Airbnb in Singapore: Some hosts still offering illegal short stays in condos and HDB flats
INVESTIGATIONS
All residential properties in Singapore – condominiums, walk-up apartments, flats, bungalows, or terrace houses – are intended for long-term residence.
URA investigated 156 cases of suspected unauthorised short-term accommodation in private residential properties in 2023. There were 160 and 117 cases in 2022 and 2021 respectively.
The minimum stay duration of three consecutive months is to “minimise frequent turnover of transient occupants”, URA told CNA.
Such turnovers change the “residential character of a property and negatively affect neighbouring residents”.
On its website, Airbnb urged hosts in Singapore to comply with the law and highlighted the Planning Act, which prohibits the rental of private residential units for short-term accommodation.
URA said that visitors who opt to book short-term stays at private residential properties may be required to assist in investigations if they are found staying at the property during checks by the authorities.
They may also suffer inconvenience and incur additional costs for alternative accommodation, URA said, adding that the management corporations (MCSTs) and security officers of some condominiums have been actively enforcing the regulations.
SERVICED APARTMENTS
Airbnb as a platform remains legal in Singapore. Many of the listings were for hotel rooms, which have no minimum stay duration.
However, some of the listings that claimed to be “authorised serviced apartments” were condominium units or HDB flats.
Serviced apartments must be rented out for a minimum of seven days, and have to be developed or managed under one ownership.
Strata subdivision of serviced apartments is not allowed, which means an individual unit in a condominium cannot be a serviced apartment.
For units that are not serviced apartments and are private property, Airbnb dictates that hosts should change their settings to allow rents for at least 92 consecutive nights so as not to fall foul of the law.
Airbnb does not permit hosting in HDB flats. According to HDB, public flats or rooms in flats must be rented out for at least six months.
Under the Planning Act, anyone found guilty of engaging in short-term accommodation may minimally be fined up to S$5,000. Recalcitrant offenders or those who offer such stays at multiple properties will be taken to court.
