List every payment a tenancy agreement commits you to.
A tenancy agreement asks you to pay for more than the rent, and some of that money leaves your account before you have the keys. Before you sign, go through the agreement and list each payment with its amount, its due date and the person responsible for paying it.
Take Ravi, a 30-year-old engineer who came to Singapore on an Employment Pass two years ago (an example character). He and his wife, Meera, liked a two-bedroom condo unit in Clementi. That evening the agent sent across a tenancy agreement for them to sign and mentioned that another couple was also interested. The agreement ran to eleven pages. Ravi checked the rent and the address on the first page and was about to sign. Meera wanted to know the total they would hand over before moving in, and neither of them could answer without going back through all eleven pages.
The money terms are usually in the first few pages. Look for four of them: the rent, the security deposit, the payment date and the terms for paying late.
Start with the monthly rent and check what that figure covers. A few agreements include furniture, maintenance fees or utilities in the rent, but many leave those out.
The security deposit is money you hand over at the start of the tenancy. Your landlord keeps it until the tenancy finishes and then gives it back, minus anything owed for unpaid rent or damage. It is usually set as a multiple of the monthly rent. Lesson 7.3 explains how to get it back at the end.
Next, find the day of each month when rent is due and how the landlord wants it paid, for example by GIRO or bank transfer.
Read the late payment clause slowly. Many agreements charge interest on overdue rent at a rate written into the agreement, and some let the landlord end the tenancy once rent is overdue past a certain point. Under terms like these, one forgotten transfer can turn into a much bigger problem than the missed payment itself.
In Ravi and Meera's agreement (figures used as an example), the rent was S$4,200 a month on a two-year lease. The deposit was two months' rent, S$8,400, and the first month's rent of S$4,200 was due on signing. S$4,200 plus S$8,400 comes to S$12,600 due before they moved in, plus anything else the agreement required. After that, each month's rent was due by bank transfer by the first of the month.
Singapore charges stamp duty on tenancy agreements. IRAS collects it, and the amount is worked out from the rent in the agreement or the market rent, whichever is higher, at the lease duty rates. Most agreements say who pays it. Tenants often end up paying, but check the wording in your own agreement before you assume that.
The duty has to be paid within a set time after you sign, and IRAS charges penalties if you pay late. Its website has a stamp duty calculator for leases and lists the current rates and the deadline. Put your figures into the calculator before signing so you know the amount in advance, and write down the deadline. Once the duty is paid, file the stamp certificate together with the agreement.
If agents are part of the deal, someone has to pay their commission. Who pays it, how much and when all depend on what the agents and the parties have agreed. You may not find any of this in the tenancy agreement, because it often sits in a separate letter or agreement with your own agent.
Ask the agent directly: who is paying commission, to which agent, how much, and when it is due. Get the answer in writing. If you appointed your own agent, reread the document you signed with them. If you appointed nobody, check whether anyone is expecting commission from you at all.
Also look for a clause that makes you repay part of the landlord's commission if you end the lease early. Lesson 7.2, The diplomatic clause and leaving early, explains why this matters if you leave before the lease ends.
Ravi and Meera had no agent of their own. The landlord's agent confirmed in writing that the landlord was paying his commission and that the couple owed nothing.
HDB flats come with additional rules. HDB decides who can rent out a flat, the minimum rental period, the maximum number of occupants and the approvals the owner needs before renting it out. Tenants have obligations of their own too, such as being eligible to rent. HDB changes these rules from time to time, so read the current version on HDB's website before you sign. A tenancy that breaks the rules can cause problems for both the owner and the tenant, and you could have to move out at short notice.
All of these checks go into one short list: each payment, its amount, when it is due and who pays it. Write the list while the agreement is still unsigned. Ravi and Meera's list was:
First month's rent of S$4,200, due on signing, paid by them Deposit of S$8,400, due on signing, paid by them Stamp duty, amount from IRAS's calculator, paid by them within IRAS's deadline Commission, nothing from them, confirmed in writing Monthly rent of S$4,200 by bank transfer by the first of each month, with late interest at the rate in the agreement
They also wrote down the costs they would be responsible for during the lease, such as minor repairs and aircon servicing, which Lesson 7.3 covers. Once the list was done, they asked the agent for one more day to read the rest of the agreement, and he agreed.
Now open a tenancy agreement you hold or are reviewing and keep it beside you. Go through it page by page for every amount and every date, and write down each payment with its amount, its due date and who pays.
Take a tenancy agreement you hold or are reviewing and list every payment in it, with the amount, the due date and who pays.
Junxiong-WFG Organisation is an authorised representative of AIA Financial Advisers Private Limited (Reg. No. 201715016G).