Singapore Expats

In a crazy turn of events, I just found out, although my agent and landlord renewed my rental agreement, the HDB quota for Non Citizens is full for my block

HDB has already sent letters to my mailbox addressed to the landlord, telling them the approval for renting out has expired and they should either come back and live there or they need to apply again for renting out.

My landlord said, they have written to HDB and awaiting their reply. As the NC quota is evaluated every month, I am hoping the quota opens up on the 1st of Oct. Otherwise I dont know what are my options.

I have already registered the tenancy agreement and paid the stamp duty. I wonder why the agent, landlord didnt check this before agreeing to renew the rental agreement.

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 8:58 pm

In a crazy turn of events, I just found out, although my agent and landlord renewed my rental agreement, the HDB quota for Non Citizens is full for my block

HDB has already sent letters to my mailbox addressed to the landlord, telling them the approval for renting out has expired and they should either come back and live there or they need to apply again for renting out.

My landlord said, they have written to HDB and awaiting their reply. As the NC quota is evaluated every month, I am hoping the quota opens up on the 1st of Oct. Otherwise I dont know what are my options.

I have already registered the tenancy agreement and paid the stamp duty. I wonder why the agent, landlord didnt check this before agreeing to renew the rental agreement.

When does your current lease end? I do not know the mechanics of the calculation/approvals, but how do new tenants come in and push the NCs over the threshold while you are still "occupying" a spot?

Sorry to hear, hope you can get it sorted out.

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 10:20 pm

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Thu, 28 Sep 2023 8:58 pm

In a crazy turn of events, I just found out, although my agent and landlord renewed my rental agreement, the HDB quota for Non Citizens is full for my block

HDB has already sent letters to my mailbox addressed to the landlord, telling them the approval for renting out has expired and they should either come back and live there or they need to apply again for renting out.

My landlord said, they have written to HDB and awaiting their reply. As the NC quota is evaluated every month, I am hoping the quota opens up on the 1st of Oct. Otherwise I dont know what are my options.

I have already registered the tenancy agreement and paid the stamp duty. I wonder why the agent, landlord didnt check this before agreeing to renew the rental agreement.

When does your current lease end? I do not know the mechanics of the calculation/approvals, but how do new tenants come in and push the NCs over the threshold while you are still "occupying" a spot?

Sorry to hear, hope you can get it sorted out.

My new lease has already started and I have paid the 1st month rent of the new lease. So technically I am currently illegally renting this HDB.

The ratio is calculated for the whole HDB block, the ratio is evaluated once every month. So for example, in September my lease ended and hasnt been renewed, so in october begining it should impact the ratio and hopefully it should be below the threshold again. The interesting thing is the ratio is calculated and updated only on the 1st of every month. So I think it is possible that immediately in a month when the ratio is below the threshold, several new tenants can register in that month without any limits and then again the following month the ratio is calculated again and it will show as over the limit and not let any more tenants to register. If in any particular month ratio exceeds by a big number, then it could take several months for tenants to leave, until the ratio becomes below the threshold again.

This NC quota applies only to whole unit rental and not for room rentals. Although it is not allowed, I think my landlord can just register me as renting rooms in the house and not the whole house. Some landlords lock a room to circumvent this rule, but I read in the HDB site that this loophole is not allowed.

Hi, wondering if there’s any updates on this? Is there quota now? We’re also experiencing an issue with quota.

My landlord has written letter to HDB. He asked me also to write a letter saying my daughter is studying in nearby intl school and it will be a hassle for me to move and I have been living here for so long already. Lets see. HDB often provides approvals as an exception, even for people who didn't finish MOP, if they have a reasonable justification. In this quota case, I feel the bar is even lower as all blocks around me have quota, only my block is the problem, so it is not like it is becoming a foreigner enclave.

Thank you very much for your reply, I understand that there was no quota in October as well then? Can you please update here if there’s any updates from hdb?

tsdfn wrote: ↑

Wed, 18 Oct 2023 1:31 am

Thank you very much for your reply, I understand that there was no quota in October as well then? Can you please update here if there’s any updates from hdb?

Yes no quota in Oct. Infact, there have been no transactions since Jul, in my block. I will update here either way.

Hi there, I'm in the same situation

My current lease ends in Dec 2023 & we're submitting for renewal. However, HDB website says there's no quota for application submitted in November. I'm really unsure if I should wait for December & try again with renewal, or just give up and find another flat to rent

Would love to hear how your situation is going, or if you have any thoughts!

