SINGAPORE – With rents continuing to rise in 2023, property investors have found a quick way to earn more rent by simply carving out more rooms in their condominium units.
The Sunday Times found several apartments turned into co-living spaces at People’s Park Complex, Eastpoint Green, Simei Green Condo, Rio Vista, Orchid Park Condominium and The Sail.
A three-bedroom condo unit at People’s Park Complex in Chinatown, for instance, had three more bedrooms added and each was leased out separately.
The additional three bedrooms were created through partitions in the living and dining area.
Without the extra bedrooms, the 1,173 sq ft property fetched about $4,500 rent a month, but after adding more bedrooms, the owner earned more than $8,000.
In Bedok, another three-bedroom condo unit at Casafina was also turned into a six-bedroom apartment, with each room leased out for between $1,100 and $1,800 a month.
ERA Realty property agent Nur Diyana Mazlan, who is marketing the unit at Casafina, said: “The rental market is crazy now. Landlords are leveraging the co-living trend to earn more rent.
“The smallest room is priced at $1,100, which is the same price as a common bedroom in an HDB flat in Woodlands that I leased out recently. Although this room at Casafina is much smaller, it’s still attractive as tenants can enjoy condo facilities and would also feel more comfortable sharing the space with other tenants, without the landlord.”
Other property agents confirmed more landlords are maximising their rental incomes in a bullish market, by adding more rooms to their apartments and labelling their properties “co-living” spaces.
For tenants, home-sharing is a way to beat the high rents.
Agents say it costs between $20,000 and $30,000 to add the partitions and the furnishings.
The extra bedrooms would be built in the living and dining area, leaving only a small space for a dining table.
The idea of packing more tenants into one private apartment is not new, but property agents say they have seen more of such units in the past one year.
The concept was shared at several talks organised for property investors on how to grow their rental income, said a property agent who declined to be named.
He said that some of his clients attended those talks and purchased condo units “just to convert them into co-living spaces”.
Under the Urban Redevelopment Authority rules, up to six unrelated people can live in a property.
If internal partitioning works are being done, the owner must ensure they do not compromise the nature of the property as a single self-sufficient residential unit with essential features such as a living or dining area and a kitchen.
The minimum lease period for private residential property is three consecutive months.
PropNex Realty agent Stella Tan said: “Co-living spaces attract both local and foreign tenants. Many opt for condo co-living for the convenience, as the rent covers their Wi-Fi and utilities.”
The smallest bedroom she has leased out was a 50 sq ft room at People’s Park Complex, partitioned from the living room of a three-bedroom unit.
The room fits just a single bed and a wardrobe, and was one of three bedrooms the landlord added to pad up his rental income.
One of the tenants, 18-year-old Indonesian student Anastasia Ruth Angkawijaya, said the co-living unit suits her as the property is close to her school in Dhoby Ghaut and there are plenty of cheap food options in Chinatown.
She shares the apartment with five others – Singaporeans and Chinese nationals – and is currently paying a monthly rent of $1,600 for a room with a single bed, small writing desk and wardrobe.
“The biggest struggle is living with strangers. Everyone has different habits. We have houses rules where the last person to cook has to throw away the trash, but sometimes some people don’t do it and it can be quite frustrating,” said Ms Angkawijaya.
PropNex Realty agent Nigel Vijay, who is currently marketing a co-living condo unit at Orchid Park Condominium in Yishun, said the landlord had bought the three-bedroom unit to turn it into five-bedroom co-living space in 2022.
“Initially, it was easy to rent. I had five rooms and three were taken up in one day. This year, it’s more difficult because rental is coming down. I have some units that are not moving,” said Mr Vijay.
“It would be easier to rent an entire three-bedder. With co-living, there is the risk of tenants not getting along with one another.”
There could be problems with noise and some tenants may have visitors, he said.
These visitors may be too noisy or intrude into the privacy of the other tenants.
“Source:[Riding on co-living trend, condo owners add more rooms to their units to earn more rent] © Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Permission required for reproduction”
