PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU RENT A CONDO IN SINGAPORE

[SG_EAST_EXPAT]

Based on my experience renting various places in SG ...

1) always check URA website - they show actual contracts of previous rental contracts of the condo you are keep on renting.This will help you in negotiating.
99.9% of the land lords and agents want to suck out from you as much as they can don't take their sweet talk on face value.

2) always try to speak with previous tenants who rented that condo .. they will you a better picture of the condition of the apartment and land lord intentions.

3) take photo of all defects in the condo and send it to the agent and landlord within the 1st month.
Most of the land lords will try to keep the deposit money by taking advantage of wear and tear of the condo and using your deposit money to repair their houses ( This is becoming a big trend here )

4) Try not to rent a condo built prior to 2000 .. old condos will have tons of problem - leaking sinks etc which you need to repair due to corrosive climate in SG.

5) add in the contract that if the landlord does not pay by 14 days .. they need to pay interest. Most LL only source of income is your rent and they may not have the intention to payback.

6) Agent commission .. no point renting a condo between SGD 3800 to 3999.. if the rent is above 4000 then agent will not charge the commission from you for 2 year contract.

7) in case of dispute approach the small claims tribunal .. you need to have plan B if the intentions of the agent and landlord is to take if you for a ride and use your deposit money.

[x9200]

6) Agent commission .. no point renting a condo between SGD 3800 to 3999.. if the rent is above 4000 then agent will not charge the commission from you for 2 year contract.

Where have you taken these numbers from? You are wrong by 1k.

[AngMoG]

6) Agent commission .. no point renting a condo between SGD 3800 to 3999.. if the rent is above 4000 then agent will not charge the commission from you for 2 year contract.

Where have you taken these numbers from? You are wrong by 1k.

It also depends on the agent and landlord... in principle, if the agent represents the landlord, you should not pay him at all, as that would imply that he represents you as well (check CEA guidelines). If the agent represents you, you almost always need to pay him.

Although there still seems to be a "normality" where tenants pay agents if the rent is below 3K. Though that does expose agents to dual representation allegations.

[x9200]

He clearly refers to the old informal rule before the new law was put in place. If not, his statement makes even less sense.

[Chantikki]

Here's some more.

Old aircons will cost you another 1/3 the electricity price of new ones and will probably leak water. Don't place any furniture or pictures underneath them.

If you can check the power/water bill of the last tenant look for the water bill. If its over $40 you have a leak, probably in your walls. Strange smells may not be because the house needs airing but because of water leaks.

Consider pushing for the lowest price possible with no improvements then do them yourself. Spending $5000 on upgrades comes to $200 a month over a 2 year lease. And they are done nicely exactly how you wanted instead of a LL cheating out on promises or just having a different idea of quality.

[AngMoG]

Here's some more.

Old aircons will cost you another 1/3 the electricity price of new ones and will probably leak water. Don't place any furniture or pictures underneath them.

If your aircon leaks water, it's broken. Have it repaired. Depending on your contract, if it's more than $150, your landlord will have to pay. That being said, the aircon in our previous place was old already, and we ended up having it chemically cleaned 2x per year instead of 1x... so ended up being quite a bit of money spent that way.

If you can check the power/water bill of the last tenant look for the water bill. If its over $40 you have a leak, probably in your walls. Strange smells may not be because the house needs airing but because of water leaks.

Not sure how you would go about this. I doubt many LLs will be forthcoming about that. Also, bills depend on usage, and vary widely depending on how often and how long you use the aircon and other electrical appliances. If there are strange smells, and I see water in the walls, the LL has to have it repaired, the rent lowered, or you agree to move out.

[zzm9980]

Consider pushing for the lowest price possible with no improvements then do them yourself. Spending $5000 on upgrades comes to $200 a month over a 2 year lease. And they are done nicely exactly how you wanted instead of a LL cheating out on promises or just having a different idea of quality.

What kind of upgrades do you intend to do? And you think the landlord will go along with them? What I predict happening in Singapore is the landlord docking your security deposit for the cost of "undoing" whatever it is you do, and then keeping it anyway as a selling point to the next tenant.

[sundaymorningstaple]

^This.

[Chantikki]

Here's some more.

