You must rent an HDB flat/ bedroom for at least 6 months. Owners can apply/ register to sublet their flat/ bedrooms for a maximum period of 3 years per application/ registration if their subtenants are all Singaporeans or Malaysians. For subletting applications involving non-Malaysian non-citizens, the maximum period per approval/ registration is 1.5 years.
Non-Citizen Quota for Subletting of Flat
If you are a non-Malaysian non-citizen (Singapore Permanent Resident or foreigner) renting the whole HDB flat, you will be subject to the Non-Citizen Quota for Subletting of Flat. The quota is to help maintain a good ethnic mix in HDB estates. Malaysians are not subject to this quota in view of their close cultural and historical similarities with Singaporeans.
The quota is set at 8% at the neighbourhood level and 11% at the block level, and applicable if any subtenant renting the whole flat is a non-Malaysian non-citizen. If the quota is reached, only Singaporeans and Malaysians can rent a flat in that neighbourhood/ block. This quota does not apply to the subletting of bedrooms.