Higher occupancy cap to benefit landlords, tenants

New ruling: Residential property under construction in Singapore. The government is allowing more tenants to stay in a rented property. — Bloomberg

SINGAPORE: Landlords of larger Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats and private residential properties will soon be able to grow their tenant base and rental income after a policy change takes effect in January to relax the rental occupancy cap for such properties for about three years.

But those who earn more rental income after raising their tenant headcount, and in turn see higher annual values of their properties, will likely be liable for higher property taxes, said Chia Siew Chuin, JLL’s head of residential research for Singapore.