HDB commercial rental is how most heartland businesses get a shopfront in Singapore, from the minimart downstairs to the childcare centre at the void deck. You rent directly from HDB, usually by winning a tender on the Place2Lease portal, and the headline bid is only part of what you pay. As of October 2026, HDB shops their owners list for rent mostly ask S$7.70 to S$24 per square foot a month depending on town and footfall, and a new shop won in a tender launched from 4 March 2026 comes with a 70-90-100 rent ramp over the first three years. This guide breaks down the real numbers: how rent is set, what you pay on the day you sign, the recurring charges, and where first-time tenants overpay.
HDB owns thousands of commercial units sitting under and beside its flats, and nearly 80% of Singapore's resident population lives in those estates. That captive footfall is the whole appeal of a heartland unit, and it is why a void-deck shop in a mature town can out-earn a fancier address in a quiet office park.
The units are not all the same animal. Rent terms, the tender method, and even who is allowed to bid change depending on the trade. Before you look at a single listing, know which bucket your unit falls into.
Most available HDB commercial units are listed on HDB's Place2Lease portal, where you search, view and bid. You log in with Singpass, browse by town and trade, and submit a sealed bid before the closing date. A smaller pool is let through sealed envelope tenders or HDB's appointed marketing agents instead, and units in HDB shopping and office complexes go through each complex's managing agent.
How the winner is chosen depends on the unit. Most general shops go to the highest valid bid. Eating houses and supermarkets use the Price-Quality Method (PQM), where HDB scores your tendered rent alongside your business concept, productivity plans, healthier-food commitments and track record. A deep-pocketed bid does not automatically win a PQM lot, which is the policy lever HDB uses to keep cooked food affordable.
Competition is real. Sought-after trades such as hair salons, enrichment centres, plant shops, laundromats and clinics regularly draw multiple bidders, and HDB's published lists of tenders received show how far apart bids on one unit can be. HDB also holds a winner to the tendered rent for up to six years, so bid what the business can carry.
There is no single rate. Rent is set by what tenants are willing to bid for that specific unit, in that specific block, so location and footfall swing the number hard. HDB shops listed for rent on SRX as of October 2026 span a wide band: a 700 sqft unit on Yishun Street 72 asks about S$7.70 per square foot a month, a small unit in Toa Payoh Central S$20, and a ground-floor unit at Jurong Gateway about S$24. A prime 500 sqft unit on Haig Road asks S$41. Larger units command big monthly cheques even at modest psf rates.
The figures below are asking rents on SRX listings as of October 2026, shown to illustrate the spread rather than as a fixed price list. These are shops HDB sold to private owners, who let them out on the open market. A unit you rent from HDB itself is priced by your tender, so your own number depends entirely on the unit and the bid.
| Location | Floor area | Monthly asking rent | Approx. psf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yishun Street 72 | 700 sqft | S$5,400 | S$7.71 |
| Jalan Bukit Merah (Brickworks) | 630 sqft | S$5,500 | S$8.73 |
| Marine Terrace | 700 sqft | S$10,000 | S$14.29 |
| Toa Payoh Central | 350 sqft | S$6,999 | S$20.00 |
| Jurong Gateway Road, ground floor | 370 sqft | S$8,999 | S$24.32 |
| Haig Road | 500 sqft | S$20,500 | S$41.00 |
For each tender, HDB posts the list of tenders received and the final results on its Shops and Offices for Rent page, so you can see what other bidders offered for units like yours. Use that to set your own ceiling. The biggest first-timer mistake is anchoring on a competitor's rumoured rent instead of real bids plus your own cash-flow math.
Update, 13 October 2026: HDB has cut the first-year rent on newly built shops to 70% of the tendered rent, down from the 80% this guide gave, for tenders and e-bidding launched from 4 March 2026. For those shops you pay 70% of your tendered rent in year one, 90% in year two, and the full 100% from year three. Shops won in earlier tenders were on the older 80-90-100 ramp. HDB has also stretched the rent-free period for shops in new BTO projects to up to six months, if the shop starts trading within six months of the shops getting their Temporary Occupation Permit. Both are Pro-Business measures to give new shops breathing room while the estate fills up, and they change your first-year cash flow a lot.
Worked example: win a newly built unit at a tendered rent of S$5,000 a month and you pay S$3,500 in year one, S$4,500 in year two, then S$5,000 from year three. That is S$24,000 less cash out over the first two years than the headline rent implies, money that funds fit-out and stock while you find your feet.
Renewal is a different story. You can renew for a one, two or three-year term, but HDB makes tender winners keep paying the tendered rent for two tenancy terms, up to six years, so the staggered discount is the only break you get on your bid. When a renewal raises your rent by more than 10%, HDB phases the increase in over the renewal term, and you can pick a shorter term if you expect market rents to fall. Build a renewal buffer into your business plan rather than assuming the introductory rate sticks.
Winning the tender is the start, not the finish. Before you get the keys you settle an upfront bundle, then move to monthly GIRO. Budget for all of it in your opening cash plan, because the deposit and stamp duty alone can equal a month or two of rent.
You bid as a business entity, not as an individual hobbyist, and HDB checks that the entity is real and properly constituted before issuing the Letter of Acceptance, which typically arrives around two weeks after the tender result is published. The exact paperwork depends on your structure. Many first-time tenants start by formalising a side hustle, and the same logic that applies when you start a home-based business applies here: register the entity first, then bid.
A heartland shop lives or dies on the gap between rent and gross margin, so treat the bid as a financing decision, not an ego contest. The escalating rent is the trap: a new unit that is comfortable at the year-one 70% rate can squeeze you once it hits 100%, and again at a later renewal. Stress-test your model against the full rent, not the introductory figure.
There is no fixed rate. A unit HDB lets itself is priced by your tender, so check HDB's final results for recent tenders in the same area before you bid. For a sense of the market, HDB shops that private owners listed for rent on SRX as of October 2026 mostly ask S$7.70 to S$24 per square foot a month, and a prime unit can ask S$41, so monthly cheques vary widely with unit size, town and footfall.
For newly constructed shops let through tenders or e-bidding launched from 4 March 2026, HDB charges 70% of your tendered rent in the first year, 90% in the second, and the full 100% from the third year. Shops won in earlier tenders were on an 80-90-100 ramp. It is a Pro-Business relief measure that eases cash flow while a new shop builds its customer base.
You can renew for a one, two or three-year term. A tender winner must keep paying the tendered rent for two tenancy terms, up to six years, and the staggered rate does not carry over. If a renewal raises your rent by more than 10%, HDB phases the increase in over the new term. Always budget for a renewal increase in a strong market.
You bid as a registered business entity, not as a private individual. That can be a sole proprietorship, a partnership or a private limited company, each with its own document checklist. You register the entity with ACRA first, then submit your tender through the Place2Lease portal using Singpass.
Before collecting keys you settle one month's rent including GST, one month's deposit (cash or a banker's or insurance guarantee), stamp duty on the lease, and the first month's service and conservancy charges including GST. The tender deposit is paid electronically before the tender closes.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change, so verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.
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