The Order You Pay In: A First-Timer's Rental Checklist for Singapore

Ask ten people who've just moved to Singapore to rent their first place, and the same worry shows up in different words: is this normal, or is this a scam? An agent asks for a "booking deposit" before you've even seen the unit. Someone mentions a Letter of Intent and you've never heard of one. A tenancy agreement clause says you're on the hook for "minor repairs." None of it comes with an obvious way to check.

The useful answer isn't a list of scam patterns to memorise — that list changes every year. It's the actual order of operations, plus the handful of clauses that quietly decide who pays for what during the year (or two) you're living there. Singapore has no residential tenancy act; the written tenancy agreement (TA) does all the legal work once it's signed. Get the order and the clauses right, and both sides start the tenancy on the same page — no agent required to understand your own contract.

Save this first: your rental order of operations

Bookmark this table. You will need to come back to it mid-negotiation.

Step	What happens	Read the full section under this heading
1. View	See the unit in person before any money moves	Step 1: View the unit before any money moves
2. Verify	Check the agent on the CEA Public Register (free, ~2 min)	Step 2: Verify the agent — the one CEA rule almost no newcomer knows
3. Letter of Intent (LOI)	Draft/sign the LOI, pay the good-faith deposit — into the right account only	Step 3: How to draft a Letter of Intent
4. Sign the TA	The tenancy agreement is what actually protects both of you	Step 4: Sign the tenancy agreement
5. Pay the balance	Security deposit, advance rent, stamp duty	Step 5: 'Stamp duty' is not the agent charging you a tax
6. Move-in inspection	Joint walkthrough + photos — this is the record both sides rely on later	Step 6: What the move-in inspection period actually does
7. During the tenancy	Know your minor-repair cap and who services what	Step 7: The 'minor repair clause' / Step 7 continued: Who services what
8. Watch for	The aircon "gas top-up" scam	Step 8: The scam that lives inside 'routine servicing'
9. Address registration	Up to three separate obligations can apply — know which are yours	Step 9: Who's responsible for registering your address
10. If it goes wrong	Document everything, resolve directly first — Small Claims Tribunal only as a last resort	Step 10: If it still goes wrong

Step 1: View the unit before any money moves

Never send money, sign anything, or verbally commit to a unit before you've physically viewed it. If you're genuinely overseas and can't view in person, insist on a live video walkthrough with the agent — not a set of pre-recorded photos alone, which can be old, staged, or of a different unit entirely. This protects both sides: an agent or landlord asking for money, or trying to lock in a verbal commitment, before a viewing has happened is skipping a step CEA's own rental scams guidance treats as basic due diligence, and a landlord who insists on a proper viewing first is protecting themselves from the same scam patterns as much as the tenant.

Step 2: Verify the agent — the one CEA rule almost no newcomer knows

Here's the fact that resolves most of the confusion: a CEA-registered property agent in Singapore is not allowed to hold your deposit or your rent in their own personal account — not "to simplify things," not for a single day. Under CEA's rules, client monies (deposits, option fees, rent) must go through the estate agency's own designated client account, or to the landlord directly — never into an individual agent's personal bank account.

So when someone says "just transfer it to my account, it's easier" — that's not a shortcut. That's the actual violation. If you hear that line, stop, and verify the agent on the CEA Public Register before doing anything else. CEA's own rental scams page covers this exact pattern alongside fake listings and impersonated agents — worth a direct read before you commit to a place. This protects the landlord as much as the tenant: an agent mishandling client monies is a compliance failure that puts both parties' money at risk, not a tenant-only concern.

This rule applies to every payment below, including the one most first-timers have never heard of: the Letter of Intent deposit.

Step 3: How to draft a Letter of Intent (most first-timers have never heard of this)

Nobody warns first-time tenants that there's a step before the tenancy agreement. In practice, once you've viewed a unit and want to hold it, the agent (or you, if you're going direct) drafts a Letter of Intent (LOI) — a short, non-legally-binding document that locks in the terms both sides have verbally agreed to, before the lawyers-free paperwork of the actual TA gets drawn up.

Why you need one at all: without an LOI, "verbal agreement" means nothing — a landlord can accept a higher offer from someone else the next day, or a tenant can walk away, and neither side has anything written down. The LOI exists to lock in terms for both parties while the TA is being prepared, and to show good faith with a deposit that has real consequences if either side backs out.

