You can rent out an HDB flat in two ways. Spare bedrooms in a 3-room or bigger flat can be rented out at any time after key collection, with HDB’s approval, as long as you keep living there. The whole flat can be rented out only after the minimum occupation period, only by Singapore Citizen owners, and never for Plus or Prime flats.
Both need HDB’s approval before the tenant moves in. Both create taxable income. Renting out the whole flat also raises your property tax. Here is how each part works in 2026.
Rent Out an HDB Flat or Just a Room? The Rules Side by Side
From HDB’s pages on renting out a flat and renting out bedrooms:
| Spare bedrooms | Whole flat | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can | Owners of 3-room or bigger flats | Singapore Citizen owners only; not SPR owners |
| When | Any time after key collection (3Gen flats: after the MOP) | After the MOP, usually 5 years |
| Plus and Prime flats | Allowed | Not allowed, even after the 10-year MOP |
| You must live there | Yes | No |
| Limit | 3-room: 1 bedroom, 6 occupants in all; 4-room and bigger: 2 bedrooms, 8 occupants | 1- and 2-room: 4 tenants; 3-room: 6; 4-room and bigger: 8 |
| Non-citizen quota | Does not apply | Applies to non-Malaysian non-citizen tenants |
| HDB fee per application | $9 per bedroom | $18 |
For rooms, the occupant cap counts everyone, owners included, and only bedrooms HDB built can be let; partitioned spaces cannot. For 4-room and bigger flats, both caps of 8 revert to 6 for any rental period that runs beyond 31 December 2028.
The non-citizen quota is 8% at neighbourhood level and 11% at block level. Once it is reached, only Singaporeans and Malaysians can rent a whole flat there.
Rules for Every HDB Rental
- Minimum 6 months per application. Short-term stays, tourists, filming and storage are not allowed.
- Maximum 3 years if all tenants are Singaporeans or Malaysians; 2 years if any tenant is a non-Malaysian non-citizen. Each renewal is a new application.
- Eligible tenants: Singapore Citizens, PRs, and holders of Employment Passes, S Passes, Work Permits, Student Passes, Dependant Passes or Long-Term Social Visit Passes valid for at least 6 months. Work Permit holders in some sectors, including construction, marine and process, must be Malaysians.
- Tell HDB within 7 days of any change, such as a tenant moving out. A new tenant needs approval before moving in.
- Away overseas? For a whole-flat rental you must appoint an attorney, who cannot be a tenant, under a Power of Attorney lodged with the High Court.
You are responsible for your tenants’ breaches. HDB can impose a penalty or compulsorily acquire a flat that is rented out without approval.
The short version: Rooms can be let any time after key collection if you live there; the whole flat only after the MOP and never for Plus or Prime flats. Get HDB’s approval first, declare the rent to IRAS, stamp the tenancy agreement, and expect higher property tax if you let the whole flat.
Income Tax on Rental Income
IRAS taxes the net rent, which is added to your other income and taxed at your usual rates. Gross rent includes any charge for furniture and fittings.
You have two ways to deduct expenses:
- Deemed expenses: 15% of the gross rent, pre-filled in your tax form, plus mortgage interest on the loan for the flat. No receipts are needed for the 15%.
- Actual expenses: property tax, fire insurance, repairs and mortgage interest for the rental period, with receipts kept for 5 years.
Loan principal repayments are never deductible. If you rent out one room and keep living there, IRAS apportions mortgage interest and actual expenses by the number of rooms let.
Stamp Duty on the Tenancy Agreement
Under IRAS’s lease duty rules, a tenancy with average annual rent above $1,000 and a term of 4 years or less attracts 0.4% of the total rent for the whole term. It is due within 14 days of signing in Singapore. The agreement should say who pays. Our rental stamp duty calculator does the sum.
Property Tax: Rooms vs the Whole Flat
IRAS says you keep owner-occupier rates if you rent out part of your home while living in it. Rent out the whole flat and it is taxed at non-owner-occupier rates, which start at 12% of the first $30,000 of annual value.
For an illustrative flat with an annual value of $24,000, that is the difference between $480 a year at owner-occupier rates (0% on the first $12,000, 4% on the next $12,000) and $2,880 at 12%, before any rebate. Our property tax guide explains annual value, and the property tax calculator works it out.
Worked Example: Renting Out One Room
An illustrative owner lives in a 4-room flat with 3 bedrooms and lets one room for S$900 a month on a 12-month agreement. Their mortgage interest for the year is $3,600. Our own figures.
- Gross rent: $900 x 12 = $10,800
- Deemed expenses at 15%: $1,620
- Mortgage interest for the room: 1/3 x $3,600 = $1,200
- Net rent taxed as income: $10,800 - $1,620 - $1,200 = $7,980
- Stamp duty: 0.4% x $10,800 = $43.20
- HDB fee: $9
- Property tax: unchanged, at owner-occupier rates
At a 7% marginal tax rate, the extra tax would be about $559. Illustration only. To compare the rent with what the flat is worth, try our rental yield calculator.
What To Do Next
- Check your MOP date and eligibility on HDB’s My Flat Dashboard before you advertise.
- Apply to HDB and wait for approval before any tenant moves in.
- Stamp the tenancy agreement within 14 days of signing.
- Keep a record of rent received and declare it in your next income tax return.
- If you let the whole flat, check your new property tax bill with IRAS.
