Yes, you can rent your condo to a co-living operator in Singapore, and you do not need anyone's approval to sign the master lease. What you do need is for the operator to run the unit inside URA's rules: every occupant stays at least three consecutive months, no more than six unrelated people live there (eight for units of 90 sqm or more that are registered with URA, until 31 December 2028), and no partition turns the flat into separate sub-units. If the operator breaks them, URA holds the owner responsible too. The money question is less obvious. A fixed master lease trades some rent for no vacancy risk, while a revenue split only beats a normal tenancy when room rents and occupancy hold up. This guide covers both from the owner's side.
URA treats co-living as a marketing label with no planning category of its own. It says so plainly in its note on co-living spaces, published on 2 March 2021: an operator can run co-living out of a residential unit, a serviced apartment or a hotel, and the rules of whichever use applies are the rules it follows. For a condo owner, that means your unit stays a residential unit with residential rules, no matter how the operator brands it.
Most owner deals come in one of two shapes. In a master lease, the operator signs a tenancy for the whole unit at a fixed monthly rent, then lets each bedroom to its own members under separate agreements. Cove, one of the operators that takes on individual condos, describes this on its landlord page as a lease and sublease model with guaranteed income. In a revenue share, the operator manages and markets the rooms but passes you a percentage of what it collects, so your income moves with occupancy.
There is a third, rarer version where the operator only manages the property for a fee and you remain the landlord to every member. That puts you back in the position of a room-by-room landlord, with all the paperwork, so this guide focuses on the first two.
| Arrangement | Who the members sign with | Your income | Who carries vacancy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed master lease | The operator | Fixed monthly rent | The operator |
| Revenue share | The operator | A share of room rent collected | Mostly you |
| Management contract | You | Room rents minus a management fee | You |
URA does not require a private condo owner to apply for permission before renting out, whether that is to one family or to a company that sublets. Its renting page sets out three conditions instead, and they apply to every occupant. The operator's members count. The page also says the occupancy cap applies to tenants who sublet and that you, as the owner, must ensure your tenants follow the rules.
Every occupant must stay at least three consecutive months. Anything shorter counts as short-term accommodation, which URA bans in all private homes, condos included. An operator that quietly runs weekly or monthly stays out of your unit is breaking the Planning Act at your address. URA states that anyone found guilty faces a fine of up to $5,000 at the minimum, and that repeat or multi-property offenders are taken to court, where fines have been much heavier. It also says owners who fail to guard their property against misuse will be held responsible.
Units under 90 sqm can house at most six unrelated persons. Domestic helpers count as part of the family unit. On 16 January 2026, HDB and URA extended a temporary relaxation that lets private homes of at least 90 sqm house up to eight unrelated persons until 31 December 2028.
The relaxation is not automatic. You, the owner, must register the unit on URA's website with Singpass or Corppass and pay a $20 fee, and the authorisation is only valid once URA emails a confirmation. If you sign a co-living lease that runs past 2028, write in that the cap drops back to six from 1 January 2029 unless the policy is extended again. URA's FAQ says the old cap applies with immediate effect when the relaxation ends, and owners and tenants can both be held liable.
URA's co-living table for residential use repeats the three-month stay and the six-person limit, adds a minimum size of 35 sqm per unit, and requires the operation to comply with the condo's by-laws. A typical one-bedroom shoebox under 35 sqm is therefore a poor fit for this model even before the economics.
This is where most owner disputes start, because an operator earns more from more rooms. The planning rule is narrow. URA's guidance for strata-titled homes says internal partitions are exempt from planning permission only if the unit still works as a single self-sufficient flat with shared living space and a kitchen. Partitions that create new sub-units inside the original unit are not exempt. Turning the living room into a fourth bedroom with a lockable door and leaving no common area is the kind of layout that crosses that line.
Fire safety is a separate test. Plans for fire safety works need SCDF approval under the Fire Safety Act, and SCDF's Fire Code sets the standards for materials and escape routes. In practice, ask the operator for the contractor's details and the materials used for any partition, and make sure no new wall blocks the route from a bedroom to the main door. If a fire starts in a room that was never meant to exist, your insurer will ask questions too.
The MCST cannot stop you leasing. In June 2026 the Building and Construction Authority said publicly that condo by-laws cannot restrict an owner's right to transfer, lease, mortgage or otherwise deal with a unit, after a Geylang condo passed by-laws limiting who could live in its units. What the MCST can do is enforce by-laws on common property and renovation hours. Some developments ask owners to register tenants. Read your condo's by-laws before signing and attach them to the master lease so the operator is bound by them.
There is no published benchmark for co-living rents, so the figures below are illustrative assumptions for a three-bedroom condo of about 95 sqm. Swap in the offers you receive. What matters is how each deal moves when the inputs move.