What a proper LOI contains:

• The unit address and the agreed monthly rent
• The lease term (commonly 1 or 2 years) and the proposed commencement date
• The good-faith deposit amount — commonly one month's rent for a 1-year lease, proportionally more for longer terms — and where exactly it is to be paid
• A diplomatic clause, if either party wants one (lets either side terminate early under specific conditions, common when the tenant's employment could relocate them)
• The number of key sets, whether the unit is furnished/unfurnished, and any special conditions (pets, minor renovations, etc.)
• A validity period — typically 7 days — after which the LOI lapses if the TA isn't signed

The part that matters most: the good-faith deposit paid when the LOI is signed is real money, moving before the TA exists. This is legitimate and standard — but the same CEA rule above still applies: it goes to the landlord or the agency's client account, never to an agent's personal account. If the deal proceeds, this deposit is usually credited toward the security deposit at TA signing. If the tenant walks away without a valid reason, they typically forfeit it. If the landlord walks away, they're typically expected to return it, sometimes with compensation — get this written into the LOI itself for both parties' protection, don't assume it.

Plain-language takeaway: an LOI is normal, expected, and the deposit that comes with it is real money moving before there's a signed contract — which is exactly why the "which account is this going to" question from the CEA rule above still applies at this earlier stage, not just at TA signing.

Step 4: Sign the tenancy agreement — this is where real protection starts

Once the LOI's terms are finalised, both parties sign the TA. This is the point Singapore's contract law actually starts protecting the agreement; nothing before this point is enforceable the way a signed TA is. The security deposit (with the LOI deposit credited toward it), advance rent, and stamp duty are settled around this point. CEA itself publishes a checklist and a template Tenancy Agreement for private residential property, built specifically to protect the interests of both landlords and tenants and to work whether or not an agent is involved — neither side needs an agent to get a properly structured TA.

Step 5: "Stamp duty" is not the agent charging you a tax

A related bit of confusion: newcomers sometimes assume the "stamp duty" an agent mentions is something the agent invented, or a fee going into someone's pocket. It isn't. Stamp duty on a tenancy agreement is a real, standing IRAS requirement — a government fee, not a discretionary charge, and it applies whether or not an agent is involved at all.

Worked example, so the number means something: for a lease of four years or less, the rate is 0.4% of the Average Annual Rent (AAR) multiplied by the number of years in the lease — it's not a flat one-off regardless of lease length, and it's due within 14 days of signing.

• Rent: S$2,000/month → S$24,000/year (this is the AAR)
• 1-year lease: 0.4% × S$24,000 × 1 = S$96, due within 14 days of signing
• 2-year lease, same rent: 0.4% × S$24,000 × 2 = S$192 — double the 1-year figure, not the same number

That's the whole calculation: 0.4% of the annual rent, times however many years the lease runs. It's boring on purpose. Boring is what a real government fee looks like; a scam usually isn't boring, it's urgent.

Step 6: What the move-in inspection period actually does (this is the most misunderstood clause in the whole TA)

Most TAs give you a window after move-in — commonly 7 days for the joint condition inspection, and often 30 days as a broader "reporting" window — to flag anything wrong with the unit. Almost every first-time tenant reads this the same, wrong way: "the landlord will fix whatever's broken during this window, so I don't need to worry yet."

That's not what the window is actually for. Its real function is to formally record the unit's condition as the agreed starting point for both sides — a shared reference both the tenant and the landlord can point back to later. For the tenant, it means a scratch, stain, or worn fixture that was already there at move-in can't later be pinned on you at move-out. For the landlord, the same record protects against a genuine dispute over damage that happened during the tenancy being wrongly waved away as "it was already like that." A good record resolves the disagreement in either direction — that's the point. Yes, genuine defects reported in this window are often the landlord's to fix at no cost to the tenant (if the TA says so) — but the bigger value of the window isn't "will they fix it," it's that neither side has to rely on memory or trust alone eight months later.

The fix costs ten minutes on move-in day:

1. Do a joint walkthrough with the landlord or agent at handover — doing it together, not alone, is what makes the record credible to both sides.
2. Photograph everything — floors, walls, ceilings, appliances, fixtures, existing scuffs or stains — with a timestamp, before a single box moves in.
3. Get a signed condition report, or at minimum send the photos to the landlord/agent in writing (email, not just a chat message that can get lost) within the window the TA specifies.
4. Keep that record somewhere it can be found in two years — it matters at move-out, not at move-in.

Plain-language takeaway: the inspection period creates the evidence record both the tenant and the landlord will rely on at move-out. Treat it as documentation for a fair outcome either way, not a to-do list you can defer.

