Why More Singaporean Homeowners Are Renting Out Their Homes (Even When They Could Sell For A Profit)

The blunt truth is, most Singaporeans are not enticed by the idea of renting out their home. Some are intentional, dedicated landlords for sure – but for the majority, the thought of chasing rental income, dealing with tenants, having strangers in the home, etc., is outside their comfort zone. And yet, there are some homeowners who have backed out of their original intent to sell, and instead started renting out rooms or the property. This week, we spoke to some about their stories and intentions:

1. Alternative living arrangement allows for rental income instead of selling

JT owns a flat around Tampines Central, which could fetch about $780,000 if sold today (according to a property agent he spoke to). Combined with his wife’s savings, this would suffice to upgrade to a private condo without too many hurdles. 

This was in fact the couple’s plan back in 2022, but an unexpected change happened:

“My wife’s grandfather passed away unexpectedly, so her grandmother was left alone. But her grandma has asthma and has trouble walking, so it’s not really safe for her to stay in such a big house alone.”

The grandmother lives in a two-storey landed home, within the Lucky Heights estate. As it so happens, this is also closer to Temasek Polytechnic, which also makes the location convenient for JT’s son. 

JT says the property still belongs to his wife’s grandmother. However, the grandmother now stays with JT’s in-laws, who are just a few bus stops away in Bedok South. In the meantime, JT and his family have moved into the house and are helping with the upkeep.

“Since now we have a bigger place to stay, and the location is also good, we decided against buying a condo for now. Instead, we rent out the old flat, and we’ll see how things play out.” 

JT says his wife isn’t entirely sold on the arrangement though: one fear is that the couple’s Tampines flat is ageing (around 36 years old this year), and JT acknowledges that it may be time to sell before further lease decay sets in. However, their current arrangement is comfortable, and also generates rental income to widen their possibilities later.

2. Avoiding getting a large sum all at once, for controlled spending

Speaking on a strict condition of anonymity, our next reader, who only calls themselves Sam, was originally tasked to sell their parents’ flat. However, Sam instead persuaded their parents to rent out the flat for a continuous stream of rental income instead. This was on the basis that the flat was very old, and wouldn’t sell for a lot anyway.

(This is not entirely false as the flat is close to 40 years old, but it is a half-truth as the flat has appreciated substantially.) 

In reality, Sam wants to avoid a large sum falling into his father’s hands all at once, as his father is not good with managing finances. They say that a trail of failed businesses, over the past years, left their father unable to even pay the mortgage, and it mostly fell to their money and the siblings to keep the flat paid for. 

At present, the family lives in a flat owned by Sam’s grandparents. 

Based on conversations with realtors, Sam estimates that “several hundred thousand” would still remain from the sale proceeds, even after the CPF refund; and this has the potential to be misused. As such, the plan is to have their parents live off the rental income, instead of liquidating it entirely. 

It’s also worth noting that Sam’s father hasn’t actually made mortgage repayments in many years, despite being a co-owner, so it’s partly an issue of fairness as well.

3. From almost buying a bigger flat, to just renting out a room

YJ currently resides in a three-room flat, which he moved into after separating from his wife a decade ago. He currently co-owns a small business, and has contemplated moving into a larger flat as he now has the means to do so. 

However, he reconsidered his decision last year, when he and his business partners decided to go “cross-border” and expand the business into other parts of Southeast Asia. He says:

“Two things I had to consider: one, I may end up having to go overseas, likely to Vietnam, for a prolonged period. Maybe a few months, maybe a year. Second issue, it’s a risky venture, and I wouldn’t want to take on bigger expenses at this time.” 

Based on his partner’s recommendation, YJ found a tenant for a room in his current flat; and he has plans to rent out the whole flat if he decides to go abroad. This is helped by the fact that he can stay with his parents or brother for a few months when he’s in Singapore. 

He says that so far, having a tenant hasn’t been disruptive at all: “I also come back late, and spend most of my time at work. We both have a very live-and-let-live attitude, so there’s no problem so far.”

YJ also says that the rental income, whilst not substantial, is enough to cover day-to-day necessities like grocery shopping, given his single lifestyle. 

4. There was nothing to buy 

KC’s problem will resonate with many other buyers in 2025. She owns a fairly new compact two-bedder (1+1 Study unit) in the city fringe. As KC and her boyfriend intend to marry soon, the couple are looking for a larger matrimonial home – and KC’s first step is to sell her existing unit. However, she quickly ran into problems:

“Everything went up after COVID, as you know, so everything in our range now is too small. I’m not really convinced a good layout makes up for the lack of more square feet, all the ones I’ve seen are so cramped – some cannot even fit in a proper sized bed in the other bedrooms. 

When I bought my first place, they said 1+1 is very big for a single, but my place is already barely able to contain my things, so there’s no way two of us plus our children in future are going to survive in a two-bedroom or small three-bedroom.” 

Another problem was that her boyfriend may soon be reassigned; this will affect his work location, and possibly his income. Because of this, they’ve decided to hold off on any decision to buy. Instead, KC has moved in with her boyfriend for the time being. And rather than just leave her place vacant, she’s engaged the help of a relative, who happens to be a realtor, to rent it out.

KC still doesn’t want to sell it for now, as she feels it’s prudent to still have her own place in case anything goes wrong; at least until she’s finally married. While she hasn’t yet taken on her first tenant, there have already been inquiries. 

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