Singapore Expats

Hi.
Im currently renting a room. The tenancy agreement is silent as to whether I am allowed to bring overnight guests over.

I am wondering what is the default position on this?
As I understand in Australia there is a standard supplementary tenancy agreement contract which is effective in event that the main tenancy agreement is silent. Is there an equivalent to this in Singapore?

Thanks.

chill91 wrote:Hi.
Im currently renting a room. The tenancy agreement is silent as to whether I am allowed to bring overnight guests over.

I am wondering what is the default position on this?
As I understand in Australia there is a standard supplementary tenancy agreement contract which is effective in event that the main tenancy agreement is silent. Is there an equivalent to this in Singapore?

Thanks.

You need to ask your landlord but doing so means he/she may decline permission. IMO a few nights is probably ok but if there is a cost impact (aircon) or infringement on the peace and quiet of others you will have an issue. Also note that Singaporeans are very concerned about having illegal immigrants staying in their residences; you may want to get a copy of your friends passport/visa/SVP/ep ready to assure the landlord that your friend has a valid visa.

Are there clauses similar to the following in your lease (apologies, don't have mine to hand so can't reference the proper wording)?
1) Quiet Enjoyment; the landlord will give you quiet enjoyment of the premises; roughly means they agree not to interfere with intended use of the establishment
2) Not cause issues to others - i.e. usually says something along the lines will not do anything that you ought to know will cause annoyance to others or cause them to lodge a complaint.

Other's here can give you better insight into the breadth and depth of meaning of these 2 clauses but taken together I believe mean as long as you make normal use of the premises and don't do anything you *should* know would cause a complaint your in the clear....

I had an argument with the landlord's agent after a neighbor complained about my cousins children making noise in the hallway when they stayed with us while they waited for the elevator (the neighbor also left their door open with only the gate closed).

He raised the complaint under the second clause and asked that we have them stay somewhere else. He relented when I pointed out the first clause and that the kids were just being kids and were not miss-behaving (i.e. they weren't yelling, playing with toys or arguing / fighting).

In the case of staying in a room in a condo-unit, really not sure how the above would apply if your guests were subject of a complaint from other members renting other rooms in the unit. (I take it from your post your rending a room in a shared condo/apartment, not your own apartment).

It is about what is customary in a typical usage of a rented room/flat so the agent's remark is irrelevant as of saying to send your guests somewhere else. It is customary to have guests (unless said differently in the TA). Whether they make noise or not is not connected with them staying, but with the fact they are noisy. They could stay for some time, but they should be more considerate.

What is NOT customary is to significantly affects other tenants. This may include:
- higher maintenance costs,
- more noise,
- more crowded place,
- more difficult access to facilities (kitchen etc etc).
This happen if the visitors stay longer.

How long is too long is of course relative but this depends on the form of lease and obviously the visitors. For example, If I rent the whole apartment it would be IMHO customary to have some visitors (ie. my parents) for up to a few months. It's nobody's business. If they would stay for a year or any longer period, then one may argue they significantly contribute to the wear and tear of the apartment.

If the tenant is of the shared flat, this period surely would be much shorter. A few weeks maximum, more likely a week or a few days.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, just using some common sense.

HDB has a new initiative requiring tenants to register all overnight visitors in HDB system via the landlord. This requirement is a new HDB initiative and supersedes the tenancy agreement.

both foreigners or locals/PR - cannot stay overnight as long as they are not the registered visitor

For a person to be a registered visitor, Landlord needs to submit a e-feedback form on HDB website (even for a night's stay, this is required)

The initiative applies broadly and not to specific situations where this is potential conflict with existing HDB rules (maximum occupants, no subletting, etc..) or Singapore laws (overstay visa, illegal prostitution, etc..).

I searched online and cannot find any specific mention of this new initiative from official public sources on HDB website. Nothing was mentioned about overnight visitor registration on the reference that HDB provided in the email reply. When my legal representative enquired, the HDB representative on the phone confirmed the initiative, but was also unable to cite a source to a specific policy.

[https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/appl ... conditions]

Never get between a Singaporean and a rule.