicant and listed occupier must be Singapore citizens.

Age Requirement

Applicant must be at least 21 years old.

Income Ceiling

Total household gross income must not exceed $1,500/- per month.

Eligibility Scheme

a) Family Nucleus

The applicant must have a proper family nucleus defined as follows:

•  Applicant and spouse
•  Applicant (if single) and parents
•  Applicant (if widowed/divorced) with children under legal custody
•  Fiancé and fiancée
•  Orphaned siblings (at least one of your deceased parents was Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident) 

b) Joint Singles Scheme

An applicant who cannot form a family nucleus may apply under the Joint Singles Scheme:

•  Two single Singapore citizens who are at least 35 years old may jointly apply to rent a flat
•  Single persons who are widowed or orphaned (at least one of your deceased parents was Singapore Citizen or Singapore Permanent Resident) and at least 21 years old
•  A Single person may be one of the following:
  •  Unmarried person
  •  Widowed person
  •  Divorced person or
    
    

     Person separated from his/her spouse, with legal documents
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Property Ownership
  
  
  The applicant and the listed occupiers must not: 
•  Own, or have an interest in a: 
  •  HDB flat
  •  a Design, Build & Sell Scheme (DBSS) flat; or 
•  Have disposed of such property within 30 months prior to the date of application.

The applicant and all persons listed in the application would be subject to an assessment of whether they can afford other housing options and whether they have family support.

Debarment

The applicant and all persons listed in the application must not have owned or sold two direct-purchase HDB flats in the open market.

The applicant and all persons listed in the application must not own, have an estate or interest in a private property (whether residential or otherwise and including private properties outside Singapore)/ an Executive Condominium (EC) Unit/HUDC flat/house/building/ land; or have disposed of such property at the point of application.

A person who has been barred under any of HDB/Government rules, regulations or policies will not be eligible to:

•  Apply for a rental flat under the Public Rental Scheme, or
•  Be listed as an occupier in the application

Existing HDB Tenants/Essential Occupiers

The applicant and the listed occupiers in the application must not be existing tenants/essential occupiers of HDB flats.

Family Support

Applicants with children who are able to provide accommodation for them in their own homes or whose children have the financial ability to provide alternative accommodation for them would not be eligible to rent HDB flats.

Choice of Flats

Application Zones

An applicant who wish to rent an HDB flat under the Public Rental Scheme can choose to apply in one of the following Application Zones: 

•  Ang Mo Kio
•  Bedok/Tampines 
•  Bukit Merah/Jurong 
•  Woodlands

View the  Map of Rental Flats Locations under the different Application Zones.

Flat Type

1- and 2-room flats are subject to availability. The type of flat which an applicant is eligible for is as below

Scheme	Flat Type
	1-Room	2-Room
Family Scheme (1) Families with no earned income (regardless of the number of persons in the household)	Applicable	Not Applicable
(2) Two-persons household (regardless of earned household income)	Applicable	Not Applicable
(3) Families with earned income and having 3 or more persons in the household	Applicable	Applicable
Joint Singles Scheme	Applicable	Not Applicable

Rents & Deposits

Rents Payable

The rents payable are aligned to the monthly household gross income and household type as follows:

Monthly Household Income	Household Type	Monthly Rent*
		1-Room	2-Room
Household Income of $800 or less	First-timer	$26 - $33	$44 - $75
	Second-timer	$90 - $123	$123 - $165
Household Income Between $801 And $1,500	First-timer	$90 - $123	$123 - $165
	Second-timer	$150 - $205	$205 - $275

 Rates are pegged to HDB market rent and are subject to changes.

Rental Deposits

You are required to pay a deposit, equivalent to 1-month's rent at the time of execution of the tenancy agreement.

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First-timer Applicants

You and the members listed in the application to rent an HDB flat:

•  Are currently not owners of a flat bought direct from HDB or a resale flat bought with the CPF Housing Grant
•  Have never sold a flat bought direct from HDB or a resale flat bought with the CPF Housing Grant
•  Have not enjoyed other forms of housing subsidy, for example: 
  •  Bought an Executive Condominium from a developer
  •  Enjoyed benefits under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme
  •  Privatisation of HUDC estate, etc.

Second-timer Applicants

You and the members listed in your application have owned/sold:

•  Any HDB flat that was bought from HDB, or
•  Any resale flat that was bought under the CPF Housing Grant Scheme, or
•  Have enjoyed other forms of housing subsidy, for example:
  •  Enjoyed benefits under the Selective En-bloc Redevelopment Scheme
  •  Privatisation of HUDC estate etc.
    

