Share/ sublet HDB

[Eliseo]

Hi,

I hope someone could give me advice on the following problem:

After living for about a year in Singapore I am looking to move to a different location. I was trying to find a flatshare with other expats on different websites and forums, which turned out to be harder than I thought. I realised that renting out a whole flat in an area I like would be the easiest option. Due to budget constraints HDBs are really the only option. I could then rent out the remaining room(s) and choose flatmates I would get along with.

However, it seems that subletting in an HDB is illegal even if the owner agrees. I tried getting more information from different agents/landlords etc. but to no avail. It seems that sharing a flat is fine, but subletting is not. To me both end up in the same situation of 2 or more people sharing the flat, and as far as I know only 1 person signs the contract anyways.

I guess what I am asking is, am I able to rent a whole flat and afterwards find flatmates to bring down costs. And how would I do it? It would be much appreciated if someone had any experience with this or could tell me where to find relevant information!

Thanks so much in advance!

[sundaymorningstaple]

Both you and your flatmate would have to sign the contract with the HDB owner. Otherwise, you are in contradiction to the law. If both your names are on the lease then both are liable to the LL. The other way, if you sublet it out and that person trashed the place and did a runner, guess who's going to foot the entire bill.......it won't be the Landlord I guarantee you.

[Eliseo]

Thanks for the quick reply!

The only problem is that I don't have a flatmate as of now and I think it would be much easier once I had a flat to offer. Do you know if it is possible to put the future flatmate's name on the lease once I found one?

[sundaymorningstaple]

You would have to discuss that with the Landlord.