Assume a single family would pay $5,000 a month for the whole unit. With a direct tenant, you usually pay an agent about one month's rent per two-year lease and lose roughly a month between tenants, which together cost about $417 a month when spread over 24 months. An operator offering a fixed master lease will typically pay less than open-market rent, because it is taking the vacancy, furnishing and management risk, so the table assumes $4,600 with no agent fee. The revenue share assumes three rooms that let for $6,000 a month in total when full, 90 percent average occupancy, and an 80 percent share to you.
| Line | Direct tenant | Fixed master lease | Revenue share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headline rent or room income | $5,000 | $4,600 | $6,000 if full |
| Vacancy allowance | -$208 | $0 | -$600 at 90% occupancy |
| Agent fee spread monthly | -$208 | $0 | $0 |
| Operator share | $0 | $0 | -$1,080 (20%) |
| What reaches you | $4,584 | $4,600 | $4,320 |
| Who handles tenants and repairs | You | Operator | Operator |
On these numbers the fixed master lease edges out a direct tenant and the revenue share trails both. Change the assumptions and the order changes. If the three rooms fetch $7,000 and stay 95 percent full, the revenue share pays you about $5,320. If occupancy slips to 75 percent, it pays about $3,600. A fixed master lease is a bet that the operator stays solvent. A revenue share is a bet on the room market. A direct tenant is a bet on your own time.
Wear and tear also differs. Five or six adults rotating every few months use a kitchen harder than one family. Ask who pays to repaint, replace mattresses and fix appliances, and whether that comes out of your share.
Rental income is taxed as part of your personal income at your marginal rate. You declare the gross rent and claim expenses in one of two ways. IRAS lets you take deemed expenses of 15 percent of gross rent, plus the mortgage interest on the loan for the rented property, without keeping receipts for the other costs. Or you claim actual expenses such as property tax and repairs, and keep records for at least five years. The deemed claim is not available if the income comes through a partnership or a trust, or if you are carrying on a trade or business of renting out properties.
Using the master lease figures above, 12 months at $4,600 is $55,200 of gross rent. The 15 percent deemed claim knocks off $8,280. If you also paid $12,000 of mortgage interest that year, $34,920 is added to your other income. Our income tax calculator will show what that does to your bill.
Since Year of Assessment 2022, agent commission, advertising, legal costs and stamp duty incurred to get or renew a tenant are allowable if you claim actual expenses, for leases of up to three years. A long master lease of more than three years falls outside that rule, which is worth knowing before you agree a five-year term.
If you lived in the condo before, you lose the owner-occupier rates once it is rented out. Non-owner-occupied homes pay 12 percent on the first $30,000 of annual value, 20 percent on the next $15,000, 28 percent on the next $15,000 and 36 percent above $60,000. A unit with an annual value of $48,000 would pay $7,440 a year. Partitioning and co-living do not change the formula, but IRAS bases annual value on the rent the property could fetch, so a much higher rent can lead to a higher assessment. Our guide to how annual value is set explains the mechanics.
The master lease is a lease, so it attracts lease duty. When the average annual rent is above $1,000 and the term is four years or less, duty is 0.4 percent of the total rent for the period. A two-year lease at $4,600 a month totals $110,400, so the duty is $441 after rounding down. Who pays is a matter for the contract. In ordinary residential tenancies the tenant pays, and most operators accept that, but check the clause. Each room agreement the operator signs with its members is the operator's own stamping obligation. The stamp duty calculator covers the purchase side if you are still deciding whether to buy a unit for this purpose.
On insurance, the MCST's master fire policy insures the building structure. Your contents and your liability inside the unit sit outside it. Ask the operator to carry public liability cover that names you, and keep your own home policy for fixtures and anything you leave behind. Tell your insurer the unit is let to a company with multiple occupants. A policy written for a single family tenancy may not respond to a claim from a partitioned co-living unit. Our comparison of home insurance for private properties lists what each plan covers.
If you have a home loan, read the letter of offer. Some banks require notice or consent before the property is let, and a bank may view an operator subletting by the room differently from a family tenancy.
A co-living master lease suits an owner who has a 90 sqm or larger unit with three or more bedrooms, lives overseas or simply does not want to manage tenants, and values steady rent over the top possible figure. It also suits a unit that has sat empty, because the operator carries the next vacancy.
It does not suit a small unit, an owner whose condo has strict renovation by-laws, or anyone who would lose sleep over six strangers using their kitchen. If you are on the other side of the deal and looking for a room, our guide to renting in Singapore covers prices, deposits and tenant rights.
This article is general information based on URA, IRAS and other official guidance as at October 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Get the master lease reviewed by a lawyer before you sign.
No. URA does not require approval to rent out a private home. You must make sure every occupant stays at least three consecutive months and the unit stays within the occupancy cap. Registration is only needed if you want the higher cap of eight for a unit of 90 sqm or more.
No. BCA said in June 2026 that condo by-laws cannot restrict an owner's right to lease a unit. The MCST can still enforce its by-laws on common property and renovations. Some condos also ask owners to register tenants.
Only within limits. URA exempts internal partitions from planning permission if the unit still works as one self-sufficient flat with shared living space and a kitchen. Partitions that create new sub-units need planning permission, and the occupancy cap still applies however many rooms there are.
Generally yes, if you are an individual earning passive rent from one tenant, the operator. IRAS lets you claim 15 percent of gross rent plus mortgage interest. It is not allowed if the income comes through a partnership or trust, or if you are running a business of renting properties.
URA says the relaxation ends on 31 December 2028 unless extended, and the cap reverts to six unrelated persons with immediate effect. A lease that runs past that date should say how the operator will cut occupancy to six.
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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