HDB rental flats in Singapore refer to public housing units that are made available for rent by the Housing and Development Board (HDB).
If you’re already living in a HDB rental flat, or will soon be moving into one, take inspiration from these Tiktok users who have furnished their homes in various styles (and to varying degrees!).
If you love modern black and white interior design style, this one’s for you. Located at 185A Woodlands Street 13, Rara Smitzx cleverly made use of rugs, stick on backsplash tiles, freestanding cabinets, and matching monochrome home appliances to attain that clean, modern look.
Rara Smitzx also runs a “Blessing Booth” in her neighbourhood. She was recently featured by the Marsiling Yew Tee RC. If you live nearby, be sure to support her initiative and chip in.
Rara is active with her replies, especially answering questions about applying for HDB Rental Flats and her interior design and home decor shopping hauls. She has created a little, supportive community around her Tiktok account.
For that trendy Nordic and Scandinavian interior design style, follow Tiktok account Mills – they are living in this HDB Rental Flat as they transition and wait for their next home to be ready.
Mills opted for a warm wood TV console, Scandinavian light oak sofa set, a matching rattan pouffe footstool, a clean white roller blind to conceal the window and create privacy, and a pair of matching brown Hygge framed wall artworks.
Alas, the cosy Nordic interior design style runs throughout her entire house. The open concept kitchen (formerly a stack of pigeon hole cabinet) was cladded with light wood.
Mills cleverly perched a wood countertop to create a kitchen island dining table that can also be used to prepare food, and used as a study or work desk.
They kept their kitchen appliances to a similar colour palette of white, black, and wood – creating a sense of cohesion and tidiness.
Tiktok user Love, Mar managed to get a HDB Rental Flat while waiting out for their house. Love, Mar seems to have been assigned a typical 1-bedroom HDB flat that has no rooms – reportedly a typical rental unit.
Along with their Scandinavian interior design theme, they painted a feature wall brown in the living room to gel all their warm wood and white furniture pieces. Love, Mar decided to inject a pop of colour and cheer with a series of framed Hygge-style peach artworks.
Love, Mar’s mini house tours on Tiktok gained interest from their followers over their spatial planning to create “rooms”. Here, they made use of a black colour palette to demarcate the bedroom from the rest of the warm wood and Hygge-style living room.
The comment section is very wholesome, with Love, Mar actively replying to fellow users with 1-bedroom HDB flat decor tips and ideas.
Perhaps one of the younger users in the list, Hazeero is a 21-year-old who recently collected keys to their HDB rental flat in June.
Given their age – and undisclosed circumstances – Hazeero has neatly furnished their place with contemporary living room setup. They opted for a wood, black, and white colour palette, and a functional 2-in-1 ceiling fan with light.
Hazeero’s comment section is both informative and wholesome – with many Tiktok users offering their well-wishes and congratulations to the homeowner, and fellow HDB rental flat owners sharing their application experience.
Need a realistic DIY view of these beautifully decorated HDB rental flats? Hop over to Nurulzulkflee’s Tiktok account where they show their DIY renovation progression in small successions.
The account shows the raw, bare HDB flat when they first received it, the initial cleaning up process, and then the realistic DIY cut-and-paste vinyl floor laying process.
Nurulzulkflee’s account breaks up their renovation process, so you can visualise the work that is required in your own DIY renovation journey.
The final home showcase is nothing short of stunning – a cosy, fully-fitted home complete with wood partition for the kitchen and Korean window blinds.
Finally, if you prefer a simpler interior design style and slow-paced home decor journey, follow Elaine Goh. In their Tiktok, they shared the initial move-in day to their new HDB rental flat.
Elaine simply (and very realistically) showed the stack of belongings that they brought over to the new place, and the simple living room and kitchen setup they decided to go with.
The comments section is a wholesome one, with many users offering Elaine their well wishes.
HDB rental flats are intended to provide affordable housing options for Singaporeans who are waiting for their HDB BTO (under the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme or PPHS), or low-income families and individuals who are not eligible to buy or own a subsidized HDB flat yet (under the Public Rental Scheme).
Key features of HDB rental flats:
- Affordability: Rental flats are subsidized, making them more affordable for low-income households. The rental rates are typically lower than private rental properties.
- Limited Rental Period: Tenants can rent HDB rental flats for a specific period, usually up to two years, with the possibility of renewal based on eligibility and availability.
- Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for an HDB rental flat, applicants must meet certain criteria, such as citizenship or permanent residency status, income ceiling, and other specific requirements set by the HDB.
- Flat Types: HDB rental flats come in various sizes and types, including 1-room, 2-room, and larger units, catering to different household sizes.
- Basic Furnishing: HDB rental flats are typically provided with basic furnishings, such as built-in kitchen cabinets, a bathroom, and sometimes essential furniture.
- Limited Renovation: Tenants are not allowed to carry out extensive renovations or modifications to the rental flat due to the temporary nature of the accommodation.
If you’re interested in renting an HDB flat, you’ll have to apply through the HDB website and must fulfill the necessary eligibility criteria to be considered for a rental flat allocation.
Trying to find out if you’re eligible for a HDB rental flat in Singapore? There are two main sets of criteria, and you will need to fulfil either one of them: the Public Rental Scheme Eligibility, or the Parenthood Provisional Housing Scheme (PPHS) Eligibility.
For both, you will need to be a:
- Singapore Citizen
- Family Nucleus: Must include another Singaporean citizen or Permanent Resident (PR) to form a family
- Or divorced, widowed with children; single unmarried parent; orphan below 35 years old; non-Singaporean parent with a Singaporean child
- Or joint singles above 35 years old (under Joint Singles Scheme)
- At least 21 years old
- Don’t own properties in Singapore (or overseas)
- Don’t owe HDB debt (or have HDB offense)
HDB Rental Flat Income Ceiling
There’s no fixed income ceiling for HDB rental flats. Applications are reviewed on case-by-case basis. On average, HDB shares that their rental applicants have a $1,500 household income.
Decorating or renovating HDB 1-room and 2-room rental flats can be a challenging since rental flats are meant to be temporary housing and HDB dictates that you can’t make any extensive changes to the flat.
The unspoken rule of thumb floating on social media comments sections is this: if you can remove it, repaint it white, or restore it back to original condition easily, then you can somewhat do it.
Other renovation challenges 1-room or 2-room HDB rental flat owners may face include:
- Small Space: Typically smaller space, which makes it difficult to fit in all furniture and appliances without home looking crowded.
- Storage Space: With limited space comes limited storage options. Finding creative ways to maximise storage is essential in order to keep home looking neat.
- HDB Rules: HDB has strict guidelines and regulations regarding the renovation of rental flats.
- Existing Layout: Rental flats come with fixed layouts that cannot be altered.
- Long-Term Investment: As rental flats are not owned by the tenants, some homeowners may be hesitant to invest a lot of time and money in renovation and decoration projects.
- Noise: Rental flats may be located in mature estates, which can lead to noise issues, disturbing the neighbours. Homeowners might need to find solutions to minimise the noise, disturbances, and observe HDB renovation hours.
To overcome these challenges, you should carefully plan your HDB rental flat renovations. Not everything needs to be done – prioritise your family’s needs, and seek advice when necessary.
Also, consider space-saving solutions, multifunctional furniture, and smart design ideas to make the most of the available space you’ve got!
This article was originally published in Home & Decor.
- TAGS:
- HDB
- interior design
- renovation
- rental