Singapore Expats

I am moving to Sing. this summer. We are looking for housing on-line. I'd like to have a live in maid. How do I know if a condo/apt. has a living space for the maid (it is never specified)?

You mean you don't plan to give her a bedroom? I think a maids living space is like anybody elses, it's commonly called a bedroom. If you need a 3 bedroom condo but want a maid then rent a 4 bedroom condo. Unless, that is, you plan on her sleeping with your kids. Or do you plan on her sleeping on the kitchen floor (it's been done quite often here) or on the porch or in the storeroom (in the case of newer HDB flats with the bombshelter fortified Storerooms)

Or........

Are you thinking of a separate studio apt built into the flat complete with kitchenette & toilet? The only place you will find something like that is in the Old Black & Whites built pre-war. These are not condo's but huge colonial houses with large compounds and even larger price tags. (somewhere around 5 digits/mo.)

Most condos and houses, but not all, will have a room and bathroom off the utility/laundry landing or kitchen area which is intended for use as the maid's accommodation. Some are reasonable single bedrooms, others are airless cupboards I would only use as an extra storeroom. They are often the "+1" you will see in some property descriptions eg "apt 4 + 1". It's up to you what you would be comfortable using as a maid's room. Ours is fine and we and our maid like a bit of separate space. She can watch telly or sing and play her guitar without worrying she's disturbing us and we have our own family space and privacy outside working time.

Yes, as pointed out above it's normally the +1 that is the maids room, but the size and quality can vary greatly.

Ours is a plus one, but is a really good size and has full bathroom facilities with it. On the other hand some literally don't even have room for a normal single bed never mind anything else, and if lucky a louvre window at one end. You really have to see them to work out what is workable.