Factors in choosing a rental home: Living with a landlord and housemates

The current state of the rental market – with the cheapest private studio or one-bedroom apartment costing as much as three times the rent of the cheapest HDB common room – has let many a Singaporean to opt for house-sharing instead.

Social butterflies unite! Well, social butterflies and anyone who cannot afford to rent an entire apartment by themselves. By virtue or vice, you are to live with landlords and housemates.

So what are your options? Essentially, your imagination is the limit with designing shared living arrangements; auntie, student, landlord family, foreign couple, uncle, plus dog anyone? Curbing our creativity a bit, the following group arrangements are most common:

You + landlord: The owner of a two-bedroom unit may occupy one of the rooms while renting out the other vacant room to you. In this case, you will be living with the landlord and no one else.

You + landlord + housemate(s): The owner of a unit with three or more bedrooms may occupy one of the rooms while renting out all other rooms. In this case, you will be living with the landlord plus one or more housemates.

You + landlord (multiple): A fairly common arrangement in Singapore is families who rent out one of the rooms in their home for side income. In this case, your “landlord” will actually consist of multiple people (usually a small family).

You + housemate(s): The owner of a unit with two or more bedrooms may rent out all of the vacant rooms, so you will not be living with the landlord, but sharing with one or more housemates.

You + roommate: In addition to all of the arrangements above, you might also share your room with a roommate. The difference between a housemate and a roommate is that while housemates are tenants who have their own bedrooms, roommates are tenants who will share your bedroom. Sharing your room with a roommate will half your rent, but also reduce your privacy. For really good friends on a budget, this is definitely your go-to option.

With the arrangements lined out above in mind, you can essentially position yourself in any place of the equation. You can be the tenant looking for a room, or decide to rent the entire flat yourself and find tenants to fill it up, thereby having more control over who you will be living with. Downside is the increased responsibilities you will bear having to find amenable tenants.

Whether you simply love people, are on a budget or both, house-sharing may very well be the solution to your housing troubles.

Got a story to share about your experience with landlords and housemates? See you on the comments section below!

Check out other related articles: What singles should look out when renting in Singapore?

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