If you’re looking for a HDB flat to rent in Singapore, you basically have two choices:
1. Rent a HDB flat directly from the Housing & Development Board (HDB) or
2. Rent a HDB flat from the open market.
For the first option, there are some eligibility conditions applicants must meet in order to rent a flat directly from HDB. First, the applicant must be a Singapore citizen, total household gross income must not exceed $1,500 per month. Secondly, the applicant must have a proper family nucleus. Additionally, the applicant must not own or have an interest in another property, whether HDB or private.
With all these strict conditions in place, it’s no wonder that most people looking to rent a HDB flat have to choose option 2 instead. There are no restrictions on who can rent a hdb flat on the open market so long as the landlord is willing to lease the unit to you. If you are a Singapore permanent resident or professional on an employment pass, this is the only viable option left to you.
To find a HDB flat in the open market, most people search the classifieds section in the local Singapore newspapers. This is an effective way to locate a HDB rental unit in the district of Singapore that you are after. Popular districts include Bishan (district 20) and Tiong Bahru (district 3) which are near the city, SouthWest (district 5) which is near NUS and Holland Village and Pasir Ris / Tampines (district 17/18) which near Changi Airport.
Another very popular way to find rental flats is to use online property portals. Here, real estate agents post classified ads of units they have available for rent. The problem is that because there are many such portals available, you may have to search many sites in order to find the unit that best matches your requirement and budget.