Step 7: The "minor repair clause" — what it actually obligates you to pay

Almost every Singapore TA has a minor repair clause, and it's worth saying plainly: a tenancy agreement is a private treaty between landlord and tenant, not something fixed by statute — Singapore has no residential tenancy act that sets these numbers. What follows is the common allocation seen across typical Singapore TAs, not a legal mandate; your own signed clause is the actual authority, always. In plain language: the tenant typically pays for small fixes themselves, up to a capped amount per incident — the exact cap is negotiable and should be written into the TA, but S$150–S$300 per item is the range typically cited in current 2026 Singapore property-agency and servicing guides (often lower for HDB, higher for private condos). There's no single statutory rule here — the signed clause in the actual TA is what controls.

How it actually works:

• A leaky tap, a jammed lock, a flickering light fitting — if the repair cost is under the cap, the tenant arranges and pays for it.
• If the repair costs more than the cap, the tenant pays up to the cap and the landlord pays the balance — the tenant doesn't eat the full cost, and the landlord isn't left covering routine wear either. Get written agreement before the repair if it looks like it'll exceed the cap.
• The clause does not make the tenant responsible for structural defects, a burst pipe, or fair wear and tear — those stay the landlord's, by design, so the split matches who actually controls the risk. Major system failures like the aircon compressor are the landlord's by default too, conditional on the tenant having kept up any routine servicing the TA requires (see the servicing table below) — a lapsed servicing contract can shift that cost to the tenant instead.
• A landlord-provided appliance (fridge, washing machine, etc.) that breaks down falls under this same cap mechanism, not a separate rule — the tenant's liability is capped at the TA's minor-repair figure, and the landlord covers anything above it.
• The one exception: if the breakdown was caused by tenant negligence, the cap mechanism doesn't apply — the tenant bears the full repair/replacement cost, not just the capped amount.

Plain-language takeaway: small stuff — including a landlord-provided appliance breaking down through ordinary use — is the tenant's to handle and pay for, up to the cap in the TA. Anything structural, major, or beyond the cap is the landlord's, provided servicing obligations were kept up. Knowing your TA's actual cap number keeps that split working the way it's meant to for both of you.

Step 7 continued: Who services what: aircon and appliances

This is a specific, recurring source of tenancy disputes. The table below shows the common allocation seen in typical Singapore TAs — not a fixed rule — designed so each side is only on the hook for what they actually control; your own TA's actual clause always takes priority over this general pattern:

Task	Who's responsible	Notes
Routine aircon servicing (quarterly)	Tenant	Standard TAs require the tenant to keep an active servicing contract with a registered aircon company, at roughly 3-month intervals, for the whole lease
Aircon chemical wash at move-out	Tenant (usually)	Only if the TA says so — commonly required within 7–14 days of handover, with an official invoice as proof
Aircon compressor failure / gas leak / full breakdown	Landlord (conditional)	Landlord pays by default, provided the tenant kept up the TA-required routine servicing (see the row above) — if the tenant let the servicing contract lapse with no receipts to show, the landlord can reasonably treat the breakdown as the tenant's negligence instead (source)
Appliance routine cleaning/upkeep	Tenant	Day-to-day use and care
Appliance breakdown (fridge, washing machine, etc.) not caused by tenant negligence	Governed by the minor-repair cap above	Same mechanic as Step 7: the tenant pays up to the TA's minor-repair cap and the landlord covers the balance above it — not a separate rule. Unless the breakdown was caused by tenant negligence, in which case the tenant bears the full cost.

Keep every receipt. Tenants are contractually expected to retain aircon servicing invoices — a landlord or agent has the right to ask for them at renewal or move-out, and "I forgot" doesn't help either side resolve a dispute if one comes up.

The actual TA is the final word on this table — some shift more onto the tenant, some less. Read the servicing clause rather than assuming the general practice above is automatically what was signed.

Step 8: The scam that lives inside "routine servicing": a fabricated gas leak

Here's a specific pattern worth knowing before booking a first quarterly aircon service, especially when the contractor comes from an unvetted listing or a random flyer rather than a landlord- or agency-recommended one: some dishonest technicians will claim a chemical wash is "overdue" when it isn't, and — worse — a documented version of this scam has a technician create or worsen a small leak during their own visit (reported cases describe a loosened valve or fitting), so the unit needs "topping up" a few days later. The tenant calls them back (or a "helpful" recommended contractor), and gets charged for an unnecessary gas top-up — often in the range of S$150–S$200 — for a leak that either didn't need creating or wasn't there before the visit.