    
    

    
    

    Application

    
    

    To rent an HDB flat under the Public Rental Scheme, applicant can:
    
    Apply in person at :

     HDB Rental Housing Department

     Atrium, 3rd Storey, 

     HDB Hub, 480 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh, Singapore 310480

    OR
    
    Submit the application using our online e-Service  Application to Rent Flat under Public Rental Scheme 

    • For applications submitted through our online e-Service, applicants need to send relevant documents as per list below to the HDB Rental Housing Section by post at the above address or by fax (fax no: 68543493) for verification

    
    

    Documents Required

    As part of the application procedure, Identification Documents and Employment/Unemployment Documents are required when applications are submitted to the HDB Rental Housing Section.
    
    

    More Information

    For enquiries, please email us at  hdbrental@mailbox.hdb.gov.sg or call our enquiry line at 1800-2255432.
    
    

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    Identification Documents

    The documents to be produced (original and 1 photocopy) along with the application are as follows:

    1	Identity Cards or Citizenship Certificates of applicant and all persons listed in the application form
    2	Birth certificates of children/siblings for proof of relationship
    3	Passports for non-citizens; Passports and Entry/Re-entry Permits for Singapore permanent residents
    4	Student Status Verification : Student Pass or Letter from school/college/Institute of higher learning for all persons listed in the application form who are 18 and above and are still studying
    5	Marital Status Verification : Marriage certificate/Deed of Separation/Divorce Certificate (for Muslims)/Writ of Divorce/Interim Judgment/Certificate of Making Interim Judgment Final and Order of Court (if applicable)
    6	Death certificate of parents/spouse (if applicable)
    7	Letter from Prison Authority /Medical Certificate
    8	Resale Completion Statement from the bank if your last flat sold was bought with bank loan
    9	Latest CPF contributions statement My Statement - Account Balances (inclusive of the Bank Statement on the value of your investment, if you have used the CPF Ordinary Account for investment) My Statement - Contribution History My Statement - Transaction History My Statement - Retirement (Minimum Sum Scheme), if you are 55 years old and above.

    
    

    
    

    Employment/Unemployment Documents

    The following supporting documents are required to affirm the monthly income or unemployment status:

    For Employed Persons

    
    Assessment is based on:

    • Monthly gross salary (exclude income earned from overtime work), or
    • Basic salary plus fixed allowances which are included in the terms and conditions of employment, such as
      • Transport
      • Food
      • Laundry
      • Uniform, etc.

    
    Proof of income:

    • Payslips for last 3 months in original, or
    • Employer's letter stating last 3 months income, on 
      • Company stamp/letterhead with the name, signature and designation of certifying officer

    
    Note: Income tax returns are not acceptable for employed persons
    
    

    For Self-Employed Persons 

    
    

    • Valid Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) Computer Information (Business Profile)/Valid licence of business/trade, and
    • Statutory Declaration on income,
    • Latest Notice of Assessment from IRAS, or
    • Certified Annual Statement of Accounts from an audit firm

    
    

    For Commission-based Persons 

    
    

    • Latest 12 months commission statements/payslips in original
    • Statutory Declaration of income
    • Employer's letter stating past 12 months commission on
      • Company stamp/letterhead with the name, signature and designation of certifying officer

    
    

    For Part-time Workers

    
    

    • Monthly-rated part-time employees with fixed monthly salary must submit a letter from employer stating his/her permanent staff status and salary received. on
      • Company stamp/letterhead with the name, signature and designation of certifying officer
    • Hourly-rated part-time employees with variable salary must submit the latest 12 months payslips or letter from employer stating past 12 months salary. on
      • Company stamp/letterhead with the name, signature and designation of certifying officer
    • Statutory Declaration of income

    
    

    For Odd-job Worker 

    
    

    • Statutory Declaration of income
    • Latest Notice of Assessment from IRAS
    • Letter from employer stating past 12 months commission, on
      • Company stamp/letterhead with the name, signature and designation of certifying officer

    
    

    For Pensioner

    
    

    • Payslip/Letter from previous employer stating the monthly pension received.

    
    

    For Unemployed Persons

    
    

    • Statutory Declaration of unemployment

    
    
    * Statutory Declaration may be executed at Rental Housing Section or at any HDB Branch.
    
    
    

    Estimated Waiting Time

    
    The allocation of an HDB rental flat is subject to the availability of vacancy.HDB will assess applicants who are in more urgent need of accommodation to enable them to get their rental flats earlier. For enquiries on estimated waiting time, please call 1800-2255432.
    
    
    

    Debarment for Not Selecting a Flat

    
    If an applicant does not accept any flat after the second selection, or fails to sign the Tenancy Agreement or pays the requisite fees and costs on or before the stipulated date as stated in HDB’s written notice, his application will be cancelled.
    
    Thereafter, he and all persons listed in the application will be debarred from renting an HDB flat for a period of one year from the date of cancellation.