need 1BR apartment for a few months from Dec

mrsjulia · Post by **mrsjulia** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 3:08 pm

Hi Friends,

I will be flying to Singapore in December for work opportunity and need a 1bdr unit to stay for a few months , prefer with kitchen facility and gym..Any recommendation as it is really too little option for short term rental in Singapore.Please Help!

God Bless.

Fortan · Post by **Fortan** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 3:19 pm

mrsjulia wrote:Hi Friends,

I will be flying to Singapore in December for work opportunity and need a 1bdr unit to stay for a few months , prefer with kitchen facility and gym..Any recommendation as it is really too little option for short term rental in Singapore.Please Help!

God Bless.

My first stop would be www.airbnb.com

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 5:33 pm

Please note that short-term rentals of residential property like those on AirBnB are technically illegal in Singapore, so you have no recourse in case things go wrong.
Legally, you are limited to hotels, hostels and Serviced Apartments for any stay below 6 months and/or without residence visa (I trust you'll have an EP, which is a residence visa, as otherwise your work will be illegal, too).

mrsjulia · Post by **mrsjulia** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 5:36 pm

I saw a lot of bad testimonials from some expats regarding the deposit which is not secured when booking with airbnb.
How about others?

mrsjulia · Post by **mrsjulia** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 5:40 pm

Oh yes, I will be on EP..
Hotels seems to be very expensive and not comfortable as I prefer to cook my own food. And Service Apartment is out of my budget..what is self catering apartment? like the one advertised in this website: LMB Housing or something?

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Tue, 26 Nov 2013 6:14 pm

This company (LMB Housing) seems legitimate in offering Serviced Apartments. But at S$5000 - 7500/month, they cost more than a budget hotel room (which start at S$60/night and tend to be in more convenient locations).
(Please note that in Singapore, food at the ubiquitous hawker centres is resonable quality and actually cheaper than cooking yourself, so you may not need a kitchen.)

Ionian · Post by **Ionian** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 9:12 am

Hi There Mrsjulia,

How long will you be here in Sunny Singapore? Just to let you know, there has been a series of news articles regarding short term leases (which is considered illegal), and the minimun commitment for any lease (barring any unfortunate exigencies) is 6 months.

That's a big no-no.

-Moderator

Fortan · Post by **Fortan** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 10:39 am

So are you saying that everyone who rents out through Airbnb are breaking the law?

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 3:51 pm

Fortan wrote:So are you saying that everyone who rents out through Airbnb are breaking the law?

Yes!

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 4:27 pm

Most definitely illegal....

http://www...sg/articles-prope ... s/a/135931

http://e27.co/a-year-in-and-short-term- ... singapore/

http://www.asia-travel-notes.com/short- ... -affected/

read 'em and weep.

Fortan · Post by **Fortan** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 4:27 pm

beppi wrote:
Fortan wrote:So are you saying that everyone who rents out through Airbnb are breaking the law?
Yes!

So, if you OWN your condo unit, you can't do with it what you want? You are not allowed to rent it out to tourists? How is that controlled and governed?

beppi · Post by **beppi** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 5:29 pm

Of course you cannot do whatever you want, just because you own a place - you still have to obey the laws of the country around you!
Most probably it's not actively controlled or enforced, but if a neighbour or the condo management complain, you'd get into trouble.

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Thu, 28 Nov 2013 7:54 pm

It would have to be licensed as a commercial rental property using the same licensing probably that a hotel has. For your information, it is illegal in New York City as well.

FaeLLe · Post by **FaeLLe** » Mon, 09 Dec 2013 4:37 pm

As long as you pay IRAS the property tax for a rental property and eStamp all short term leases you should be ok.

One of the bedrooms could even be locked to classify the property as a sublet property.

The only rules I could find on minimum rental period was regarding HDB flats and none of those news sources posted above are credible sources...

Post by **sundaymorningstaple** » Mon, 09 Dec 2013 5:06 pm

I've posted both the HDB and the URA links covering both HDB and Private housing here in Singapore several times and at least 2x in the last 3 months.
It's 6 months minimum rental duration and you must have residency of one type or the other in order to legally rent. e.g., you cannot rent on a SVP, except in a commercial rental property, e.g., hotel.

http://www.ura.gov.sg/uol/buy-property/ ... ntial.aspx

http://www.hdb.gov.sg/fi10/fi10323p.nsf ... enDocument

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