Well good news for me, my block quota opened in November and my landlord was able to successfully submit the lease renewal. My landlord had written several appeal letters and I also wrote a supporting appeal letter, stating that we are here since 5 and half years, volunteering and my daughter is in nearby school so it will be a hassle etc But they didn't approve or reject, as per my landlord, but I think it bought us time. While we were appealing, we continued to stay in the unapproved flat for slightly more than a month.

I look at my block transactions and there have been none since July. So it is possible that the quota was oversubscribed since then.

So you can see your block transactions on the Pguru website and make an educated guess.

The way it works is when the quota opens, it is kept open for the whole month and anybody can apply, so there is a chance that is goes a bit more than above the quota level, so it could take a few months until tenants leave and for the quota to open again. Or if you are lucky maybe it will open in December.

But unless you are paying significantly below market rent, I would probably leave the headache to the landlord and consider moving.

Wish you all the best!

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 7:20 am

Well good news for me, my block quota opened in November and my landlord was able to successfully submit the lease renewal. My landlord had written several appeal letters and I also wrote a supporting appeal letter, stating that we are here since 5 and half years, volunteering and my daughter is in nearby school so it will be a hassle etc But they didn't approve or reject, as per my landlord, but I think it bought us time. While we were appealing, we continued to stay in the unapproved flat for slightly more than a month.

I look at my block transactions and there have been none since July. So it is possible that the quota was oversubscribed since then.

So you can see your block transactions on the Pguru website and make an educated guess.

The way it works is when the quota opens, it is kept open for the whole month and anybody can apply, so there is a chance that is goes a bit more than above the quota level, so it could take a few months until tenants leave and for the quota to open again. Or if you are lucky maybe it will open in December.

But unless you are paying significantly below market rent, I would probably leave the headache to the landlord and consider moving.

Wish you all the best!

Glad it worked out. With additional people looking at HDBs (although maybe this stops if condo rental rates fall), it's possible that this issue comes up more frequently. Like you said, they didn't approve or reject your appeal, and they are probably happy with that outcome and the fact that the issue fixed itself.

I believe HDB's website will also give rental contracts by town/street. Probably a good place to double check if one needs to know.

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Sat, 04 Nov 2023 7:55 am

Glad it worked out. With additional people looking at HDBs (although maybe this stops if condo rental rates fall), it's possible that this issue comes up more frequently. Like you said, they didn't approve or reject your appeal, and they are probably happy with that outcome and the fact that the issue fixed itself.

I believe HDB's website will also give rental contracts by town/street. Probably a good place to double check if one needs to know.

Thanks. The funny thing is I was awake and checked the quota on 31st Oct at 11.45pm and it was closed and then I checked exactly at the stroke of midnight on 1st Nov and it opened. I kept the screenshot and sent to my landlord, in the morning and told him the quota has opened. He said he HDB has accepted the appeal letter but not formal reply, he will try online. (Lol, he thinks the auto reply is acceptance. )

Then immediately he replied to me, finally it has been approved because of his appeal.Anyways, I didn't try to correct him that it is not because of his appeal, but the quota is now open to all.

My point is there is gross incompetence in the world. The landlord's agent is the most incompetent person. He was totally oblivious that the quota must be checked before the signing of the lease and the worst part is he keeps calling it Indian quota is full rather than calling it NC quota.

Anyways, the thing I like about Singapore is that, the system as a whole is designed so well that even incompetent people can survive. These people have no chance if they move outside this bubble of tiny city.

There you go, the NC(Non citizen) quota opened on Nov 1st for my block and I already see 2 transactions done, after 3 months. The $3300 you see is mine

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 1:16 am

There you go, the NC(Non citizen) quota opened on Nov 1st for my block and I already see 2 transactions done, after 3 months. The $3300 you see is mine

Here is the other source I mentioned, maybe see if it is the same?

https://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BR1 ... Search.jsp

NYY1 wrote: ↑

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 11:47 am

Wd40 wrote: ↑

Sun, 05 Nov 2023 1:16 am

There you go, the NC(Non citizen) quota opened on Nov 1st for my block and I already see 2 transactions done, after 3 months. The $3300 you see is mine

Here is the other source I mentioned, maybe see if it is the same?

https://services2.hdb.gov.sg/webapp/BR1 ... Search.jsp

Yes, my block is there. This is the same source used by the PGuru site as well. I have been using this link and the other link which shows the HDB average rents for the quarter for each neighborhood, to guage the market, since more than a decade now

The NC quota economically discriminates against the non Chineae and the non Chinese need to gang up and sue the govt over it. It causes Indians Malays and others significant price discounts at sale time.