This is a third-party contractor risk, not something either the tenant or the landlord is doing to the other — a bad technician costs the tenant money on a fake charge, and if the "leak" is real, it's the landlord's aircon system being needlessly degraded. Both sides want it caught early.

How to avoid it:

• Gas doesn't ordinarily need "topping up" on a routine service — an aircon system is sealed, so a real need for gas means something is actually leaking. The core defence isn't proving who caused it; it's not paying for a top-up on trust alone.
• If a contractor claims a leak right after their own visit, ask for a proper leak test before agreeing to any top-up charge — don't take their word for it.
• Use a registered, reviewed servicing company rather than whoever left a flyer in the letterbox — this is exactly the kind of legitimate cost the routine-servicing clause above assumes is being paid for a real reason.
• If something feels off, get a second opinion from a different company before paying — and flag it to the landlord or agent, since a compromised aircon unit is their asset too.

Step 9: Who's responsible for registering your address (this catches almost everyone out)

This isn't one rule — it's up to three separate obligations, depending on unit type and residency status, and they can stack on top of each other:

Who you are	What has to happen	Whose job it is
Anyone renting an HDB flat	The tenant must be added as an authorised tenant/occupier in HDB's system before the tenancy is fully in order	The landlord — they register the tenant via HDB's e-service
Any Work Permit holder (foreign worker, not Employment Pass/S Pass), any property type	The tenant's residential address must be kept current with MOM via the Online Foreign Worker Address Service (OFWAS), whether the unit is HDB or private	The tenant's employer — and if the unit is HDB, MOM's system won't accept the OFWAS update until the HDB registration above is already done, so that step comes first
Singapore citizens and permanent residents (any property type)	A change of residential address must be reported within 28 days of moving	The tenant themselves — this is a National Registration Act obligation owed directly to ICA, not something a landlord or employer does on someone's behalf

If a tenant is renting an HDB flat and hasn't been registered, that's the landlord's step to complete — worth raising directly rather than assuming it'll happen on its own. If a tenant is on a Work Permit, the employer owes MOM the OFWAS update (within 5 days of any change), and it's worth confirming it's been done, since the penalty for a lapse falls on the work pass, not just the employer. If a tenant is a citizen or PR, this one is on the tenant directly, regardless of what the landlord or employer does. (Employment Pass and S Pass holders don't go through OFWAS the way Work Permit holders do — but they DO have their own separate duty: MOM requires the EP/S Pass holder or their employer to update the residential address via the EP eService within 5 days of any change, so "not on OFWAS" does not mean "no duty at all." The HDB step above still applies on top of that if the unit is HDB.)

Step 10: If it still goes wrong: a real, low-cost escalation path exists for both sides

The single best thing either side can do to avoid needing to escalate at all is document everything from day one — the move-in inspection photos from Step 6, dated written messages with the agent or landlord, and kept servicing/repair receipts. Most disputes over a deposit, damages, or unpaid rent get resolved directly and amicably once both sides are looking at the same dated record — that's the realistic first move, not a tribunal filing. If something does come up, raise it in writing, reference the specific clause or document it relates to, and give the other side a genuine chance to resolve it directly before taking it further.

If a dispute genuinely can't be resolved directly and one side stops responding, Singapore's Small Claims Tribunals hear claims up to S$20,000 (S$30,000 if both parties agree), and neither a tenant nor a landlord needs a lawyer to file or attend. It's there if you genuinely need it, but the documentation above exists specifically so most tenancies never do — either party can use it as a genuine last resort.

The order that protects both sides, one more time

1. View the unit in person before any money changes hands.
2. Verify the agent on the CEA Public Register (free, ~2 minutes).
3. LOI: agree terms, sign, pay the good-faith deposit — to the landlord or agency client account only, never a personal account.
4. Sign the tenancy agreement.
5. Pay the balance — security deposit, advance rent, stamp duty (0.4% of annual rent, due within 14 days).
6. Document the unit's condition jointly with the landlord at handover, with timestamped photos — this is the shared evidence record, not a free-repair window.
7. Know your numbers: the TA's minor-repair cap, and who services what during the tenancy.
8. Watch for the aircon gas-leak scam on the first "routine" service — a third-party risk, not a landlord-vs-tenant one.
9. Check which address-registration duties apply — HDB tenancy (landlord), Work Permit (employer, any property), citizen/PR (tenant, within 28 days) — more than one can apply at once.
10. If it goes wrong: document everything and try to resolve it directly first — Small Claims Tribunal is only a genuine last resort (up to S$20,000, no lawyer required, open to either party).