For private homes, from this week, landlords can rent out to no more than six unrelated persons. If there are six related people living in the residence, no tenants are allowed. The move reduces the occupancy cap from eight previously.

Existing tenancy agreements with seven or eight tenants will be allowed to run their course until May 15, 2019, but after that, the rules will kick in regardless of the contract's expiration date, said the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) in a letter last Thursday to registered property agents.

For HDB flats, the maximum sub-tenants allowed for a three-room unit and a four-room or bigger unit remain unchanged, at six and nine respectively. 

Some residents and property watchers The Straits Times spoke to welcomed the rule change, saying it will reduce disruption and noise caused by overcrowded units. PropNex Realty chief executive officer Ismail Gafoor said: "Private properties are meant to be exclusive, with owners of the development having the quiet enjoyment of the facilities and lifestyle. In order to maintain this exclusivity, the cap of six tenants is reasonable." However, landlords such as Mr Peter Chiado not agree. The retiree, who is in his 60s, relies on rental income from his four-bedroom unit in Pacific Mansion in the River Valley area. He lives there with five tenants and hopes to get two more. Mr Chia will have to take down his advertisement if he is unable to rent out the empty bedroom in his 1,500 sq ft apartment by Monday. This is a loss of $900 to $1,200 in potential monthly rent, he said.

The new rule will also affect home-sharing such as Airbnb. The URA is studying the option of creating a new category of private homes that will allow short-term rentals. An occupancy cap of six means that future home-sharing hosts will not be able to lease out an apartment to, say, two large families, said International Property Advisor CEO Ku Swee Yong. 

 

Adapted from The Straits Times.