Overall Real Estate Terminology
2+1: 2 bedrooms plus domestic helper’s room
4+1: 4 bedrooms plus domestic helper’s room
Air Con or A/C: Air conditioning
BR: Bedroom
B/S: Bomb shelter
Bungalow: Stand-alone house
Maisonette: 2 level apartment with bedrooms and main bathroom upstairs
Condominium/Condo: Apartments which include facilities such as pool or tennis
Level 1: The ground floor in Singapore
State-titled property: An apartment in a building, where some areas are common/shared
Semi or Semi-D: Semi-detached house or own townhouse
Shophouse: A property that used to be a traditional shop selling spices or trading from years past with residential space above. Many of them are now on the conservation list.
Black & Whites: Colonial houses
District 9, 10 & 11: The name refers to the main expatriate areas. These numbers are no longer used officially, they refer to “old” postal districts
Heartlands: Where middle class/working class Singaporeans live
Land-titled Property: Property within its own land
HDB: Housing Development Board – apartments only available to citizens & permanent residents
Fogging: Mosquito and pest prevention, the majority of areas are fogged with pesticides on a weekly basis
Pest Control: A regular service provided to homes to prevent infestation of pests
Neg (negotiable): Several prospective tenants may look at the property, and the one making the best offer will get it
Terr: Terrace
Purchase Property Terms
Addendum: A supplementary agreement to an original sales contract covering points agreed to thereafter. It is a separate agreement in its own right and, if it contradicts the original in any way, it is presumed to overrule it.
Agreement of Sale: The basic contract of sale and purchase between a willing seller and buyer. No matter what the parties have agreed to verbally, no contract exists until an agreement of sale is completed and signed by both parties.
Breach Clause: A condition obliging a seller to give a defaulting buyer written notice to remedy his breach of contract within a specific period (usually seven days) before he can cancel the sale.
Conditions of Title: Restrictive conditions limiting an owner’s rights, recorded on his title deed to a property. They cover matters such as mineral right reservations, servitudes and building limitations.
Cooling-off Right: A right giving a buyer of a residential property the right to withdraw from the sale within a stipulated time of making a written offer.
Electrical Compliance Certificate: A certificate issued by a qualified electrician confirming that the installation on a property from its supply point is safe. Every buyer has to be in possession of one once he takes transfer of ownership.
Entomologist’s Certificate: A similar certificate required by law in some coastal provinces to be obtained before transfer of a property confirming that its structure is free of wood borer or termite infestation.
Escape Clause: A condition in a sale contract giving the seller the right to cancel if he obtains a better offer from another purchaser. It is usually inserted when the first buyer is given time to sell his own property first.
Fixtures and Fittings: These are attachments to a home which permanently belong and may not be removed by the seller when he vacates the property.
Guarantees: Written undertakings issued by registered banks guaranteeing payment of part of or the full purchase price on registration of transfer. They are furnished to the transferring attorney.
Interest-bearing Accounts: A savings account or other short-term investment opened by an attorney or estate agent to invest any deposit paid by a buyer. The interest accruing will accrue to the buyer on transfer.
Jurisdiction: Most sale agreements contain a clause providing that, should either party take the other to court for any alleged default, he may do so in a Magistrates Court, even though the amount in dispute may exceed its normal jurisdiction.
Null and Void: A legal expression emphasizing a final cancellation or lapse of a sale agreement. It puts both parties in the position they were in before the agreement was signed and leaves each without obligation to the other.
Prior Occupation: A buyer’s right to take personal occupation of a property before transfer takes place. A rental, agreed to in advance between the parties, will be payable by the buyer until registration of transfer.
Offer to Purchase: A document setting out the proposed purchase price and conditions on which a buyer is prepared to purchase a property. It will be submitted to the seller and, once he signs it, it becomes a valid sale agreement.
Possession: A stronger right than occupation which usually only passes on registration. It entitles the buyer to receive all rentals paid by existing tenants while obliging him to pay all assessment rates.
Property Description: This is the definition of the property sold in a sale agreement. It can simply be its street address but should record its township as described in the owner’s title deed.
Subject to Sale: An expression used by estate agents to describe a sale contract which will only become unconditional between the parties if and when the buyer sells his own property. A time period of sixty to ninety days is usually allowed.
Suspensive Condition: A provision in a contract suspending its operation until a specific condition is fulfilled. For example, a clause stipulating that the sale will only be confirmed if a mortgage loan is granted is a typical “suspensive condition.”
Voetstoots: A Dutch expression meaning that a property is bought “as is” with all its patent and latent defects. A seller can still be held liable for latent defects known to him which he fails to disclose to the buyer.
Rental Property Terms
Letter of Intent (LOI): This is the written offer made to the landlord by the tenant outlining the terms of the proposed Tenancy. It is important at this point for the tenant to request everything they want the landlord to provide or pay for such as hot water in all bathrooms and kitchen, variable temperature washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, oven, pest control, air-conditioning maintenance, garden and pool maintenance. Once this letter is signed by both parties, it is very rare the landlord will agree to provide anything additional. On acceptance by both parties, a one month good faith deposit is payable.
Tenancy Agreement/Lease: A tenancy or lease is a legal contract between the landlord and the tenant. This document is drawn up after the terms outlined in the Letter of Intent have been agreed and accepted by both parties. Some landlords have a strong preference for residential Tenancy Agreements to be in the name of the employee’s company rather than a personal lease. Some landlords refuse to accept personal leases and those that do sometimes require more than the normal two to three months security deposit.
Proof of Immigration Status: In Singapore, the landlord is held personally responsible for any people living in their property that does not have legal residential status. Therefore, prior to the commencement of the lease, the tenant is required to supply the landlord with the following:
- Registration of Company Certificate (in the case of a corporate lease)
- Confirmation of Employment Letter (in the case of a personal lease)
- Copy of Passport for all occupants
- Copy of Employment/Dependent/Student passes for all occupants.
Partly Furnished / Fully Furnished: Partly-furnished accommodation usually has air-conditioning units, refrigerator, stove, cooker, hood, light fittings and window treatments, and possible armoires and wardrobes for storage.
Fully furnished accommodation will usually have all hard furnishing such as beds and side tables, dining suites, lounge suites, etc. Some landlords also provide other items such as table lamps, fans, televisions, and other appliances.
Funds Payable: Funds payable as stated in a TA include advance rent, security deposit, and stamp duty
Good Faith Deposit: Generally paid subject to contract when an offer is made on a property, prior to receiving or approving the draft Tenancy Agreement. This deposit will form part of the two or three months’ security deposit when the Tenancy Agreement is executed by both parties.
Security Deposit: Two or three months’ rent held by the landlord for the duration of the Lease against damages caused by the tenant.
Term: The lease period is usually two years with an option to renew for a further one year.
Diplomatic Clause: Most landlords will agree to a “diplomatic clause”, which means the tenant can give early notice to terminate, usually only after the completion of the first twelve months of the term, by serving two or three months written notice or payment of rent in lieu thereof. This clause is only exercisable in the event the tenant or occupant is transferred from Singapore or refused a renewed Employment Pass. In the case of a Corporate Lease, this clause is also exercisable in the event the occupant ceases to be in the employ of the company. The tenant will be responsible for refunding the commission on a pro-rata basis to the landlord.
Rent: This is the agreed monthly amount which remains constant for the term of the lease. Normally it includes the monthly maintenance and sinking fund charges payable to the Management Corporation. The rent is open to negotiation in the event the tenant exercises the option to extend for a further one-year term after the initial two-year lease terminates. Rent is payable direct to the landlord, monthly, in advance.
