How much is rent in Singapore in 2026?

Use S$900-2,200 monthly for a room. The lower part usually means a common room in an outer Housing & Development Board (HDB, the public-housing authority) flat; an HDB flat is a public-housing apartment. A condominium master bedroom with a private bathroom, pool access and heavier air-conditioning use can reach the upper part. Official records do not publish a clean room median, so this band is a planning deduction from whole-home contracts and current room evidence, not a claimed room transaction average.

For private condominiums, use S$2,800-5,500 for a one-bedroom and S$3,700-7,500 for a two-bedroom. A family comparing three bedrooms can test S$4,800-10,000, with premium Central Business District (CBD), Orchard, River Valley and school-linked homes above it. The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA, the private-property planning and market-data agency) search covers contracts submitted for stamp-duty assessment and updates monthly.

Eligible whole HDB flats form a different market. Current official town-and-size records support roughly S$2,500-4,500 for many three-room to five-room flats. Foreign tenants cannot assume access: specified passes need at least six months' validity when the owner applies, tourists cannot rent, and the non-citizen quota can block a whole-flat rental to a non-Malaysian non-citizen. That quota does not apply to bedroom rentals, but tenant, approval and occupancy rules still do.

CBD, Orchard and River Valley price in short downtown journeys and central services, but compare the exact unit's floor area and management charges. East Coast and Katong can suit Changi or city travel, yet many homes need a bus before the Thomson-East Coast Line. Queenstown and Clementi often cost more than outer towns because the East West Line serves hospitals, universities and one-north employment.

Punggol and Sengkang can lower a private-condo or HDB whole-flat quote, but the North East Line, Light Rail Transit feeder and final walk must match the workplace. Woodlands suits northern jobs and uses the North South or Thomson-East Coast lines; Jurong suits western industry and universities. Use the Land Transport Authority planner for the exact Mass Rapid Transit (MRT, Singapore's urban rail network), bus and walking result. For families, a lower Woodlands or Jurong rent can disappear into school-bus cost and cross-island time.

Within every district, compare the same property type, furnishing, air-conditioning rules and lease dates. Ask whether condominium management, HDB service charges, internet, utilities and air-conditioner servicing sit inside the quote. A furnished Katong two-bedroom and an unfurnished Sengkang HDB flat are not comparable simply because both have two bedrooms.

Keep setup cash outside monthly rent. Security deposits commonly follow negotiated market practice, often one month's rent for each lease year, but Singapore law does not make that custom a universal right. Add first rent, stamp duty, temporary accommodation, moving, an agent fee only where your written agency agreement makes you liable, and any utility security deposit.

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore calculator should set the exact tenancy stamp duty. Families must also keep international-school application, entry and bus costs separate. A lease, deposit or school place creates no immigration or work permission.