SINGPINOY HOME
	HOUSING
	EMPLOYMENT
	CENTRAL PROVIDENT FUND
	REMITTING MONEY
	POSTAGE & PHONE
	HEALTH CARE
	LIBRARY
	LEISURE
	CHURCH
	OF LOVE AND STUFF
	FOOD
	HOUSEHOLD WORKERS
	HAVING A BABY
	CHILDCARE
	EDUCATION
	USEFUL ADDRESSES
	SINGAPORE PINOYs
	OTHER LINKS
E-mail me

HOUSING

HDB FLATS

Most Singaporeans (86%) live in Housing & Development Board (HDB) flats. So do most Filipinos here. HDB flats are rented out subject to approval by the HDB. Singaporeans going overseas are almost always sure to be granted government permission to rent their flats out. A written landlord-tenant agreement usually stipulates a term of one or two years with option to extend, again subject to approval by the HDB. Leasing out a whole HDB flat without a permit is illegal.

It is common to find a group of Filipinos living together in a flat and sharing housing expenses. One or two families may also live together. Rental charges range from S$800.00 for a three-room flat to S$2,500.00 for a five-room one depending on location and on whether the flat is fully furnished or not.

As the rent alone can eat up one-third of an ordinary Filipino expatriate's earnings, settling for just a room in a local family's flat is also fairly common. No approval from the HDB is needed for such an arrangement.

APARTMENTS & PRIVATE HOUSES

Accommodation can also be in the form of private apartments, detached bungalows, maisonettes and penthouses. They are usually luxuriously furnished and rental may go to as high as S$30,000.00 a month for those with large landscaped gardens.

DORMITORY HOUSING

The HDB has a Dormitory Housing Scheme for Single Unskilled Workers . Work permit holders (unskilled/semi-skilled)in the Construction, Manufacturing and Engineering sectors may apply for this scheme. Application forms are available at HDB Rental Housing Section, 2nd Story, Podium B, HDB Centre. Call 1800-2738068 for details.

FINDING SUITABLE ACCOMMODATION

Some companies provide housing for their expatriate staff. Some don't. If yours belong to the latter, start asking friends and acquaintances if they (or their friends) are lonely and need some cheering up by a roommate (YOU of course!). Scour the national English daily The Straits Times classifieds. Or, grab the nearest housing agent around and let him/her do the searching for you. (Housing agents also advertise in The Straits Times.) But before you do that be prepared to pay the agent the equivalent of a half month's rent should he secure a one-year rental contract for you. If you sign a two-year rental agreement, then cough up the equivalent of one month's rent. By the way, it is standard practice for landlords to ask for one month rent in advance and one month rent as deposit. Some may even ask for several months rent especially if they are going overseas.

PURCHASING PROPERTY..... coming up

Sign My Guestbook
View My Guestbook

Copyright 1997 mtbattad.E-mail me for comments and contributions.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page