Singapore government insists short-term rental is illegal Subletting properties shouldn't be less than 6 months.
According to a report by the Straits Times, Singapore Housing Development Board says short term rental is illegal in Singapore.
About a year ago, the short term rental industry in Singapore was just starting to pick up. Industry players such as Airbnb, Roomorama, and travelmob saw great responses from travellers and home rentals alike.
More and more homeowners started to embrace the idea of short term renting to travellers looking for cheaper alternatives than hotels. For them, not only does subletting their properties or rooms out brings them extra income, they might meet new friends along the way as well.
While these rental websites have democratized the marketplace, allowing home owners to reap its benefits, the Singapore Housing Development Board and the Jurong Town Council has warned that it is illegal to sublet properties for a period less than six months. They cited the reason that ‘transient occupiers’ may disturb and inconvenience other residents.
That was in May 2012. Fast forward to today, with the maturation of the short term rental industry, we would expect the law to catch up with this trend. Global leaders in the hospitality space have also embraced this trend, with the latest evidence being the acquisition of travelmob by US publicly listed HomeAway.
Read also: HomeAway acquires Singapore based travelmob, expands to Asia Pacific
Except that it has not caught up in Singapore.
According to a report by the Straits Times, The Housing Board, has stepped up enforcement on what it called “transient subletting”. Here is what they announced:
“But this [short-term home rentals] is illegal here, the authorities have warned home owners. Renting out a room or a whole unit short-term is in breach of private and public housing rules, and owners can face tough penalties if they are caught doing so.”
Homeowners can be fined up to S$200,000 (US$157,000) or jailed for up to 12 months if they are convicted.
However, if the stays do not involve money, the owners are not breaching the rules. This includes residents who occasionally allow relatives or friends to stay over, as are those hosting friends via websites like Couchsurfing.
There is a catch though, the law requires that residents must ensure that they do not trouble their neighbours.
Last year, The Housing Board received 20 complaints from the public on short-term leasing. This year, in the first seven months, it had another 11 cases. In total, HDB investigated 106 cases last year, and this year, 73 cases up to July. In terms of unauthorized private home use (including short term stays), last year, there were about 1,800 cases in Singapore, and about 980 cases in just the first seven months of this year alone.
Singapore has always been known for having strict laws, and after more than 40 years of law enforcement, we have been known to be law abiding citizens. There is also a joke about Singapore, where if two Singaporean men and a lady were stranded on a desert island, they would wait for instructions from the government on how to proceed.
With such strict laws and a law abiding culture in Singapore, will the law trump the attempt of short term rental sites to disrupt the home renting vertical? Who knew that sharing could be so complicated, and even illegal in Singapore?　
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