Old aircons will cost you another 1/3 the electricity price of new ones and will probably leak water. Don't place any furniture or pictures underneath them.

If your aircon leaks water, it's broken. Have it repaired. Depending on your contract, if it's more than $150, your landlord will have to pay. That being said, the aircon in our previous place was old already, and we ended up having it chemically cleaned 2x per year instead of 1x... so ended up being quite a bit of money spent that way.

If you can check the power/water bill of the last tenant look for the water bill. If its over $40 you have a leak, probably in your walls. Strange smells may not be because the house needs airing but because of water leaks.

Not sure how you would go about this. I doubt many LLs will be forthcoming about that. Also, bills depend on usage, and vary widely depending on how often and how long you use the aircon and other electrical appliances. If there are strange smells, and I see water in the walls, the LL has to have it repaired, the rent lowered, or you agree to move out.

Aircons leak water because the drainage pipe is blocked and old ones almost always leak. The pipes also break. Iam so sick of old aircons. Paintings and furniture was ruined because of it. When we moved into our new place we put new aircons in. They reused one old pipe and the aircon leaked so had it replaced.

Old aircons are just not worth it.

[x9200]

Aircons leak water because the drainage pipe is blocked and old ones almost always leak. The pipes also break. Iam so sick of old aircons. Paintings and furniture was ruined because of it. When we moved into our new place we put new aircons in. They reused one old pipe and the aircon leaked so had it replaced.

Old aircons are just not worth it.

So if they are broken they have to be fixed or replaced, right? The AngMoG's point.
There are certain things that can be attributed to an old house/apartment and where you can not do too much about and one of them is likelihood of defects to occur but if something is broken or defective it has to be fixed, be it a brand new place or a 20yo one. Unless of course this is acceptable for you (and the LL) to have it broken.

[Chantikki]

My point was that if you come to Singapore and you rent a house wilth old aircons expect the bill to be higher and the aircons will leak. I've been here 7 years and everyone I know has had furniture ruined by aircons that leak. It's something you don't know when you first arrive. And LL's will often not replace them, and just expect you to ring the service people and have the pipes blown out.

[Chantikki]

Consider pushing for the lowest price possible with no improvements then do them yourself. Spending $5000 on upgrades comes to $200 a month over a 2 year lease. And they are done nicely exactly how you wanted instead of a LL cheating out on promises or just having a different idea of quality.

What kind of upgrades do you intend to do? And you think the landlord will go along with them? What I predict happening in Singapore is the landlord docking your security deposit for the cost of "undoing" whatever it is you do, and then keeping it anyway as a selling point to the next tenant.

What kind of upgrades? Curtains, ovens quality paint, all sorts of things. If the rental for a house with no curtains is $5000 a month and other similar houses are $5500 a month, why not just buy curtains? Often if you say you want things like that added in the LL will want more per month, then buy the cheapest curtains in Singapore. An extra $500 in rent comes to $12k over 2 years.

[BedokAmerican]

I've got 2 other things to add to the list:

1. If the condo says "furnished," what does that mean? And are the appliances all functional?

2. The property may be sprayed weekly for pests, but those are just the grounds. Automatically budget for monthly pest control service to your condo, even if you live in a fairly new place and on a very high floor.

[AngMoG]

I've got 2 other things to add to the list:

1. If the condo says "furnished," what does that mean? And are the appliances all functional?

2. The property may be sprayed weekly for pests, but those are just the grounds. Automatically budget for monthly pest control service to your condo, even if you live in a fairly new place and on a very high floor.

1. It can mean a lot of things, but usually that no further furniture is necessary in the landlord's opinion, and that major appliances are there (oven, washing machine, fridge & freezer). It says nothing about the condition of the furniture or the appliances, however, other than that they are "functional".

2. "Schedule monthly pest control"?? If you live in an apartment, just go to the supermarket, buy roach baits, ant baits, electric mosquito repellant, and roach spray / insect spray. Buy & apply as needed.

[Northcote]

With regard to agent commissions, I've noticed on the forum quite a number of people who lease a property also pay a commission to their agent.

As far as I know, when we entered our lease, one month's rent was paid as commission by the landlord that was then shared equally between their agent and our agent.

Is this normal practice or were we just lucky we didn't have to pay any commission ourselves? I've been curious about this for a while.